What are hops?

The Hops Cone

Many beers contain hops, they do two very important things to the beer, firstly give it some flavor, hops add a bit of bitterness to the beer and give it a fruity and herbal aroma. The hops also acts as a natural preservative helping the beer keep longer. The hops are actually female flower pods which look like cones from the hop plant called Humulus Lupulus. The plant is a close relation to the Cannabis hemp plant and grows on what is called a bine which is a bit like a vine but has hairs to aid its climbing. The plants grow very fast with it’s shoots growing up to several inches a day. One of the most popular strains of hops are grown in the Hallertau Valley in Germany, other large produces are the USA, the Czech Republic and China. Hops are added to the beer in different ways but we will touch on that in a later story along with a story on some of the popular types of hops – Hallertau, Saaz, Tettnag and Splat .