Hops

Hop flower in a hop yard in the Hallertau, Germany

Hops are the female flowers (also called seed cones or strobiles) of the hop plant, Humulus lupulus.[1] They are used primarily as a flavoring and stability agent in beer, to which they impart a bitter, tangy flavor, though hops are also used for various purposes in other beverages and herbal medicine.

In the Middle Ages, beers tended to be of a very low alcohol content (small beer). In Europe, many villages had one or more small breweries with a barley field and a hop garden in close vicinity. Early documents include mention of a hop garden in the will of Charlemagne's father, Pepin III.[2][3] However, the first documented use of hops in beer is from the 9th century, though Hildegard of Bingen, 300 years later, is often cited as the earliest documented source.[4] Before this period, brewers used a wide variety of bitter herbs and flowers, including dandelion, burdock root, marigold, horehound (the German name for horehound means "mountain hops"), ground ivy, and heather.[5]

Hops are used extensively in brewing for their antibacterial effect that favors the activity of brewer's yeast over less desirable microorganisms and for many purported benefits, including balancing the sweetness of the malt with bitterness, contributing a variety of desirable flavors and aromas. Historically, traditional herb combinations for beers were believed to have been abandoned when beers made with hops were noticed to be less prone to spoilage.[6]

The hop plant is a vigorous, climbing, herbaceous perennial, usually trained to grow up strings in a field called a hopfield, hop garden (nomenclature in the South of England), or hop yard (in the West Country and U.S.) when grown commercially. Many different varieties of hops are grown by farmers around the world, with different types being used for particular styles of beer.

History

The first documented hop cultivation was in 736, in the Hallertau region of present-day Germany, although the first mention of the use of hops in brewing in that country was 1079.[7] However in a will of Pepin the Short, the father of Charlemagne, 768 hop gardens were left to the Cloister of Saint-Denis. Not until the 13th century did hops begin to start threatening the use of gruit for flavoring. Gruit was used when taxes were levied by the nobility on hops. Whichever was taxed made the brewer then quickly switch to the other. In Britain, hopped beer was first imported from Holland around 1400, yet hops were condemned in 1519 as a "wicked and pernicious weed".[8] 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).

Hops were imported from France, Holland and Germany and naturally import duty was raised on those; it was not until 1524 that hops were first grown in the southeast of England (Kent) when they were introduced as an agricultural crop by Dutch farmers. Therefore, in the hop industry there were many words which originally were Dutch words, such as oast house, which is derived from the Dutch word eest huis which means "drying house"; scuppet, a large wooden spade used on the hop floor to turn the hops into the hanging pocket or bale, which is derived from the Dutch word schop. Hops were then grown as far north as Aberdeen near breweries for infrastructure convenience. It was another century before hop cultivation began in the present-day United States, in 1629 by English and Dutch farmers.[9]

World production

Hops production is concentrated in moist temperate climates, with much of the world's production occurring near the 48th parallel north. Hop plants prefer the same soils as potatoes. The leading potato-growing states in the United States are also major hops-producing areas.[10] However, not all potato-growing areas can produce good hops naturally. Soils in the Maritime Provinces of Canada lack the boron that hops prefer, for example.[10] Historically, hops were not grown in Ireland, but were imported from England. In 1752 more than 500 tons of English hops were imported through Dublin alone.[11]

Important production centers today are the Hallertau in Germany which, in 2006, had more hop-growing area than any other country on Earth,[12] the Yakima (Washington) and Willamette (Oregon) valleys, and western Canyon County, Idaho (including the communities of Parma, Wilder, Greenleaf, and Notus).[13] The principal production centers in the UK are in Kent which produces Kent Goldings hops, Herefordshire and Worcestershire.[14][15] Essentially all of the harvested hops are used in beer making.

Early season hop growth in a hop yard in the Yakima River Valley of Washington with Mount Adams in the distance
Hop producing country 2012 hop output in tonnes (t)[16]
 Germany 34,434
 United States 27,782
 China 11,000
 Czech Republic 4,338
 Poland 2,206
 North Korea 2,000
 Albania 1,650
 United Kingdom 1,650
 Slovenia 1,338

Cultivation and harvest

A superstructure of overhead wires supports strings that in turn support bines.

