Hops
Hops are the
The first documented use of hops in beer is from the 9th century, though
Hops are also used in brewing for their
History
The first documented hop cultivation was in 736, in the Hallertau region of present-day Germany,[9] although the first mention of the use of hops in brewing in that country was 1079.[10] However, in a will of Pepin the Short, the father of Charlemagne, hop gardens were left to the Cloister of Saint-Denis in 768.[11]
Not until the 13th century did hops begin to start threatening the use of gruit for flavouring. Gruit was used when the nobility levied taxes on hops. Whichever was taxed made the brewer then quickly switch to the other.[12]
In Britain, hopped beer was first imported from Holland around 1400, yet hops were condemned as late as 1519 as a "wicked and pernicious weed".[13] In 1471, Norwich, England, banned use of the plant in the brewing of ale ("beer" was the name for fermented malt liquors bittered with hops; only in recent times are the words often used as synonyms).[citation needed]
In Germany, using hops was also a religious and political choice in the early 16th century. There was no tax on hops to be paid to the Catholic church, unlike on gruit. For this reason the Protestants preferred hopped beer.[14]
Hops used in England were imported from France, Holland and Germany and were subject to
According to Thomas Tusser's 1557 Five Hundred Points of Good Husbandry:
"The hop for his profit I thus do exalt,
It strengtheneth drink and it flavored malt;
And being well-brewed long kept it will last,
And drawing abide, if ye draw not too fast."[16]
In England there were many complaints over the quality of imported hops, the sacks of which were often contaminated by stalks, sand or straw to increase their weight. As a result, in 1603, King James I approved an Act of Parliament banning the practice by which "the Subjects of this Realm have been of late years abused &c. to the Value of £20,000 yearly, besides the Danger of their Healths".[17]
Hop cultivation was begun in the present-day United States in 1629 by English and Dutch farmers.[18] Before prohibition, cultivation was mainly centred around New York, California, Oregon, and Washington state. Problems with powdery mildew and downy mildew devastated New York's production by the 1920s, and California only produces hops on a small scale.[19]
World production
Hops production is concentrated in moist temperate climates, with much of the world's production occurring near the
Important production centres today are the
Hop producing country | 2020 hop output in tonnes (t)[26] |
---|---|
United States | 47,541 |
Germany | 46,878 |
China | 7,044 |
Czech Republic | 5,925 |
Poland | 3,417 |
Slovenia | 2,723 |
Australia | 1,714 |
New Zealand | 1,250 |
UK/England | 924 |
Spain | 908 |
France | 767 |
Cultivation and harvest
Although hops are grown in most of the continental United States and Canada,[27] cultivation of hops for commercial production requires a particular environment. As hops are a climbing plant, they are trained to grow up trellises made from strings or wires that support the plants and allow them significantly greater growth with the same sunlight profile. In this way, energy that would have been required to build structural cells is also freed for crop growth.[28]
The hop plant's reproduction method is that male and female flowers develop on separate plants, although occasionally a fertile individual will develop which contains both male and female flowers.[29] Because pollinated seeds are undesirable for brewing beer, only female plants are grown in hop fields, thus preventing pollination. Female plants are propagated vegetatively, and male plants are culled if plants are grown from seeds.[30]
Hop plants are planted in rows about 2 to 2.5 metres (7 to 8 ft) apart. Each spring, the roots send forth new
Hops are harvested at the end of summer.[32] The bines are cut down, separated, and then dried in an oast house to reduce moisture content. To be dried, the hops are spread out on the upper floor of the oast house and heated by heating units on the lower floor. The dried hops are then compressed into bales by a baler.[33]
Hop cones contain different oils, such as lupulin, a yellowish, waxy substance, an oleoresin, that imparts flavour and aroma to beer.[34] Lupulin contains lupulone and humulone, which possess antibiotic properties, suppressing bacterial growth favoring brewer's yeast to grow. After lupulin has been extracted in the brewing process the papery cones are discarded.
