The hop plant, humulus lupulus as scientifically called, is a multiyear climbing plant, genetically related to cannabis, that constitutes the magical ingredient in many beers including Pilsner, Hoppy Lager, Pale ale, IPA, NEIPA, ESB, etc.

It provides unique taste and aroma, characteristic bitterness and it also safeguards beer freshness and improves foam stability. And all this is done with the addition of a tiny quantity; only 2-3 parts per thousand are enough to give special personality to each beer.

Microbrewers have experimented and perfected hop addition techniques during the brewing process. In traditional brewing, hops are added during boiling and the alpha-acids contained in the hop cones are isomerized and produce resins with characteristic bitterness. However, volatile aromatic hop oils with unique aroma characteristics are largely evaporated during boiling. Microbrewers developed the method of dry hopping by carefully adding hops at lower temperatures after the boil, usually during maturation. This way, the volatile oils do not evaporate and add unique aroma characteristics to the beer without the extra bitterness. We just love the dry hopping technique at Craft Microbrewery and we use it in the vast majority of our beers!

The genome of the hop plant is very complex and provides fertile grounds for cross- breeding, a process that constantly generates new hybrid plants with different taste and aroma qualities. The new hops that come out every year enable microbrewers to experiment, learn, and innovate. Unlike big brewers with limited beer variety and fixed recipes, small brewers do not hesitate to use the new hops in order to evolve beer recipes and to produce new and exciting beers year after year. Hop science is directly correlated to the magic, continuous innovation, and taste superiority of the global microbrewery community.