OnTap Magazine

being produced by a few breweries. These are called gruit beers, named after the mix of herbs and spices used in lieu of hops. But bog myrtle can only take you so far, and when folks started to add hops to beer, things got interesting. Hops are far superior to old-fashioned solutions because of their ability to preserve and protect beer from spoilage. Hops also fight bacterial growth, which is good news for the homebrewer. And of course, one of the lovely things about hops is the sheer range available to the modern brewer. There are hundreds of varieties and each year hop farmers release more into the market. Hops are versatile: they impart both bitterness and flavour to beer. Depending on the varietal, you can make your beer taste like flowers, pine cones, herbs, lemons, grapefruit, or anything in-between. This versatility doesn’t just stop at different flavours though. In this issue, we’ll be taking a look at three nifty methods of using hops that’ll give your beer a serious shot in the arm. S o, what’s next? How can you make even better beer? In this article, we’ll look at a very important pathway to advanced brewing: learning how to handle your hops. Before we get there, let’s quickly review why hops and beer are such great partners. HOPS: THE BASICS You may recall that malted grains form the base of beer and supply yeast with vital sugars. The yeast in turn produces alcohol and CO 2 . The funny thing about sugar is that it’s, well, sweet. And unless you want to go old- school, you don’t want to quaff a beer that tastes like it belongs at a four-year old’s birthday party (side note – do not serve beer at a four-year-old’s birthday party, however sweet it may be). In the days when tablets were made of clay rather than silicon and glass, brewers balanced the sweetness of malts with various herbs and spices. These were cool- sounding, Tolkien-esque named things like bog myrtle, yarrow and wormwood. In fact, such drinks are still By now, if you’ve been following this column, you’re well on your way to becoming pretty skilled at crafting your own suds. Your friends are most likely looking forward to your next creations, and you may even have joined your local homebrewer’s club. MARCEL HARPER HOMEBRU 36 / On Tap / Autumn 2018