Hops

Hops are the flowering cones of Humulus, used as a bittering and aroma plant. For U.S. malt-beverage labeling, a malt beverage is fermented from malted barley with hops, or their parts, or their products ¹. That is why Beer is not grape wine. The definition allows hop parts and hop products; it is not a varietal catalog.

Domestic honey wine may include hops, not more than one pound for each 1,000 pounds of honey ². That cap is a production limit on Mead, not a beer IBU.

What to notice. Resin, citrus, or grass on the nose; bitterness on the tongue that is not tannin from grape skins. Old hops smell cheesy. Barley malt is the sugar; hops are not fermentable in the sense that wort is. Return to Drinks.