Hops are the flowers, seed cones or strobiles of the hop plant Humulus lupulus a member of the Cannabaceae family of flowering plants.They are used as a bittering, flavouring, and stability agent in beer. In addition to bitterness, they impart floral, fruity, or citrus flavours and aromas. Hops are also used for various purposes in other beverages and herbal medicine. The hops plants have separate female and male plants, and only female plants are used for commercial production. The hop plant is a vigorous, climbing, herbaceous perennial, usually trained to grow up strings in a field called a hopfield, hop garden, or hop yard. The Cascade hops is the most widely used American hop used in India pale ales and citrus-flavored beers. Centennial hops is used for a more bitter taste in beers. Cluster, Liberty, Aroma and Pearl hops are also used in types of beers. The highest yields are with full size plants on high trellises 16-20 feet off the ground. About 900 plants per acre are planted about 3ft apart in rows 12 ft apart. The plants grow up twine (coconut coir) which at harvest time is cut at top and bottom. Common varieties include Cascade, Willamette, Mt Hood, Fuggle, Liberty, and Perle are aroma varieties, and Brewers Gold, Chinook, Centennial, Nugget and Newport are a few bittering varieties that are being grown in the Northeast USA.
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