The flower of a climbing vine, used in beer for bitterness and aroma — and, originally, because it kept the beer from spoiling.
Where it comes from
Hops are the cones of Humulus lupulus, a relative of cannabis, grown up tall wirework in temperate regions. They entered brewing in central Europe in the early medieval period and displaced the earlier mixed-herb bitterings known as gruit.
The reason they won was preservation: hop resins inhibit the bacteria that sour beer, so hopped beer travelled and kept. India Pale Ale is the clearest case — heavily hopped to survive a long sea voyage.
Bitterness and aroma come from different parts of the flower and are extracted at different times. Long boiling isomerises the alpha acids into bitterness and drives the aromatic oils off; late and post-boil additions do the reverse.
Varieties
- Noble hops — Saaz, Hallertau, Tettnang, Spalt. Low bitterness, spicy and floral. European lagers and pilsners.
- English hops — Fuggles, Goldings. Earthy, herbal, restrained. Bitters and milds.
- American hops — Cascade, Citra, Simcoe, Mosaic. Citrus, pine and tropical fruit, and the whole character of modern IPA.
- Southern hemisphere hops — Nelson Sauvin, Galaxy. Intensely fruity, distinct again.
- Whole cone, pellet, extract — Forms rather than varieties; pellets are the brewing standard for storage and consistency.
In the kitchen
Hops are essentially a brewing ingredient rather than a cooking one, and the few culinary uses — young hop shoots as a spring vegetable in Belgium and northern Italy — have nothing to do with the cones.
In cooking with beer, the hop bitterness concentrates as the liquid reduces. A heavily hopped IPA in a long braise turns harsh; a malty dark beer does not.
Dishes with hops
Black and TanPale ale layered under stout so the two stay visibly separateNew ZealandSteinlagerCrisp green-bottled lager, the export face of New Zealand beer.United KingdomMarmiteSticky black yeast extract, spread very thinly on buttered toast.LesothoMaluti LagerLesotho's own pale lager, poured at every bar and gatheringFijiFiji BitterCold lager in a stubby bottle, the standard beer at weddings and rugby matchesEl SalvadorPilsenerPale lager poured cold with pupusas and grilled meatLithuaniaLithuanian farmhouse aleUnfiltered raw farmhouse beer, fruity and cloudy, poured from the barrel.Hops is tagged on 94 dishes from 76 countries in the atlas. These notes are written from general knowledge and carry no per-fact citation — see About.