The North State Brewers' Cooperative

Contact: 315 N. State Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48104
nsbc@umich.edu

established 1997

lessons / hops /

Lesson 4: Beautiful Hops

History

According to traditional Native American medicine, the hop plant is a proven hypnotic, pain killer, blood purifier, and fever reducer. For making beer, hops were first used in continental Europe in the 8th century. The preservative qualities of hops helped battle the spoils of bacteria in this age without refrigeration. Not until the 1500s were hops introduced in Britain by Flemish immigrants. Since this time in Britain, the cultivating of hops continues to spread. Today, hops can be found growing in many areas of the world, with the dominant ones being Germany, the south of England, southern Australia, and the western United States.

Definition

Hops are the green flowers of a vine known as Humulus lupulus. At the base of the flower petals are lupulin glands. These glands produce resins and oils. Resins contain alpha acid, which is the primary component responsible for bitterness, and accounts for less than 16% of the total hop mass. By contrast, oils account for as little as 5% of the total hop mass. This small amount of oil is responsible for a hop's flavor and aroma.

Forms

There are five forms of hops:

1. whole leaf,
2. compressed whole leaf,
3. pellet,
4. oil, and
5. extract

With the exception of oils, all of the above forms contain a percentage measurement of the total hop mass content of alpha acid. In accordance with the above numbering, whole leaf is considered the most fresh and least concentrated form, while extract is considered the least fresh and most concentrated form. Only the extract form requires additional processing by the homebrewer.

Types

Many different types of hops are available in all forms, with new types being developed by researchers everyday. For a complete listing and summary table, see Appendix A.

Usefulness

Since the oil and extract forms aren't held in high esteem by most craft brewers, and because the two forms are difficult to measure accurately, we will not be using these forms. Mostly, we will use the fresher, leaf forms, and, occasionally, the pellet form. In order to extract the bittering qualities, we must boil our hops for a certain amount of time. This time will typically be between 10 and 60 minutes, depending upon the amount of bitterness we wish to impart and the alpha acid content of the particular type of hop used. Longer boils and/or higher alpha acid percentages correspond to higher levels of imparted bitterness. To extract a hop's aroma and flavor, we must steep our hops for a certain amount of time. This time will typically be between 10 and 20 minutes, depending upon the amount of flavor and aroma we wish to impart and the particular type of hop used. Longer steeps correspond to higher levels of flavor and aroma.

Conclusion

As one of the four primary ingredients in beer, hops provide a bitter balance to malt's sweetness. Hops also provide many other important qualities in beer, including: floral/fruity flavoring, natural preservation, clarification, head retention, and flavor stabilization.

Sources

Ray Daniels, Designing Great Beers, copyright 1996 Charlie Papazian, The New Joy of Homebrewing, copyright 1991 Charlie Papazian, The Home Brewer's Companion, copyright 1994 Stephen Snyder, The Brewmaster's Bible, copyright 1997

Appendix A: Hop Types and Summary Table

Types

Brewers Gold (Britain & Germany, 6-10%)
Second only to Northern Brewer production in Germany, Brewers Gold is traditionally used for German lagers and English ales.

Bullion (Britain & America, 5-10%)
Primarily bittering; strong flavors - spicy and pungent. Used mostly for stouts and dark ales.

Cascade (America, 4-7%)
A Fuggles cross-breed. Versatile. Citrusy and floral flavor. Commonly used for American ales and lagers.

Centennial (America, 9-11%)
Bittering, but also very acceptable for aromatic purposes. Medium to dark American ales.

Challenger (Britain, 7-10%)
Only recently available in the United States. A favorite multi-purpose hop used by British homebrewers. Nearly even citrus/spice/floral balance.

Chinook (American, 11-14%)
Primarily for bittering but occasionally for intense aroma. Suits well to American ales and lagers.

Cluster (America, 5-8%)
Primarily a mild bittering hop with a pleasant floral aroma and decent flavor. Light and dark American lagers.

Columbus (America, 12-16%)
Pungently aromatic. Very clean tasting. American amber ale, pale ale, porter and stout.

Crystal (America, 2-5%)
Mostly for finishing. Derived from Hallertauer Mittelfrüh and Cascade. German and American lagers.

East Kent Goldings (Britain, Canada, & America, 4-6%)
Classic aromatic ale finishing hop. Unfortunately, they store poorly. Pale ales, bitter, porters, and stouts.