Although hops are grown in most of the continental U.S. states and Canadian Provinces,[17] 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. Energy that would have been required to build structural cells is also freed for crop growth.

Male and female flowers of the hop plant usually develop on separate plants (that is, the plant is dioecious), although fertile monoecious individuals appear occasionally. Because viable 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.[18] The flowers from the female plants are used to flavor beer.

Hop plants are planted in rows about six to eight feet apart. Each spring the roots send forth new bines. that are started up strings from the ground to an overhead trellis. The cones grow high on the bine, and in the past, these cones were picked by hand. Harvesting of hops became much more efficient with the invention of the mechanical hops separator, patented by Emil Clemens Horst in 1909.

Harvest comes near the end of summer when the bines are pulled down and the flowers are taken to a hop house or oast house for drying. Hop houses are two-story buildings, of which the upper story has a slatted floor covered with burlap. Here the flowers are poured out and raked even. A heating unit on the lower floor is used to dry the hops. When dry, the hops are moved to a press, a sturdy box with a plunger. Two long pieces of burlap are laid into the hop press at right angles, the hops are poured in and compressed into bales.

Hop cones contain different oils, such as lupulin, a yellowish, waxy substance, an oleoresin, that imparts flavor and aroma to beer.[19] 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 partake and live in hoppers' huts, with even the smallest children helping in the fields.[20][21] 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.[22]

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.[23]

In the US, Prohibition had a major impact on hops productions, but remnants of this significant industry in West and Northwest are still noticeable in the form of old hop kilns that survive throughout Sonoma County, 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.[24] Dauenhauer Manufacturing remains a current producer of hop harvesting machines.

Brewing

Hops are usually dried in an oast house before they are used in the brewing process.[25] Undried or "wet" hops are sometimes (since ca.1990) used.[26][27]

The wort (sugar-rich liquid produced from malt) is boiled with hops before it is cooled down and yeast is added, to start fermentation.

Hop resins are composed of two main acids: alpha and beta acids.[28] Alpha acids have a mild antibiotic/bacteriostatic effect against Gram-positive bacteria, and favor the exclusive activity of brewing yeast in the fermentation of beer. Alpha acids such as isohumulone are responsible for the bitter flavor in the beer.

Cross-section drawing of a hop

Beta acids do not isomerize during the boil of wort, and have a negligible effect on beer taste. Instead, they contribute to beer's aroma, and high beta acid hop varieties are often added at the end of the wort boil for aroma. Beta acids may oxidize into compounds that can give beer off-flavors of rotten vegetables or cooked corn.

The effect of hops on the finished beer varies by type and use, though there are two main hop types: bittering and aroma. Bittering hops have higher concentrations of alpha acids, and are responsible for the large majority of the bitter flavor 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) flavor. Bittering hops are boiled for a longer period of time, typically 60–90 minutes, to maximize the isomerization of the alpha acids. They often have inferior aromatic properties, as the aromatic compounds evaporate off during the boil.

The degree of bitterness imparted by hops depends on the degree to which alpha acids (AAs) are isomerized during the boil, and the impact of a given amount of hops is specified in International Bitterness Units (IBUs). Unboiled hops are only mildly bitter. On the other hand, the nonbitter flavor and aroma of hops come from the essential oils, which evaporate during the boil.

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. The three major components of the essential oil of hops are myrcene, humulene, and caryophyllene, which comprise about 60–80% of the oil for most hop varieties. Farnesene is a major component in some hops. The composition of hop essential oils can differ a lot between varieties and between years in the same variety. About 250 components of essential oils have been identified. 22 of these are known to have significant influence on the flavor and aroma.

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.[29]

Flavors and aromas are described appreciatively using terms which include "grassy", "floral", "citrus", "spicy", "piney", "lemony", "grapefruit", and "earthy". Many pale lagers have fairly low hop influence, while lagers marketed as Pilsener or brewed in the Czech Republic may have noticeable noble hop aroma. Certain ales (particularly the highly hopped style known as India Pale Ale, or IPA) can have high levels of hop bitterness.

