Hops A Brief History Of Hops In Beer

nt.netHopsA Brief History of Hops in BeerHops are a relatively new addition to the brewmaster’s toolkit.Prior to the widespread adoption of hops, beer was bittered andflavored with spice and herb mixtures sometimes called gruit.Any number of herbs and spices went into gruit includinghenbane, wild rosemary, heather, ginger, spruce, juniper, andbog myrtle, just to name a few. In parts of Europe the blendingof gruit was the closely held province of Gruit Guilds that hadexclusive rights and kept the specific ingredients secret. The firstdocumented link between hops and brewing is from 822 AD whena Benedictine abbot wrote a series of statutes covering therunning of the monastery that included gathering sufficient hopsfor making beer. Evidence suggests that commercial hopcultivation began in northern Germany during the 12th or 13th century and that theGermans were exporting hopped beer from the 13th century onward. The first evidence ofhopped beer being brewed in England is from 1412 and for a time English brewersproduced both un-hopped “ale” and hopped “beer.” On April 23, 1516 the BavarianReinheitsgebot was put into effect declaring hops one of the three allowable beeringredients (Yeast hadn’t yet been discovered). In 1710 the English parliament banned theuse of non-hop bittering agents, at least in part to prevent brewers from evading the newpenny-per-pound hop tax. Thus, hops became the dominant bittering agent in beerthroughout the western world.What Are Hops?Hops (Humulus lupulus) are a perennial plant of the Cannabaceaefamily that also includes the genus Cannabis. In beer hops providebitterness to balance the sweetness of malt sugars, as well as flavors,aromas, resins that increase head retention, and antiseptics to retardspoilage. Often referred to as a “vine”, hops are actually a “bine”,using a strong stem and stiff hairs to climb rather than tendrils andsuckers to attach. It is the flower of the hop plant that is used inbrewing. Hop flowers or cones resemble pine cones but are composedof thin, green, papery, leaf-like bracts. At the base of these bracts arewaxy, yellow lupulin glands that contain alpha acids responsible forbitterness and essential oils that give beer flavor and aroma. The planthas separate male and female bines, but only the female bines developcones. If male plants are allowed to pollinate them, the flowers will produce seeds,rendering them useless for brewing. Aside from their use in beer, hops also have medicinalapplication as a sleep aid. Hop filled pillows were once a common remedy for insomnia. MDA Creative Projects LLC

nt.netHops ProductionDay length during the growing season has a major effect on yield. For this reason themajority of the world’s commercial hop production occurs between latitudes 35 and 55 ,either north or south of the equator. The largest producers of hopsare Germany, the United States, China, and the Czech Republic.Other important growing regions include England, New Zealand,and increasingly Argentina. Climate and soil conditions have amajor effect on hops. Varieties developed in one region will havedifferent flavor and aroma profiles when grown in another.Hop plants sprout in the spring and die back to a cold-hardyrhizome in the fall. During peak growing season they grow veryrapidly, up to twenty inches per week. Commercial hop growerscultivate hop bines on V-shaped, wire and twine trellises that areup to twenty feet tall. In spring, at the start of the growing season,two to three young shoots are trained in a clockwise directionaround each horizontal length of twine. The harvest season beginsin August and continues into October with different varieties ofhops coming ready at different times. Harvesting machines cut thebines and twine at the top and bottom and load them onto trucks.They then pass through a series of sorters to separate the cones from the stems andleaves. The cones are placed in a kiln where 140 air is circulated, drying the cones toabout 30% of their green weight. After cooling the cones are compressed into bales orfurther processed into pellets or extracts.Types of Hops for BrewingHops are available to brewers in whole-leaf, pellet, or extract form. American craft brewershave also started using fresh, unprocessed hops to brew “harvest” or “fresh-hop” ales.Each of these forms has advantages and disadvantages. Whole-leaf Hops – Whole-leaf hops are simply the dried hopcones that have been compressed into bales. They arebelieved to have greater aromatic qualities than the otherforms and are easier to strain from wort. However, becausethey retain more of the vegetative matter greater volumesmust be used. They soak up more wort than other formsresulting in greater loss to the brewer. Their bulk also makesthem more difficult to store and more susceptible to spoilage. MDA Creative Projects LLC

