For The Love of Hops: The Practical Guide to Aroma, Bitterness and the Culture of Hops
Nov 2012 · Brewers Publications
4.4star
13 reviewsreport
Ebook
326
Pages
family_home
Eligible
info
reportRatings and reviews aren’t verified Learn More
About this ebook
Hops, once a marginal player in modern brewing, have risen to iconic status thanks to the American craft beer revolution. In For the Love of Hops Stan Hieronymus explores the rich history, cultivation, and science behind this essential brewing ingredient.
Hops have a long and mysterious past. Hieronymus unpacks their story with a discerning eye, separating fact from myth through deep research into historical records, scientific studies, and interviews with experts and growers. His work offers a compelling, wide-ranging look at how hops evolved from a supporting player to a defining feature in beer.
From field to fermenter, the path of the hop is anything but simple. Hieronymus blends technical details—such as hop anatomy and growth cycles—with firsthand stories from farming families who’ve cultivated hops for generations. He leads readers through historic and emerging growing regions: Germany, the Czech Republic, England, the U.S., Australia, and New Zealand. Along the way, he illustrates the challenges growers face, from crop diseases to shifting market demands.
Hieronymus also provides a catalog of over 100 hop varieties, from noble Old World types like Saaz and Tettnang to bold New World stars like Cascade, Amarillo, and Nelson Sauvin. Each entry includes vital stats and insights on flavor, aroma, and usage.
Once harvested, hops unlock a brewer’s full creative range. The book dives into their essential compounds—alpha and beta acids—and how they influence bitterness, flavor stability, and aroma. Hieronymus breaks down a variety of hopping techniques, including:
He also explores how the perception of bitterness varies by individual and how exposure to heavily hopped beers can change our taste preferences—a phenomenon known as the “lupulin shift.” The development and meaning of IBUs (International Bitterness Units) are explained in context, helping demystify a widely misunderstood metric.
To ground theory in practice, the book features 16 beer recipes from renowned breweries in the U.S., Belgium, Germany, England, New Zealand, and more. These recipes reveal how top brewers use hops to shape character and balance.For the Love of Hops is both educational and inspiring—a must-read for brewers, beer lovers, and anyone interested in the flower that changed beer forever.
Hops have a long and mysterious past. Hieronymus unpacks their story with a discerning eye, separating fact from myth through deep research into historical records, scientific studies, and interviews with experts and growers. His work offers a compelling, wide-ranging look at how hops evolved from a supporting player to a defining feature in beer.
From field to fermenter, the path of the hop is anything but simple. Hieronymus blends technical details—such as hop anatomy and growth cycles—with firsthand stories from farming families who’ve cultivated hops for generations. He leads readers through historic and emerging growing regions: Germany, the Czech Republic, England, the U.S., Australia, and New Zealand. Along the way, he illustrates the challenges growers face, from crop diseases to shifting market demands.
Hieronymus also provides a catalog of over 100 hop varieties, from noble Old World types like Saaz and Tettnang to bold New World stars like Cascade, Amarillo, and Nelson Sauvin. Each entry includes vital stats and insights on flavor, aroma, and usage.
Once harvested, hops unlock a brewer’s full creative range. The book dives into their essential compounds—alpha and beta acids—and how they influence bitterness, flavor stability, and aroma. Hieronymus breaks down a variety of hopping techniques, including:
- Early &Late Additions – How timing shapes flavor.
- First Wort Hopping – Adding hops before the boil.
- Hop Bursting & Continuous Hopping – Techniques for maximizing aroma.
- Dry Hopping – A full chapter dedicated to this aromatic art, from 19th-century England to today’s cutting-edge methods like hop rockets and torpedoes.
He also explores how the perception of bitterness varies by individual and how exposure to heavily hopped beers can change our taste preferences—a phenomenon known as the “lupulin shift.” The development and meaning of IBUs (International Bitterness Units) are explained in context, helping demystify a widely misunderstood metric.
To ground theory in practice, the book features 16 beer recipes from renowned breweries in the U.S., Belgium, Germany, England, New Zealand, and more. These recipes reveal how top brewers use hops to shape character and balance.For the Love of Hops is both educational and inspiring—a must-read for brewers, beer lovers, and anyone interested in the flower that changed beer forever.
Ratings and reviews
4.4
13 reviews
About the author
Stan Hieronymus is a lifelong journalist who has made beer his beat since 1993. Former editor at RealBeer.com and ProBrewer.com and former co-travel editor for All About Beer magazine, he remains an enthusiastic traveler, happily sharing what he learns along the way. He's authored four books for Brewers Publications – Brewing Local (2016), For the Love of Hops: The Practical Guide to Aroma, Bitterness and the Culture of Hops (2012), Brewing with Wheat (2010) and Brew like a Monk (2005) – and contributed to many more. He's also written hundreds of articles for multiple publications and blogs at www.appellationbeer.com.
Rate this ebook
Tell us what you think.
Reading information
Smartphones and tablets
Install the Google Play Books app for Android and iPad/iPhone. It syncs automatically with your account and allows you to read online or offline wherever you are.
Laptops and computers
You can listen to audiobooks purchased on Google Play using your computer's web browser.
eReaders and other devices
To read on e-ink devices like Kobo eReaders, you'll need to download a file and transfer it to your device. Follow the detailed Help Center instructions to transfer the files to supported eReaders.
