The third main ingredient in beer is hops. In turn, in many countries, hops are considered a rather poisonous plant, and only for this reason all attempts to introduce hops into brewing very often met with the most decisive rebuff, and up to a complete ban, as, for example, in England, until the fifteenth century. ... Therefore, English ale with hops is still called "bitter", which means bitter, but at the same time its hop bitterness is almost invisible compared to other beers.
In turn, hops are an annual climbing plant that belongs to the hemp family. And its shoots climb to a height of six to eight meters. Also, hops are bisexual, that is, dioecious, plant. About brewing you can find out on this site . In brewing, only non-pollinated and female flowers are used, that is, soft and fluffy bumps. And only in them are the substances necessary for beer, which are concentrated to the greatest extent. Also, according to a very ancient saying, "all hop plantations must be exactly like a nunnery."
In turn, hop cones secrete a special bitter resinous substance, that is, lupulin, which contains a very large amount of aromatic resins, as well as essential oils, including some hormones and the alkaloid hopein, and also alpha-acid and beta-acid, and more tannins, that is, tannins. At the same time, the most important for different brewing is precisely the alpha acid. Because the properties of lupulin have not yet been fully studied, although it has long been known that hops can help resist many diseases, for example, it was recommended to drink as much beer as possible for patients with tuberculosis.
Also, the ability of hops to extend the entire shelf life of a given drink was especially appreciated. In turn, hops can also impart a very pleasant bitterness to the beer as well as a characteristic aroma that can increase clarity as well as greatly improve the foaming performance of the beverage. In addition, hops are the most natural preservative and antiseptic, besides, it can inhibit the activity of many bacteria and therefore prevent souring of this wort, and, of course, the finished beer. Also, the production of one hectoliter, that is, one hundred liters, of beer requires exactly from two hundred to seven hundred grams of such hops.
Source: www.suslo.ru