Migrant labor and social impact
The need for massed labor at harvest time meant hop-growing had a big social impact. Around the world, the labor-intensive harvesting work involved large numbers of migrant workers who would travel for the annual hop harvest. Whole families would participate and live in hoppers' huts, with even the smallest children helping in the fields.[35][36] The final chapters of W. Somerset Maugham's Of Human Bondage and a large part of George Orwell's A Clergyman's Daughter contain a vivid description of London families participating in this annual hops harvest. In England, many of those picking hops in Kent were from eastern areas of London. This provided a break from urban conditions that was spent in the countryside. People also came from Birmingham and other Midlands cities to pick hops in the Malvern area of Worcestershire. Some photographs have been preserved.[37]
The often-appalling living conditions endured by hop pickers during the harvest became a matter of scandal across Kent and other hop-growing counties. Eventually, the Rev. John Young Stratton, Rector of Ditton, Kent, began to gather support for reform, resulting in 1866 in the formation of the Society for the Employment and Improved Lodging of Hop Pickers.[38] The hop-pickers were given very basic accommodation, with very poor sanitation. This led to the spread of infectious diseases and led to contaminated water. The 1897 Maidstone typhoid epidemic was partly as a result of hop-pickers camping near the Farleigh Springs which supplied Maidstone with water.[39][40]
Particularly in Kent, because of a shortage of small-denomination coin of the realm, many growers issued their own currency to those doing the labor. In some cases, the coins issued were adorned with fanciful hops images, making them quite beautiful.[41]
In the United States, Prohibition had a serious adverse effect on hops production, but remnants of this significant industry in the western states are still noticeable in the form of old hop kilns that survive throughout Sonoma County, California, among others. Florian Dauenhauer, of Santa Rosa in Sonoma County, became a manufacturer of hop-harvesting machines in 1940, in part because of the hop industry's importance to the county. This mechanization helped destroy the local industry by enabling large-scale mechanized production, which moved to larger farms in other areas.[42] Dauenhauer Manufacturing Company remains a current producer of hop harvesting machines.[43]
Chemical composition
In addition to water, cellulose, and various proteins, the chemical composition of hops consists of compounds important for imparting character to beer.[3][44]
Alpha acids
Probably the most important chemical compound within hops are the alpha acids or humulones. During wort boiling, the humulones are thermally isomerized into iso-alpha acids or isohumulones, which are responsible for the bitter taste of beer.[45]
Beta acids
Hops contain beta acids or lupulones. These are desirable for their aroma contributions to beer.[46]
Essential oils
The main components of hops essential oils are terpene hydrocarbons consisting of myrcene, humulene and caryophyllene.[44] Myrcene is responsible for the pungent smell of fresh hops. Humulene and its oxidative reaction products may give beer its prominent hop aroma. Together, myrcene, humulene, and caryophyllene represent 80 to 90% of the total hops essential oil.[44]
Flavonoids
Xanthohumol is the principal flavonoid in hops. The other well-studied prenylflavonoids are 8-Prenylnaringenin and isoxanthohumol. Xanthohumol is under basic research for its potential properties, while 8-prenylnaringenin is a potent phytoestrogen.[47][48]
Brewing
This section needs additional citations for verification. (January 2021) |
Hops are usually dried in an oast house before they are used in the brewing process.[49] Undried or "wet" hops are sometimes (since c. 1990) used.[50][51]
The wort (sugar-rich liquid produced from malt) is boiled with hops before it is cooled down and yeast is added, to start fermentation.
The effect of hops on the finished beer varies by type and use, though there are two main hop types: bittering and aroma.[3]
Bittering hops have higher concentrations of alpha acids, and are responsible for the large majority of the bitter flavour of a beer. European (so-called "noble") hops typically average 5–9% alpha acids by weight (AABW), and the newer American cultivars typically range from 8–19% AABW.
Aroma hops usually have a lower concentration of alpha acids (~5%) and are the primary contributors of hop aroma and (nonbitter) flavour.
