The Global Hop: An Agricultural Overview of the Brewer’s Gold

Abstract

A volume on the geography of beer would be incomplete without a detailed overview of hops, the ingredient that adds bitterness and aroma to beer and acts as a preservative. This chapter explains how European civilizations first used hops in beermaking by the ninth century, and how farmers and brewers spread knowledge of its cultivation to temperate regions across the world. Physical, cultural, and economic geographies have played crucial roles in this story. The history reflects how plants, people, and ideas engaged in global exchanges over centuries as a means to achieve agricultural and brewing success. In the twenty-first century, commercial hop growing occurs in many temperate regions of the world. But that was not always the case, and understanding how this specialty crop developed helps us better understand the contents of our beer glasses.