Hop

Hop (Humulus lupulus) is a wild perennial creeping, twining herb up to 8 meters high, which bears male and female flowers on separate plants. It has dark green, heart-shaped leaves and green-yellow flowers. A volatile oil, called lupulin, is formed in the glandular hairs of the cones or 'strobiles'.

Hop is native to Europe and North America, cultivated worldwide, especially in USA, Yugoslavia and Germany. The oil is mainly produced in France, UK and Germany.

The essential oil is obtained by steam distillation from dried cones or catkins, known as 'strobiles'. It is a pale yellow to reddish-amber liquid with a rich, spicy-sweet odour. An absolute is also produced by solvent extraction for perfumery use.

The main constituents of the essential oil are humulene, myrcene, caryophyllene and farsene, with over 100 other trace components.

It is employed as a fragrance ingredient in perfumes, especially spicy or oriental types, could be used in flavour work in tobacco, sauces and spice products, mainly in alcoholic drinks, especially beer to which isohumulones gave a palate-cleansing bitterness that provides beer with its unusual property of drinking.