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.

Chemistry

Hops contain humulone, isohumulone and humulene which are bitter-tasting compounds. It also contains the natural phenols xanthohumol, isoxanthohumol and the most estrogenic phytoestrogen known, 8-prenylnaringenin.[30]

Varieties

Main article: List of hop varieties

Breeding programs

There are many different varieties of hops used in brewing today. Historically, hops varietals were identified by geography (such as Hallertau, Spalt, and Tettanag from Germany), by the farmer who is recognized as first cultivating them (such as Goldings or Fuggles from England), or by their growing habit (e. g., Oregon Cluster).

Around 1900, a number of institutions began to experiment with breeding specific hop varieties. The breeding program at Wye College in Wye, Kent was started in 1904 and rose to prominence through the work of Prof. E. S. Salmon. Salmon released Brewer's Gold and Brewer's Favorite for commercial cultivation in 1934, and went on to release more than two dozen new cultivars before his death in 1959. Brewer's Gold has become the ancestor of the bulk of new hop releases around the world since its release.[31]

Wye College continued its breeding program and again received attention in the 1970s, when Dr. Ray A. Neve released Wye Target, Wye Challenger, Wye Northdown, Wye Saxon and Wye Yeoman. More recently, Wye College and its successor institution Wye Hops Ltd., have focused on breeding the first dwarf hop varieties, which are easier to pick by machine and far more economical to grow.[32] Wye College have also been responsible for breeding hop varieties that will grow with only 12 hours of daily light for the South African hop farmers. Wye College was closed in 2009 but the legacy of their hop breeding programs, particularly that of the dwarf varieties, is continuing as already the U.S.A. private and public breeding programs are using their stock material.

Particular hop varieties are associated with beer regions and styles, for example pale lagers are usually brewed with European (often German, Polish or Czech) noble hop varieties such as Saaz, Hallertau and Strissel Spalt. British ales use hop varieties such as Fuggles, Goldings and W.G.V. North American beers often use Cascade hops, Columbus hops, Centennial hops, Willamette, Amarillo hops and about forty more varieties as the U.S.A. have lately been the more significant breeders of new hop varieties, including dwarf hop varieties.

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.

Noble hops

Mature hops growing in a hop yard in Germany

The term "noble hops" traditionally refers to varieties of hops which are low in bitterness and high in aroma. They are the European cultivars or races Hallertau, Tettnanger, Spalt, and Saaz.[33] They are not bred as "modern" hop varieties but they are wild hops found and named for a specific region or city in which they were first found or by the farmer which found them or first propagated them. They contain high amounts of the hop oil humulene and low amounts of alpha acids cohumulone and adhumulone, as well as lower amounts of the harsher-tasting beta acids lupulone, colupulone, and adlupulone.

Their low relative bitterness but strong aroma are often distinguishing characteristics of European-style lager beer, such as Pilsener, Dunkel, and Oktoberfest/Märzen. In beer, they are considered aroma hops (as opposed to bittering hops); see Pilsner Urquell as a classic example of the Bohemian Pilsener style, which showcases noble hops.

As with grapes, the location where hops are grown affects the hops' characteristics. Much as Dortmunder beer may within the EU be labelled "Dortmunder" only if it has been brewed in Dortmund, noble hops may officially be considered "noble" only if they were grown in the areas for which the hop varieties (races) were named.

English noble varieties are Fuggle, East Kent Goldings and Goldings. They are characterized through analysis as having 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. In reality, this means they have a relatively consistent bittering potential as they age, due to beta-acid oxidation, and a flavour that improves as they age during periods of poor storage.[34]

Other uses

Young hop bines in North America

Beverages

In addition to beer, hops are also used in herbal teas and in soft drinks. These soft drinks include Julmust (a carbonated beverage similar to soda that is popular in Sweden during December), Malta (a Latin American soft drink) and kvass.