nt.net Pellets – To make pellet hops the dried cones are shredded, compressed, and extrudedinto pellets that resemble rabbit food. The shredding process exposes the lupulinglands and removes a percentage of the vegetative matter, meaning smaller volumescan be used in the brewery. Their lighter weight and compressed state also makesthem easier to store and less susceptible tospoilage. On the down side, they tend to losesome of their aromatic quality in processingand they create sludge at the bottom of thebrew kettle that can be difficult to remove fromthe wort. The majority of hops used in the craftbrewing industry are pellet hops. Extract – For hop extracts, the alpha acids andessential oils are pulled from the cones usingheat and various solvents. These concentratedliquid extracts can be used in the brewingprocess just like hops. There are separate extracts for bittering, flavor, and aroma.They are mostly used by large breweries, although they are sometimes used by smallerbreweries to reduce wort in highly hopped beers. Hop extracts are easy to store andcan be kept for long periods of time without spoilage. Their concentrated state and lackof vegetative matter reduces the amount that must be used and eliminates wort loss.Their concentration can make them difficult to use properly in small batches however,and some claim undesirable flavors from their use. Fresh or Wet Hops – Fresh hops are green, unprocessed cones, often added to the beerwithin hours of harvest. Wet hops give beers an intense, bright hop flavor and aroma.However, because they lack the concentration that comes with drying, a much largervolume is needed to achieve the same result as from dried hops. The additionalvegetative matter can lend beer a grassy character and results in greater wort loss forthe brewer.Hop VarietiesHops can be generally divided into two broad categories, bittering and aroma. Those hopvarieties that contain high levels of alpha acids are called bittering hops because a lowervolume is needed to achieve high levels of bitterness. Those with lower alpha acid contentbut higher levels of essential oils are called aroma hops. Beyond this broad division,general characterizations can be made based on the traditional area of origin. Continental or Noble Hops – The noble hops originate in central Europe and are amongthe most prized of the aroma hops. There are four noble hops, Hallertau, Tettnang,Spalt, and Czech Saaz. These hops impart a smooth bitterness and spicy/floral aromas.The noble hops are often used in lagers. Common descriptors for these hops includespicy, black pepper, licorice, perfume, floral, and herbal. MDA Creative Projects LLC

nt.net English Hops – The most traditional English hop varieties fall into the low alpha acidaroma hop category. The most common are East Kent Goldings and Fuggle. Otherhigher alpha English hop varieties include Challenger, Target, and Progress. Commondescriptors for the English hops include herbal, grassy, earthy, floral, and fruity. American Hops – Bright, fruity, and resinous, these are the signature hops of Americanpale ale and IPA. The United States grows a number of hop varieties that can beconsidered duel use hops, with high alpha acid content and pleasant aromatic qualities.Commonly used American hop varieties are Cascade, Centennial, Chinook, Willamette,and Amarillo. Common descriptors for the American hop varieties are citrus, grapefruit,resinous, piney, fruity, and spicy.Hops in the Brewing ProcessBrewers use hops primarily to get bitterness, flavor, and aroma. Hops can be added atseveral points in the brewing process to enhance one or the other of those things. Whilemost hops are added in the boil kettle, they can be added a various stages prior to andafter the boil as well. Kettle Hops – Kettle hops is the name given to those hops added to the kettle duringthe boil. These include early addition hops for bitterness and late addition hops forflavor and aroma. Bittering Hops – Bitterness from hops comesfrom alpha acids found in the lupulin glands ofthe hop flowers. The main alpha acids arehumulone and cohumulone and adhumulone. Inorder to become bitter these acids must bechemically altered, isomerized, by boiling.Isomerization is a chemical process in which acompound is changed into another form with thesame chemical composition but a differentstructure. The percentage of the potential alphaacid that is isomerized is referred to asutilization. Because the length of the boil determines degree of utilization,bittering hops are usually added at the beginning of the boil or with at least 60minutes of boiling time remaining. Flavor Hops – Hop flavor and aroma are derived from essential oils found in thelupulin glands. These oils include humulene, myrcene, geraniol, and limonene,among others. The flavors are released as these oils become dissolved into thewort during the boil. However, these oils are highly volatile and are to a largedegree lost to evaporation. For this reason flavor hops are added with twenty toforty minutes remaining in the boil. This provides a compromise betweenisomerization of the alpha acids and loss of essential oils. MDA Creative Projects LLC

612.724.4514 michael@aperfectpint.netwww.aperfectpint.netAroma Hops – Because the aromatic essential oils are highly volatile, aromahops are added in the last minutes of the boil to minimize their loss toevaporation.Other Hop Additions – Hops can be added at other points in the brewing process toenhance the flavor and aromatic qualities of beer. Dry Hopping – Perhaps the most common non-boil use of hops is dry hopping.In this process hops are added to beer in the conditioning tank afterfermentation is complete. The hops are left in the beer for a week or twoallowing the essential oils to dissolve. Dry hopping provides a very bright andfresh hop aroma with slight enhancement of flavor. Hop Back – Another process for increasing hop aroma is to use a hop back. Ahop back is a small tank that is placed between the kettle and the chiller in abrewing system. The hop back is filled with hops and the hot wort is run throughit on the way to the chiller. First Wort Hopping – First wort hopping is a pre-boil addition of hops to the hotwort as it runs into the kettle from the mash/lauter tun. This is said to give asmoother hop aroma and flavor without significantly increasing bitterness. Mash Hopping – Mash hopping is the addition of hops in the mash tun. This is acontroversial practice said to increase hop flavor withoutsignificantly affecting bitterness. Randall – A few years ago the Dogfish Head brewery inMaryland was looking for a way to inject their beers with morehop flavor and aroma. They invented Randall the EnamelAnimal, an “organoleptic hop transducer module.” Basically aRandall is a plastic filter housing that is filled with hops andinserted in the draft line coming from the keg. As the beerpasses through the Randall on its way to the tap faucet, thealcohol dissolves the essential oils providing a fresh burst ofhop character. MDA Creative Projects LLC