Eroica (America, 10-14%)
Mostly used for bittering, some aroma. Pale ales, dark ales and stouts.

Fuggles (Britain & America, 4-6%)
Classic finishing hop. Very versatile and popular, with a rounded, mild, and woody aroma. English pale ales, porters, and stouts.

Galena (America, 11-14%)
Extremely bitter. Popular as bittering hop; is said it blends well with finishing hops. American ales and lagers.

Green Bullet (New Zealand, 9-11%)
Bittering. Australian-style ales and lagers.

Hallertau (Germany, 4-6%)
Mellow, spicy fragrance; a good all-around bittering and finishing hop for altbiers, Belgian ales, and all continental-style lagers.

Hallertauer Hersbrucker (Germany, 2-6%)
Mildly aromatic, with a crisp, spicy fragrance; a versatile bittering and herbal finishing hop. Wheats, altbiers, pilsners, Belgian ales, American and German lagers.

Hallertauer Mittelfrüh (Germany & America, 4-6%)
More pungent, assertive, and herbal than Hersbrucker. Continental lagers and German ales.

Hallertauer Tradition (Germany, 5-7%)
Very new aroma type. Likely to find its way into German ales and lagers.

Liberty (America, 4-5%)
Similar to Mt. Hood. American and German ales and lagers.

Lublin (Poland, 3-5%)
Relatively new and scarce in homebrewing. Ideal for pilsners and Belgian ales.

Mt. Hood (America, 4-6%)
Light, delicate aroma. Derivative of Mittelfrüh. American and German ales and lagers.

Northdown (Britain, 8-11%)
Versatile. Derivative of Northern Brewer. British ales and lagers.

Northern Brewer (America, Britain & Germany, 7-11%)
Mostly for bittering. California common beers, dark English ales, and German lagers.

Nugget (America, 11-16%)
Extremely bitter. Distinct herbal/spicy aroma. Medium to dark American ales and lagers.

Omega (Britain, 9-11%)
Especially new. Bittering. Gaining favor among British commercial brewers and homebrewers alike.

Perle (Germany & America, 6-11%)
Hallertau/Northern Brewer hybrid. Lagers, wheats and pilsners.

Pride of Ringwood (Australia, 8-10%)
An acclaimed bittering hop grown primarily in Tasmania. Australian-style ales, and lagers.

Progress (Britain, 6-7%)
Derivative of Whitbread Goldings. Very little demand for this type.

Saaz (Zatec) (Czech Republic & America, 3-6%)
Considered one of the finest varieties ever used in beer. 150-year-old strain. Aromatic, spicy and flavorful. Pilsners, continental lagers and wheats.

Spalter (Germany & America, 4-5%)
Aromatic and flavorful hop considered an alternative to Saaz. Pungent and spicy. Ideal for all German lagers.

Spalter Select (Germany, 4-6%)
Primarily an aroma hop, but also suitable for rounded bittering. German lagers and ales, Belgian ales.

Sticklebract (New Zealand, 9-10%)
Reliable and popular bittering hop among Australian and New Zealand breweries. Australian-style ales and lagers.

Strissel Spalt (France, 3-5%)
Mellow, rounded, and delicate bitterness and aroma. Well suited for pilsners and Belgian ales.

Styrian (Savinja) Goldings (Slovenia, 3-7%)
Strong, warm aroma. Provides a rounded bitterness. English-style ales, Vienna/Märzen lagers, Belgian ales, and pilsners.

Target (Britain, 9-13%)
U.K.'s most popular bittering hop. Robust and spicy. British ales and lagers.

Tettnanger (Germany & America, 3-5%)
Mild, floral, and very aromatic. Bavarian wheats and German lagers.

Ultra (America, 3-4%)
Praised for its floral aroma. Ideal for pilsners and light lagers.

Whitbread Golding Variety (WGV) (Britain, 5-7%)
Considered a Fuggles replacement. Diminishing in popularity in British ales.

Willamette (America, 4-6%)
Spicy, aromatic finishing hop. Derivative of Fuggles. American and British ales.

Yeoman (Britain, 9-14%)
Similar to Target type. British ales and Continental lagers.

Zenith (Britain, 9-10%)
Newer bittering hop with fairly good aroma. British ales and continental lagers.

1. basics
2. history
3. malt
4. hops
5. yeast
6. water
7. all_together