A look into the world of our favourite flowers... The hops.

Hops are the flowers of the plant Humulus Lupulus and have been used in beer making since the 17th century. They bring to the beer their properties of bitterness and flavour, ranging from floral through citrus and sometimes herbal notes. Hops also have a beneficial effect on the yeasts which brewers use to ferment the beer. Furthermore they help with the formation of the head of foam which tops every good pint.

Hops do not seem to have any other major commercial use and yet they are grown all over the world. The plant is first mentioned in 736 AD but it is first referred to for its use in brewing in 1079 AD.

These days in England, the hop harvest is mostly mechanised, but in former times it was an important part of life for town dwellers who sought to escape from their smoky, crowded towns for a few weeks in September by helping with the hop harvest. All the members of the family could join in, staying together in wooden huts on the hop farms.

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