The History Of Hops - Humulus Lupulus

Other Common Names: Hop; Common Hop, European Hops, Hoppu, Lupulin, Lupulo, Omerotu, Oubion, Serbetciotu, Humulus Lupulus

Range: Belgium; Britain; China; Germany; Nepal; Russia; Spain; Turkey; USA;

Habitat: Hedgerows, woodlands and sunny waste ground.

The origin of the name of the Hop genus, Humulus, is considered doubtful, though it has been assumed by some writers that it is derived from humus, the rich moist ground in which the plant grows. The specific name Lupulus, is derived from the Latin, lupus (a wolf), because, as Pliny explains, when produced among osiers, it strangles them by its light, climbing embraces, as the wolf does a sheep. The English name Hop comes from the Anglo-Saxon hoppan (to climb).

Hops appear to have been used in the breweries of the Netherlands in the beginning of the fourteenth century. In England they were not used in the composition of beer till nearly two centuries afterwards. The liquor prepared from fermented malt formed the favorite drink of our Saxon and Danish forefathers. The beverage went by the name of Ale (the word derived from the Scandinavian ?l - the Viking's drink) and was brewed either from malt alone, or from a mixture of the latter with Honey and flavored with Heath tops, Ground Ivy, and various other bitter and aromatic herbs, such as Marjoram, Buckbean, Wormwood, Yarrow, Woodsage or Germander and Broom. They knew not, however, the ale to which Hops give both flavor and preservation. For long after the introduction of Hops, the liquor flavored in the old manner retained the name of Ale, while the word of German and Dutch origin, Bier or Beer, was given only to that made with the newly-introduced bitter catkins.

'Hops,' says John Evelyn, in his Pomona (1670), 'transmuted our wholesome ale into beer, which doubtless much alters its constitution. This one ingredient, by some suspected not unworthily, preserves the drink indeed, but repays the pleasure in tormenting diseases and a shorter life.'

Hops have a long and proven history of herbal use, where they are employed mainly for their soothing, sedative, tonic and calming effect on the body and the mind. Their strongly bitter flavor largely accounts for their ability to strengthen and stimulate the digestion, increasing gastric and other secretions.

The female fruiting body is anodyne, antiseptic, antispasmodic, diuretic, febrifuge, hypnotic, nervine, sedative, stomachic and tonic. The hairs on the fruits contain lupulin, a sedative and hypnotic drug. When given to nursing mothers, lupulin increases the flow of milk - recent research has shown that it contains a related hormone that could account for this effect.

Hop flowers are much used as an infusion or can also be used to stuff pillows where the weight of the head will release the volatile oils. The fruit is also applied externally as a poultice to ulcers, boils, painful swellings etc. The female flowering heads are harvested in the autumn and can be used fresh or dried. The female fruiting body contains humulone and lupulone, these are highly bacteriostatic against gram-positive and acid-fast bacteria.

Young leaves and young shoots - cooked. The flavor is unique and, to many tastes, delicious. Young leaves can be eaten in salads.The leaves contain rutin.The fleshy rhizomes are sometimes eaten. A tea is made from the leaves and cones. It has a gentle calming effect.

The dried flowering heads of female plants are used as a flavoring and preservative in beer. The flowering heads are sprinkled with yellow translucent glands, which appear as a granular substance. Much of the hop's use as a flavoring and medicinal plant depends on the abundance of this powdery substance.

The seeds contain gamma-linolenic acid, an essential fatty acid that is said to have many important functions in the human body and is rarely found in plant sources.

Known Hazards: Skin contact with the plant causes dermatitis in sensitive people. Dislodged hairs from the plant can irritate the eye.

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