Medicinal

Hops are also used in herbal medicine in a way similar to valerian, as a treatment for anxiety, restlessness, and insomnia.[35] A pillow filled with hops is a popular folk remedy for sleeplessness, and animal research has shown a sedative effect.[36] The relaxing effect of hops may be due, in part, to the specific degradation product from alpha acids, 2-methyl-3-buten-2-ol, as demonstrated from nighttime consumption of non-alcoholic beer.[37][38] Hops tend to be unstable when exposed to light or air and lose their potency after a few months' storage.

Hops are of interest for hormone replacement therapy and are under basic research for potential relief of menstruation-related problems.[39][40]

In preliminary veterinary research, hops compounds are under study for potential activity against pasture-associated laminitis in horses.[41]

Toxicity

Dermatitis sometimes results from harvesting hops. Although few cases require medical treatment, an estimated 3% of the workers suffer some type of skin lesions on the face, hands, and legs.[42] Hops are toxic to dogs.[43]

See also

References

Notes

  1. ↑ "University of Minnesota Libraries: The Transfer of Knowledge. Hops-''Humulus lupulus''". Lib.umn.edu. 2008-05-13. Retrieved 2012-05-20.
  2. ↑ Jackson, Michael (1988). The New World World Guide to Beer. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Running Press. p. 18. ISBN 0-89471-884-3.
  3. ↑ "A short history of hops". 2009-11-20. Retrieved 2010-02-07. |first1= missing |last1= in Authors list (help)
  4. ↑ Hornsey, Ian S. (2003). A History of Beer and Brewing. Royal Society of Chemistry. p. 305. ISBN 9780854046300.
  5. ↑ "Understanding Beer - A Broad Overview of Brewing, Tasting and Analyzing Beer - October 12th, 2006, Beer & Brewing, The Brewing Process". Jongriffin.com. Retrieved 2012-05-20.
  6. ↑ F. G. Priest; Iain Campbell (2003). Brewing microbiology. Springer. pp. 5. ISBN 978-0-306-47288-6.
  7. ↑ Corran, H.S. (23 Jan 1975). Purchase Used: A History of Brewing. Vermont Canada: David and Charles PLC. p. 303. ISBN 0-7153-6735-8.
  8. ↑ Unger, Richard W. (2004). Beer in the Middle Ages and Renaissance. University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 100.
  9. ↑ Bamforth, Charles W. (1998). Beer: tap into the art and science of brewing. Plenum Press. p. 245. ISBN 0-306-45797-0.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1
  11. ↑ "The London magazine, 1752", page 332
  12. ↑ Summary of Reports: Nürnberg, Germany, 14 November 2006, INTERNATIONAL HOP GROWERS’ CONVENTION: Economic Committee
  13. ↑ "NCGR-Corvallis Humulus Genetic Resources". Ars-grin.gov. Retrieved 2012-05-20.
  14. ↑ Norman Moss, A Fancy to Worcesters, Agricultural research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture
  15. ↑ "Herefordshire Through Time - Welcome". Smr.herefordshire.gov.uk. Retrieved 2012-05-24.
  16. ↑ Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). FAOSTAT. Rome, Italy: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
  17. ↑ "Humulus lupulus L. common hop". USDA Plants database. Retrieved 2013-09-13.
  18. ↑ "Interactive Agricultural Ecological Atlas of Russia and Neighboring Countries. Economic Plants and their Diseases, Pests and Weeds. ''Humulus lupulus''". Agroatlas.ru. Retrieved 2012-05-20.
  19. ↑ Andrew, Sewalish. "Hops: Anatomy and Chemistry 101". Retrieved 2013-09-13.
  20. ↑ "Connie's Homepage - Hop Picking in Kent". Btinternet.com. Archived from the original on 2012-07-21. Retrieved 2012-05-20.
  21. ↑ "George Orwell: Hop-picking". Theorwellprize.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-05-20.
  22. ↑ Smith, Keith. Around Malvern in old photographs.. Alan Sutton Publishing, Gloucester. ISBN 0-86299-587-6.
