History

The first documented link between hops and brewing is from 822 AD when a Benedictine abbot wrote a series of statutes covering the running of the monastery that included gathering sufficient hops for making beer. Evidence suggests that commercial hop cultivation began in northern Germany during the 12th or 13th century and that the Germans were exporting hopped beer from the 13th century onward. The first evidence of hopped beer being brewed in England is from 1412 and for a time English brewers produced both un-hopped “ale” and hopped “beer.”

On April 23, 1516 the Bavarian Reinheitsgebot was put into effect declaring hops one of the three allowable beer ingredients (Yeast hadn’t yet been discovered). In 1710 the English parliament banned the
use of non-hop bittering agents, at least in part to prevent brewers from evading the new
penny-per-pound hop tax. Thus, hops became the dominant bittering agent in beer
throughout the western world.

Source: https://www.aperfectpint.net/Hops.pdf

• While both American and German Hops are both popular in brewing, they differ in flavor profiles. German Hops are delicate with an earthy spicy or floral taste, but American Hops tend to be bolder with a more citrus-like flavor profile. 

Hop Shoots in Butter

Ingredients:

• handful or 2 fresh hop shoots
• 1 garlic clove
• tablespoon butter
• salt
  

Instructions:

1. Pick young hop shoots. Choose only the youngest shoots approximately 15-20 centimeters (6-8 inch) long. 
2. Clean hop shoots and steam them for about 10 minutes.Dissolve butter in the frying pan. Add chopped garlic clove. Saute for a minute and add hop shoots, season with salt. Saute for another few minutes (5-6) and it’s ready. 

Source: https://cookinpolish.com/hop-shoots-in-butter/?