ABSTRACT

147 148Although beer is first thought to have been brewed in Babylon as long ago as 7000 BC, hops were almost certainly not used in brewing until very much later. 1,2 There is some evidence to suggest that hops were grown in central Europe before 1000 AD, but it is unclear whether these were used in beer or merely for inclusion in early medicines and herbal remedies. Hops were probably first grown for brewing in Germany and the Czech Republic sometime between 1000 and 1200 AD. Their horticulture and use then gradually spread throughout Europe, eventually being imported into England during the fourteenth century. The famous Reinheitsgebot, or Purity Law, in which it was decreed that beer might be brewed only using (malted) barley, hops, and water, was issued by the Duchy of Bavaria in 1516. From Europe, hop-growing spread fairly rapidly with the early European settlers to the United States and South Africa (seventeenth century), Australia and New Zealand (early nineteenth century), and also during the 1800s and 1900s into several other countries, many of which no longer grow significant quantities of this perennial crop (Canada, for example). Apart from their obvious flavor benefits, the attraction of hops to early brewers appears to have been related to their preservative qualities, which were particularly relevant before the introduction of refrigeration.