Bittering hops are boiled for a longer period of time, typically 60–90 minutes, and often have inferior aromatic properties, as the aromatic compounds evaporate during the boil. The degree of bitterness imparted by hops depends on the degree to which
Aroma hops are typically added to the wort later to prevent the evaporation of the essential oils, to impart "hop taste" (if during the final 30 minutes of boil) or "hop aroma" (if during the final 10 minutes, or less, of boil). Aroma hops are often added after the wort has cooled and while the beer ferments, a technique known as "dry hopping", which contributes to the hop aroma. Farnesene is a major component in some hops.[3] The composition of hop essential oils can differ between varieties and between years in the same variety, having a significant influence on flavour and aroma.[3]
Today, a substantial amount of "dual-use" hops are used, as well. These have high concentrations of alpha acids and good aromatic properties. These can be added to the boil at any time, depending on the desired effect.[52] Hop acids also contribute to and stabilize the foam qualities of beer.[3]
Flavours and aromas are described appreciatively using terms which include "grassy", "floral", "citrus", "spicy", "piney", "lemony", "grapefruit", and "earthy".[3][53] Many
Brewers may use software tools to control the bittering levels in the boil and adjust recipes to account for a change in the hop bill or seasonal variations in the crop that may lead to the need to compensate for a difference in alpha acid contribution. Data may be shared with other brewers via BeerXML allowing the reproduction of a recipe allowing for differences in hop availability.
Lately the dried pucks, extracts and pellets replace whole hops in brewing processes because of efficiency and cost.[54]
Varieties
This section needs additional citations for verification. (July 2014) |
Breeding programmes
There are many different varieties of hops used in brewing today. Historically, hops varieties were identified by geography, ie. from the towns of Hallertau, Spalt, and Tettnang in Germany,[55] or the region writ large like the Neomexicanus hops of New Mexico.[56] Others were named for the farmer who is recognized as first cultivating them, including Goldings or Fuggles from England,[57] or by their growing habit like the Oregon Cluster.[58][citation needed]
Around 1900, a number of institutions began to experiment with breeding specific hop varieties. The breeding program at
Wye College continued its breeding program and again received attention in the 1970s, when Dr. Ray A. Neve released Wye
Particular hop varieties are associated with beer regions and styles, for example
Hops from New Zealand, such as Pacific Gem, Motueka and Nelson Sauvin, are used in a "Pacific Pale Ale" style of beer with increasing production in 2014.[61][citation needed]
Noble hops
The term "noble hops" is a marketing term that traditionally refers to certain varieties of hops that became known for being low in bitterness and high in
As with grapes, the location where hops are grown affects the hops' characteristics. Much as
- Hallertau or Hallertauer – The original German lager hop; named after Hallertau or Holledau region in central Bavaria. Due to susceptibility to crop disease, it was largely replaced by Hersbrucker in the 1970s and 1980s. (Alpha acid 3.5–5.5% / beta acid 3–4%)
- Spalt – Traditional German noble hop from the Spalter region south of Nuremberg. With a delicate, spicy aroma. (Alpha acid 4–5% / beta acid 4–5%)
- Tettnang – Comes from Tettnang, a small town in southern Baden-Württemberg in Germany. The region produces significant quantities of hops, and ships them to breweries throughout the world. Noble German dual-use hop used in European pale lagers, sometimes with Hallertau. Soft bitterness. (Alpha acid 3.5–5.5% / beta acid 3.5–5.5%)
- Žatec (Saaz) – Noble hop, named after Žatec town, used extensively in Bohemia to flavour pale Czech lagers such as Pilsner Urquell. Soft aroma and bitterness. (Alpha acid 3–4.5% /Beta acid 3–4.5%)
Noble hops are characterized through analysis as having an aroma quality resulting from numerous factors in the essential oil, such as an alpha:beta ratio of 1:1, low alpha-acid levels (2–5%) with a low cohumulone content, low myrcene in the hop oil, high humulene in the oil, a ratio of humulene:caryophyllene above three, and poor storability resulting in them being more prone to oxidation.[62] In reality, this means they have a relatively consistent bittering potential as they age, due to beta-acid oxidation, and a flavor that improves as they age during periods of poor storage.[62][64]
Other uses
In addition to beer, hops are used in
Hops may be used in
Hops are of interest for hormone replacement therapy and are under basic research for potential relief of menstruation-related problems.[71]
Toxicity
Fiction
Hops and hops picking form the milieu and atmosphere in the British detective novel,
See also
- Gruit, an old-fashioned herb mixture used for bittering and flavouring beer, popular before the extensive use of hops
- Humulus lupulus, the hop plant
- Mugwort, an herb historically used as a bitter in beer production
- Oast house, a building designed for drying hops
- Rhamnus prinoides, a plant whose leaves are used in the Ethiopian variety of mead called tej
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External links
- Plant of the Month: Hops at JSTOR Daily, June 29, 2022
- . . 1914.