In the world of brewing beer, few ingredients hold as much significance as hops. These small, cone-shaped flowers are integral to the beer-making process. They’re used to impart not only distinctive flavours and aromas but also provide essential balancing bitterness. We wanted to answer the question of what are hops and what do they do in beer?
Hops are the cone-shaped flowers from the Humulus Lupulus plant. It’s the female part of the plant which bears the hop cones that we use during the brewing process. Hidden inside each cone are tiny lupulin pods, and this is the source of bitterness, aroma, and flavour which is imparted into the beer.
Hops play a few different roles, some of which we’ve already touched on. These are bittering, aroma and flavour, and some have a dual purpose. But how are these used in brewing?
We add bittering hops early in the boil during the brewing process. The high temperatures extract the bitterness and helps balance the sweet wort. We can adjust bittering hops depending on the type of beer being brewed.
Aroma hops are added later into the boil stage, often when there’s only 10-15 minutes left, or even during fermentation, a process known as dry hopping. This late addition preserves the essential oils, which are responsible for the floral, fruity, and herbal notes in the beer.
Some hop varieties are considered dual-purpose, meaning they can be used for both bittering and aroma. These hops have a balanced profile of essential oils and bittering qualities, making them versatile for various stages of the brewing process.
At Brightside Brewing Company, we use a variety of hops, each with their own unique characteristics. Some popular ones we might use are:
Used in Odin, B-Side, and Mancunian
As the name suggests, these hops are known for their strong citrusy profile, with elements of grapefruit, lime, and tropical fruit.
Want to learn more about Citra? Click here.
Used in Northern Lights and IPA
Simcoe hops are used as a foundation bittering hop. It’s known for its favourable aroma qualities and has a pleasantly fruity, yet earthy herbal and piney aroma.
Take a look at more hop features for Simcoe, here.
A super popular hop (accounting for up to 10% of all hops grown in the US), Cascade features in a number of beers we brew at Brightside Brewing. They’re known for their distinct citrus spicy aroma with hints of grapefruit. Cascade hops are suitable for most ales, but lend themselves to American pale ales and bitters.
For more information on Cascade hops, check this out.
Depending on the style of beer being brewed, we might use varying levels and types of hops within the brew. Some beers may use multiple hop varieties to add complexity to the beer, or more simplistic brews may only call on one type of hop within the brew. For example:
Known for their bold hop flavours and high bitterness, often featuring multiple hop varieties. We might use a mix of pellet or whole cone hops during the dry-hopping stage of brewing.
We generally use hops for balancing sweetness in the beer, rather than for prominent hop flavour. The wort (sweet malty water) is super sweet in this style of beer, so the hops counterbalance this characteristic to make the beer slightly more bitter than it would be otherwise.
In a mild beer, we might use more gentle hop varieties. This allows the dark malt bill to be complimented rather than overwhelmed by hop flavours. Our Inn Crowd mild for example uses only a couple of hops, and these provide an extra layer of flavour and a final touch of bitterness.
There’s an important difference between using pellet hops over whole hop cones, and each has their own purposes when brewing beer. Here, we use a mix of these at different stages of the brew.
There are a couple of ways whole cone hops can be used. Traditionally they’re used later during the brew cycle, and typically for any dry hopping phase the beer might require. We also use whole cone hops at Brightside Brewing to create a layered bed within our boiling tank. This helps with the way the beer filters out when being transferred into the fermentation vessels
These are designed to disperse into the beer being brewed and will dissipate their aroma and flavour throughout. Used mainly during the earlier stages of the boil, these compact pellets have an important role in the production of beer.
They’re used to add bitterness into the beer, and by using them earlier on, we can extract as much of these characteristics as possible.
Hops are a super important ingredient in beer, helping balance out the sweetness of the brew and to offer an array of flavours and aromas that define countless beer styles. Whether you’re in the mood for a hop-forward IPA, or the gentle flavour of a stout, the role of hops is undeniable. As we continue to brew new beers, the purpose of each hop variety may change, along with the hop style and how we use them.
If you want to take a look at our selection of beers, be sure to visit our brewery shop.