What's the use of hops called the soul of beer?

On a hot summer day, a cool glass of beer may be the best choice to cool off the heat, but you know, the reason why beer is so refreshing and fragrant is because "hops" are added to the wine.

Hops are also called hops.

Many people don't know what hops are. Blue elephant puree beer I tell you: In fact, hops are a Humulus plant of Moraceae, which looks like a vine climbing a wall. When flowering in autumn, there will be two kinds of flowers, male and female, which will bear spherical ears.

In the Compendium of Materia Medica in China, hops are called hops, which have strong medicinal value and can treat tuberculosis and stimulate appetite.

When brewing beer, the brewer only takes its cone-shaped fruit, because the oil, tannin and other components contained in it can give beer bitterness, flavor and aroma. Not only that, hops can also prolong the shelf life of beer and are natural preservatives.

Second, the development history of hops

In Europe before the Middle Ages, the beer styles of different countries were basically the same, which was firmly controlled by the church forces. At that time, the taste of beer could only rely on a raw material called "Grut".

Due to the great influence of the religious reform in northern and western Europe, "Grut" has become one of the best tools for collecting taxes and making money, while other regions have been set up with extremely high trade barriers, so small countries in Central Europe, represented by Germany, have begun to look for ways to make wine without relying on "Grut".

With the development and prosperity of the hop industry by the Nordic Business Alliance, German monasteries first tried to brew beer with hops. It is found that the advantages of hops are much higher than the original "Grut", and the brewed beer is not only mellow and easy to drink, but also more fragrant. This trend completely shattered the "Grut" style, making hops one of the basic raw materials of all our beer today.

If we want to date back, commercial hops should have been planted in northern Germany in the12-13rd century. Local brewers provide beer with hops to low-lying countries, and hops beer became popular in the Netherlands in 1390.

In the17th century, the planting of hops landed in North America with American immigrants, and moved westward with American railways. But the same thing didn't happen in Britain until18th century. Hop planting covered 40 counties in Britain and reached its peak in 1879. As for the introduction of hops in China, it began in 1950s.

Third, the brewing value of hops

As one of the most important brewing materials of beer, hops have the following four values:

1, foam formation

A key to judge the quality of beer is whether the foam is strong and lasting. When hops and malt are combined, humulone and foaming protein will react chemically to form foam in beer. High-quality hops can make beer appear delicate, white and lasting foam.

2. Natural anticorrosion

Hop is a natural preservative, which can not only add refreshing aroma to beer, but also extend the shelf life of beer. After hops are added to beer, it is no longer easy to deteriorate, resulting in beer waste.

There is also an interesting story about the preservation of hops. During colonial rule, the British came to India. Because no "English gentleman" had the courage to drink the mysterious Ganges water, he had to use alcoholic drinks as water source temporarily, but beer was easy to deteriorate during transportation, so wine merchants added a lot of hops to beer to prevent corrosion, and thus formed a new fine brewing category-IPA (India Pale Aier).

Step 3 clarify the wort

When brewing and boiling wort, wort is often turbid. Adding hops to the wort and boiling it can make the protein in the wort compound and separate out, so that the wort becomes clear and the brewed beer is more pure and transparent.

Step 4 balance sweetness

When brewing beer at first, dates, coconuts or honey are added to sweeten it, but such beer is easy to get bored.

After adding hops, the taste of hops will blend with the sweetness of wort, so that the balance of sweetness will quench thirst and stimulate people's appetite.

As the "soul of beer", hops are mainly distributed in the area between 30 and 60 north latitude, mainly in Europe, Asia and North America, among which hops from Germany, Britain and the United States are particularly prominent.

Where people gather, there is a friend's wine shop, and where there are pairs of chopsticks, it is inseparable from "drinking heartily". A good beer can be used in one place, sharing happiness and showing true nature. This is the correct way to open it. Blue elephant puree beer accompanies you every carefree "true temperament" moment.