Benefits of hops
- Dec 07, 2021
- 149
- tiantai
Hops offer such versatility to craft beer, with brewers able to dream up almost any flavors and bring them to life—invoking tropical fruits, fragrant flowers, herbal tones (think tea), freshly cut grass (really), and more. When you track the evolution of India Pale Ale (IPA), you see that American craft brewers especially have enjoyed pushing hops to their limits.
Hops serve other purposes in beer, namely providing inherent preservative qualities. The acids within hop resin are naturally antimicrobial, helping ward off spoiling bacteria during fermentation. And this defender role carries through to the finished beer, where hops also curb the development of off flavors.
This isn’t new science either; hops have worked hard for centuries. By the latter 1700s, British brewers learned to crank up the hops when shipping beer to faraway destinations. Those ocean journeys were long, and hops extended beer’s life.
While hops aren’t a kitchen staple, you might see them selectively incorporated into food—perhaps toward a marinade or, say, a sauce like pesto. Daniel Grice, the head chef at our Chico Taproom, says we grind hops into our salt specifically to “add a little hop bite to our French fries.” Beyond that, “the bitterness hops create in food tends to be overpowering,” he says.
To be clear, cooking with finished beer is another story, lending itself to more culinary adventure. Hops no doubt may be part of the beer’s flavor profile, but you have more control over what characteristics transfer to the dish du jour.
We’ve managed to infuse hops into other playful products, like our Hops-n-Mint lip balm that features distilled hop oil, and aromatherapy soap with hops among the all-natural ingredients.
And when it comes to fermentation, hops aren’t restricted to craft beer. We’ve recently started brewing Strainge Beast hard kombucha, and while organic fruits and botanicals are the headliners, organic hops also help bring these deliciously different flavors to life.
Hops serve other purposes in beer, namely providing inherent preservative qualities. The acids within hop resin are naturally antimicrobial, helping ward off spoiling bacteria during fermentation. And this defender role carries through to the finished beer, where hops also curb the development of off flavors.
This isn’t new science either; hops have worked hard for centuries. By the latter 1700s, British brewers learned to crank up the hops when shipping beer to faraway destinations. Those ocean journeys were long, and hops extended beer’s life.
While hops aren’t a kitchen staple, you might see them selectively incorporated into food—perhaps toward a marinade or, say, a sauce like pesto. Daniel Grice, the head chef at our Chico Taproom, says we grind hops into our salt specifically to “add a little hop bite to our French fries.” Beyond that, “the bitterness hops create in food tends to be overpowering,” he says.
To be clear, cooking with finished beer is another story, lending itself to more culinary adventure. Hops no doubt may be part of the beer’s flavor profile, but you have more control over what characteristics transfer to the dish du jour.
We’ve managed to infuse hops into other playful products, like our Hops-n-Mint lip balm that features distilled hop oil, and aromatherapy soap with hops among the all-natural ingredients.
And when it comes to fermentation, hops aren’t restricted to craft beer. We’ve recently started brewing Strainge Beast hard kombucha, and while organic fruits and botanicals are the headliners, organic hops also help bring these deliciously different flavors to life.
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