germany produces the most hops in the world.
germany produces the most hops in the world.
who produces the most hops in the world?
germany
hops are the female flower clusters or seed cones of the hop vine "humulus lupulus", which are used as a flavouring and preservative agent in nearly all beer made today. hops had been used for medicinal and food flavouring purposes since roman times; by the 7th century in carolingian monasteries in what is now germany, beer was being made with hops, though it isn't until the thirteenth century that widespread cultivation of hops for use in beer is recorded. before the thirteenth century, beer was flavoured with plants such as yarrow, wild rosemary, and bog myrtle, and other ingredients such as juniper berries, aniseed and ginger, which would be combined into a mixture known as gruit and used as hops are now used; between the thirteenth and the sixteenth century, during which hops took over as the dominant flavouring, beer flavoured with gruit was known as ale, while beer flavoured with hops was known as beer. some beers today, such as "fraoch" by the scottish heather ales company and "cervoise lancelot" by the french brasserie-lancelot company, use plants other than hops for flavouring.
brewing
the transition from gruit to hops throughout europe in the middle ages was a piecemeal, region-by-region process that lasted at least 500 years. it took time for farmers to learn of the existence of hops, how to farm them, when to cultivate them, and their value in brewing beer. brewers had to learn the favourable and unfavourable characteristics of hops, and how to use hops to craft commercially successful beer. even in the middle ages beer was an international commodity, and major brewing cities developed distinctive styles and reputations. brewers had to consider the marketability of their beer, and competition from imports. furthermore, regulations limited brewing ingredients in some jurisdictions. even when a monarch permitted hop brewing, the hops might be taxed. what steps john took to institute hops in flemish brewing is not documented, but he lived during a time when hops were being legalised in nearby jurisdictions. he was age 20 or 21 in 1392, when duke albert i granted the dutch cities of haarlem and gouda permission to brew beer with hops.
gambrinus