  23. ↑ "Charles Levett Hop Tokens, 60 Bushels Denomination, The Fitzwilliam Museum, fitzmuseum.cam.ack.uk". Fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk. Retrieved 2012-05-20.
  24. ↑ Lebaron, Gaye (2008-06-29). "Hops, once king of county's crops, helped put region on map". Press Democrat. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
  25. ↑ Hough, James S (1991). The Biotechnology of Malting and Brewing. ISBN 978-0-521-39553-3. Retrieved 2009-03-02.
  26. ↑ Aguilera, Elizabeth (10 September 2008). "Hop harvest yields hip beer for brewer". Denver Post.
  27. ↑ Underwood, Kristin. It's Harvest Time at the Sierra Nevada Brewery. Treehugger. 6 August 2009. Retrieved 20 March 2011.
  28. ↑ Rabin, Dan; Forget, Carl (1998-10-01). The Dictionary of Beer and Brewing - Google Book Search. books.google.co.uk. ISBN 978-1-57958-078-0. Retrieved 2009-03-02.
  29. ↑ Palmer, John (2032). How to Brew. Boulder, CO: Brewers Publications. pp. 41–44. ISBN 0-937381-88-8. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  30. ↑ Nikolic, D; Li, Y; Chadwick, LR; Grubjesic, S; Schwab, P; Metz, P; Van Breemen, RB (2004). "Metabolism of 8-prenylnaringenin, a potent phytoestrogen from hops (Humulus lupulus), by human liver microsomes". Drug metabolism and disposition: the biological fate of chemicals 32 (2): 272–9. doi:10.1124/dmd.32.2.272. PMID 14744951.
  31. ↑ Capper, Allison; Darby, Peter (24 March 2014). "What makes British Hops Unique in the world of Hop Growing?" (PDF). British Hop Association. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
  32. ↑ "History of Hops". British Hop Association. Retrieved 19 July 2014.
  33. ↑ "Hop growers union of the Czech Republic". Czhops.cz. Retrieved 2012-05-20.
  34. ↑ "Hop Chemistry: Homebrew Science". Byo.com. 2000-04-28. Retrieved 2012-05-20.
  35. ↑ Plants for a Future: Humulus lupulus Plants for a Future. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
  36. ↑ Franco L, Sánchez C, Bravo R, Rodriguez A, Barriga C, Juánez JC; Sánchez; Bravo; Rodriguez; Barriga; Juánez (June 2012). "The sedative effects of hops (Humulus lupulus), a component of beer, on the activity/rest rhythm". Acta Physiologica Hungarica 99 (2): 133–9. doi:10.1556/APhysiol.99.2012.2.6. PMID 22849837.
  37. ↑ Franco L, Sánchez C, Bravo R, Rodriguez A, Barriga C, Juánez JC (2012). "The sedative effects of hops (Humulus lupulus), a component of beer, on the activity/rest rhythm". Acta Physiol Hung 99 (2): 133–9. doi:10.1556/APhysiol.99.2012.2.6. PMID 22849837.
  38. ↑ Franco L1, Sánchez C, Bravo R, Rodríguez AB, Barriga C, Romero E, Cubero J (2012). "The sedative effect of non-alcoholic beer in healthy female nurses". PLoS One 7 (7): e37290. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0037290. PMID 22815680.
  39. ↑ Bowe J, Li XF, Kinsey-Jones J et al. (November 2006). "The hop phytoestrogen, 8-prenylnaringenin, reverses the ovariectomy-induced rise in skin temperature in an animal model of menopausal hot flushes". The Journal of Endocrinology 191 (2): 399–405. doi:10.1677/joe.1.06919. PMC 1635969. PMID 17088409.
  40. ↑ Keiler AM, Zierau O, Kretzschmar G; Zierau; Kretzschmar (May 2013). "Hop extracts and hop substances in treatment of menopausal complaints". Planta Medica 79 (7): 576–9. doi:10.1055/s-0032-1328330. PMID 23512496.
  41. ↑ "Beer Breakthrough: Hops May Prevent Pasture-Associated Laminitis". Horse Collaborative. 1 August 2014. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
  42. ↑ "Purdue University: Center for New Crops and Plant Products. ''Humulus lupulus'' L". Hort.purdue.edu. 1998-01-07. Retrieved 2012-05-20.
  43. ↑ "Animal Poison Control Center. Hops". ASPCA. Retrieved 2012-05-20.

External links

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