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Hops (Humulus lupulus)

Pertinax

By Pertinax

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Here is the key element to Pantagathus's discursions on "modern" beers.

Beware though-Oestrogenic substances of unknown structure are present-too much and you may become Effeminate! the worst of Roman demeanours. Also of course Hops are the "protestant" additive in ales-displacing the "catholic" gruit combination of psychoactives-hence one behaves with more somnolent decorum.

 

Sedative, tranquiliser, hypnotic (sleep inducing! no you cry ! can this be true?) and aromatic bitter.The hop is strongly antimicrobial , hence its wholehearted adoption for brewing.Fresh hops contain 2-methyllbut-3-ene-ol the key chemical for knocking you out, how much survives commercial processing will depend on initial quality and brewers inclination.The range of constituent chemicals has a very wide variable range, so proper choice of a quality ,fresh , correctly handled product is essential.

 

Interestingly I see that the medicinal dose for a standardised Fluid Extract of Hops is considerably less than many other "everyday" herbs.

 

Check my blog on sacred beer -entry no3 and the cross reference to Pantagathus' own site and essay.

 

The Hop is dioecious, i.e. male and female flowers are on separate plants. The male flowers are in loose bunches or panicles, 3 to 5 inches long. The female flowers are in leafy cone-like catkins, called strobiles. When fully developed, the strobiles are about 1 1/4 inch long, oblong in shape and rounded, consisting of a number of overlapping, yellowish-green bracts, attached to a separate axis. If these leafy organs are removed, the axis will be seen to be hairy and to have a little zigzag course. Each of the bracts enfolds at the base a small fruit (achene), both fruit and bract being sprinkled with yellow translucent glands, which appear as a granular substance. Much of the value of Hops depends on the abundance of this powdery substance, which contains 10 per cent of Lupulin, the bitter principle to which Hops owe much of their tonic properties

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Pertinax

So men, if you want to tone down that hairy back and get rid of your insomnia... Drink more double IPAs!!! :pimp:

 

I'd like to also add that fresh hops smell heavenly!

 

I wonder if thats the Oestrogens :( or the volatile oil content ( only 0.4-0.8%) of , mainly, a-caryphyllene.Of course the family group that the hop belongs to is the Cannabinaceae, which contains some interesting aromatics

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Pantagathus

Of course the family group that the hop belongs to is the Cannabinaceae, which contains some interesting aromatics

 

The family similarity is noticeable to the trained olfactory senses ^_^

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Pertinax

A personal aside here-I still await "Sacred and Herbal Healing Beers" I will be very interested to see how many other plants from the gallery are mentioned in that publication. I have neglected the Nettle , Borage (a pre-battle Celtic Beer I understand) and Rosemary all of which I anticipate being present.

 

The Borage would be full of Gamma Linoleic Acid, get the bloood pumping and reduce any soft tissue inflammation.

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Pantagathus

A personal aside here-I still await "Sacred and Herbal Healing Beers" I will be very interested to see how many other plants from the gallery are mentioned in that publication. I have neglected the Nettle , Borage (a pre-battle Celtic Beer I understand) and Rosemary all of which I anticipate being present.

 

The Borage would be full of Gamma Linoleic Acid, get the bloood pumping and reduce any soft tissue inflammation.

 

I'm going to order my copy as soon as my large backlog of books gets worked down. I just received another 4 books last weekend during belated Christmas with my girlfriends mother. (She did well working from the Amazon wishlist!)

 

Borage makes perfect sense. Excellent adrenal tonic. I've been thinking of adding Borage to our herb garden and may just do it come planting time.

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Pertinax

A personal aside here-I still await "Sacred and Herbal Healing Beers" I will be very interested to see how many other plants from the gallery are mentioned in that publication. I have neglected the Nettle , Borage (a pre-battle Celtic Beer I understand) and Rosemary all of which I anticipate being present.

 

The Borage would be full of Gamma Linoleic Acid, get the bloood pumping and reduce any soft tissue inflammation.

 

I'm going to order my copy as soon as my large backlog of books gets worked down. I just received another 4 books last weekend during belated Christmas with my girlfriends mother. (She did well working from the Amazon wishlist!)

 

Borage makes perfect sense. Excellent adrenal tonic. I've been thinking of adding Borage to our herb garden and may just do it come planting time.

 

Very attractive flower as you will be aware, I have some shots from the Physic Garden in Oxford but they are not presently up to standard. Nettle is of course excelent for the digestion but it is "a windyye herbbe. mufh givvene to flatus" (chlorophyll in abundance) :wacko:

 

gardening with beer in mind?http://www.allaboutbeer.com/features/206.garden.herbs.html :unsure:

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Pantagathus

gardening with beer in mind?

 

Why of course!

 

I had hyssop growing last year for use in a beer but we had an extremely rainy summer and my poor little hyssop that I grew from seeds didn't quite make it in the long run.

 

Nice list. One I'm suprised by (because I've never thought about it in beer not because it's shocking) is bee balm. My mother has an an enormous bee balm plant in her garden... I bet that would be a great flavoring for a wheat beer or pale ale. Perhaps paired with juniper.

 

Another that has kickstarted my beerly imagination is Sweet Woodruff... Might be an interesting flavoring to add to high gravity brown.

 

On a side note, my brother is working on the use of Honeysuckle in a pale ale...

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Pertinax

Woodruff-well yes indeed, containing an aspruloside that is a useful starting point for prostaglandin production! Mild purgative in animals.Should strengthen the gut wall by secretion of healthy mucus.Very fragrant.

 

Hyssop-biblical herb , a cammphone gives it its reputation for chesty coughs.

 

Honeysuckle-hmmm, bit of a laxative, but nice fragrance.Your Brother is also a bon vivant?

As Baron Frankenstein says in "Revenge of Frankenstein"," we are a large family , noted for our productivity since the middle ages".

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Pantagathus

Woodruff-well yes indeed, containing an aspruloside that is a useful starting point for prostaglandin production! Mild purgative in animals.Should strengthen the gut wall by secretion of healthy mucus.Very fragrant.

 

I see it's a good liver tonic as well. Quite important if I want to put it in a high gravity brown! I think the 'mown hay' flavor will impart an earthiness I look for to combat the sweetness of the beet sugar & specialty high gravity yeast. And the 'vanilla' flavor, well that's self explainatory...

 

I also see that the Germans already have a tradition of adding it to white wine in May.

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