Hops-My Kitchen Herb Tip of the Week

Hops
 

Hops are twining vines with green flowers that resemble small pine cones or berries.
British farmers hung dried hops wreaths in their homes for good luck and prosperity.
Dried hops vines are not widely available, but beer, which is rich in hops, is. This easy
recipe will bring prosperity magic into your home.
 
Bread Recipe:
3 cups self rising flour
2 tbsp. sugar
1 12-ounce can of beer
 

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Pour into a lightly greased bread pan and bake for 40 minutes at 350°F. 
***
Medicine from the Garden: Hops 

by Dena Nishek 

Hops exuberantly twist skyward through spring and flush with their 
own special "flower" in late summer. The vine's pale green blossom, 
technically a strobile, is best known for the bitterness it 
contributes to beer. But there is more to hops than beer. Not only 
are they inspiring plants to grow, but they have medicinal qualities 
as well. 

The hop plant (Humulus lupulus), believed to be a native of Asia, was 
allegedly brought to Europe by Asiatic invaders. Pliny the Elder, a 
Roman historian, noted in the first century A.D. that hops grew wild 
among the willows, like wolves among sheep. This may have inspired 
the plant's botanical name, which means little wolf plant. 

Historically, hops have been used in various cultures to treat a host 
of ailments ranging from poor digestion and intestinal disturbances 
to kidney and bladder stones, constipation, premature ejaculation, 
insomnia, restlessness and anxiety. 

Bitter Medicine
Not all of those medicinal applications have been substantiated, but 
there is evidence for using hops to ease symptoms of digestive 
problems, anxiety and insomnia. Bitter things stimulate the digestive 
system via a complex chain of events that begins at the taste buds. A 
hop tea, which will be quite bitter, can stimulate appetite and aid 
digestion. Hops can be particularly useful when indigestion is caused 
in part by anxiety. One of the active constituents in hops is a 
volatile alcohol that is believed to be partly responsible for the 
plant's sedative properties. Because the plant can relax the central 
nervous system, hops are often used for anxiety and insomnia. In 
fact, Germany's Commission E says hops can be used for "discomfort 
due to restlessness or anxiety and sleep disturbances." Its sedative 
effect is mild overall, so hops are often combined with other herbs 
including valerian (Valeriana officinalis) and passionflower 
(Passiflora incarnata). 

The standard dose is 0.5 g up to three times a day; this could be in 
the form of a tincture or a cup of tea. Whether beer could be 
construed as a hop and barley tincture and considered "medicine" is 
debatable. Thus, a more straightforward delivery system is the cup of 
tea. To brew tea with fresh hops, pour a cup of boiling water over a 
teaspoon of hops and let it steep for 10 to 15 minutes. Drink a cup 
before bed to induce sleep. A good source of fresh hops is your local 
homebrew supply store (The hop varieties are important for beer 
styles, but not as much so for sleep aids.) or your garden-hops are 
easy to grow if you have something for them to climb. 

A Jack-in-the-Hop-Stalk Experience
If you have a trellis to cover or a sunny spot in a child's garden, I 
highly recommend a hop plant. In the spring, shoots emerge from the 
crown of the plant and begin their clockwise, skyward twist. Hops can 
grow 15 to 20 feet tall, though usually not in their first year. 

Without digging too deeply into the plant's soil needs, they prefer 
well-drained, loamy soil with a middle-of-the-road pH. You can buy 
rhizomes to plant in the spring, or root some of a neighbor's shoots. 
Hops need plenty of water but won't tolerate soggy roots so make sure 
the soil is draining properly and allow it to dry between waterings. 
And to prevent pests, as well as mildew, it helps to water the plants 
at their base rather than sprinkling the leaves. 

Once the young shoots have reached a foot or two in height, pinch off 
the weaker ones and select the strongest three or four to train 
around coarse twine strung from a stake in the ground to a 
conveniently tall structure. They seem grateful for the supports so 
only a few "training" sessions are required. By late June the hop 
vines should begin branching out and filling in with leaves and 
burrs, which are the precursors to the pale green hop cones. In late 
August to mid-September you can pick the cones and dry them for 
storage. An easy way to dry the cones is to spread a single layer on 
a screen and keep it in a warm but not sunny place until the cones 
feel papery. You could dry them in a food dehydrator or in the oven-
but don't let the oven temperature exceed 140 degrees F. To keep hops 
from oxidizing and losing their flavor and essential oils, store them 
in an air-tight container in the freezer. Try to use them within a 
year for optimal freshness. 

The vines will drop their leaves and die back in the fall. Dead vines 
can be cleared away or left as a natural trellis for the next year's 
shoots. 

Dena Nishek writes and gardens from her home in Boulder, Colorado, 
where she's turning sections of stubborn sod and heavy clay soil into 
beautiful and satisfying gardens. In addition to pursuing her master 
gardener certification, she enjoys cooking, brewing beer and tandem 
cycling. Dena also loves lingering in flea markets and salvage yards 
looking for the perfect find. Dena's writing credits include Natural 
Home, Delicious!, Zymurgy and Nutrition Science News. 



References 
The Classic Guide to Hops. Zymurgy Special Issue 1997; 20(4). 
The Complete German Commission E Monographs: Therapeutic Guide to 
Herbal Medicines. American Botanical Council, 1998. 
Bratman, S. Your Complete Guide to Herbs. Prima Publishing: 
Sacramento (Calif.); 1999. 
Duke, J. The Green Pharmacy. St. Martin's Paperbacks: New York; 1997. 
Hoffmann, D. The New Holistic Herbal. Element Inc.: Rockport (Mass.); 
1991. 
Tyler, V.E. and Foster, S. Tyler's Honest Herbal-A Sensible Guide to 
the Use of Herbs and Related Remedies. Haworth Press Inc.: New 
York;1999.

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