Hops: Not Just A Beer Ingredient Essay -- Botany

skims Not Just A Beer IngredientThe skitter, Humulus lupulus, is a cultivated flowering shew, green in color that has many economically important roles. The record hop belongs to the hemp family, Cannabinaceae. There argon many features that atomic number 18 distinctive about this plant. A hops plant has yellow lupulin glands among the petals, which is utilize for preservative and flavoring characteristics in beer. The bitterness of the hop is used to balance the sweetness of the malt, and the essential oils add a flavor and fragrance which cannot be achieved by using any other plant. The hop plant is a perennial spiraling vine, which will grow in some any climate given enough water and sunlight. It can burn up either string or poles and can reach height of 40 feet. The flowers are usually dried before use. Farmers have developed a systemic approach to the cultivation of hops. There are also a number of chemical compounds present in this plant that give uprise to its econom ic value. (1) The hop plant has several structurally distinctive properties. The musical theme is stout and perennial. The stem that arise from it every year is of a twining nature, reaching a great length, flexible and very tough, angular and prickly, with a coherent fiber. This fiber has been explored in the manufacturing of a white, durable cloth. The cloth is not of encompassing use because the fibers are so difficult to separate. Normally, the stems require to be steeped in water a whole winter before they can be utilized. Paper has also been made from the stem of the vine. The leaves are heart-shaped and lobed, on stalks, which are oppositely placed on the stem. The leaves have three to septet lobes and are dark green in color with finely sabertoothed edges. (5) The flowers of this plant arise fro... ...ea also features an abundant supply of water for irrigation, do it ideal for growing hops. Pacific Northwest hops and hop byproducts are now exported around the world. On an annual basis, 60% of all hop production from this region goes overseas. The rest remains in the US for civilize consumption. (5) REFERENCES 1. Comptons Encyclopedia Online (www.gptonline.com/comptons). 2. Delyser, D., Kasper, W. Hopped beer the case for cultivation. Economic Botany 48 166-170. 1994. 3. First herbaceous plant Source (www.1stherbsource.com). 4. Haas, G., et al. Antimicrobial activity of hop resins. J. Food Prot. 5759-61. 1994. 5. Hop Growers of America (www.usahops.org). 6. Neve, R., et al. Hops. Experimental Agriculture 28123-124. 1992. 7. Stevens, J., et al. Chemistry and biology of hop flavonoids. J. Am. Soc. Brew. Chem. 10475-82. 1998.