Home › Journal › Hops

What are hops?

The plant, what’s inside a hop cone, how hops make beer bitter and aromatic, when brewers add them, where they’re grown, and what they do in alcohol-free beer.

By Rich, founder of Unhopped · Published 6 November 2026 · Sources checked 6 November 2026

The short answer

Hops are the flowers, or “cones”, of Humulus lupulus, a climbing plant in the Cannabinaceae family. Brewers use only the seedless female cones.[1] Inside, a yellow resin called lupulin holds the alpha acids, which turn bitter when they’re boiled, and the essential oils that give hops their aroma.[1][2] So hops give beer its bitterness and much of its smell, and they help protect it: one hop compound, lupulone, “provides potent antimicrobial properties”.[1] They matter even more in alcohol-free beer. “Without ethanol, bitterness, sweetness, and aroma can quickly become unbalanced,” says BarthHaas’s Christina Schönberger.[3] In our directory, Citra is the hop alcohol-free brewers name most: 41 of the 94 beers whose hops we’ve checked use it, ahead of Mosaic (33).

Below: the plant, what’s inside a hop cone, how hops make beer bitter, when brewers add them, where they’re grown, a short history, and what they do in alcohol-free beer. The cluster goes deeper on the types of hops, what “triple hopped” means and dry hopping, and ranks the best hoppy alcohol-free beers with prices.

What is a hop plant?

A hop is a perennial: “Hops are perennial herbaceous plants that live 10 to 20 years.” Each spring the rootstock “sprouts a mass of bines that wrap clockwise around anything they contact”. A bine isn’t a vine: “Unlike vines, which have tendrils, a bine adheres to its support” with stiff hairs.[1] The part brewers want is the cone. “Only seedless female hop cones are used in the brewing industry,” and the glands at the base of its bracteoles “produce the yellow to golden substance called lupulin.”[1]

Inside a hop coneWhat brewers are after, and what each part does.
LupulinThe yellow resin made by glands inside the cone. It holds the alpha acids and the oils.The heart of the cone
Alpha acidsThe main bittering agent: humulone, cohumulone and adhumulone. Made bitter by heat, mostly in the boil.In the lupulin
CohumuloneOne of the alpha acids. Brewers believe its boiled form, iso-cohumulone, gives “a rougher, harsher quality of bitterness”; aroma hops tend to be low in it.Shown on hop analyses
Essential oilsThe source of hop aroma. Humulene, one of the main oils, smells “woody, balsamic”.Lost in a long boil
LupuloneA hop compound that “provides potent antimicrobial properties”.Why hops help protect beer
Seedless female conesThe only part of the plant brewers use.Picked and dried, then used whole or pressed into pellets

Sources: Oxford Companion to Beer;[1][2][4] Craft Beer & Brewing.[5]

What do hops do in beer?

Bitterness. Alpha acids are “stubbornly insoluble” as they are.[2] Boiling changes them: “During the wort boil, alpha acids are converted to water-soluble iso-alpha acids,” and that conversion, isomerisation, “is traditionally one of the main objectives of wort boiling”, which is why the boil must usually last “at least 45 minutes for most hop varieties”.[1] Even then, most of the alpha acid is wasted: “the brewhouse utilization rate rarely exceeds 30%,” and late additions can be as low as 5%.[2] Bitterness is measured in International Bitterness Units, or IBU.[6]

Aroma and flavour. “Essential oils in hops are responsible for the distinct hop aroma.”[1] They’re the reason brewers add hops late, or after the boil: “every minute” in the kettle “drives off and breaks down some of the aromatic oils.”[7]

Protection. Lupulone “provides potent antimicrobial properties”.[1]

How bitter is each style?Bitterness ranges in International Bitterness Units (IBU), from the BJCP 2021 guidelines. Higher is more bitter.

GermanBritish, Irish and American

German

Weissbier
Munich helles
Kölsch
German pils

British, Irish and American

Best bitter
Irish stout
Hazy IPA
American pale ale
American IPA
Double IPA

IBU measures bitter compounds, not taste: hazy IPAs have “less perceived bitterness than traditional IPAs”, and some stouts get as much bitterness from roasted malt as from hops.

Sources: BJCP 2021 Beer Style Guidelines;[8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17] Oxford Companion to Beer.[6]

Show as a table
How bitter is each style?
StyleFamilyBitterness (IBU)
WeissbierGerman8–15
Munich hellesGerman16–22
KölschGerman18–30
German pilsGerman22–40
Best bitterBritish, Irish and American25–40
Irish stoutBritish, Irish and American25–45
Hazy IPABritish, Irish and American25–60
American pale aleBritish, Irish and American30–50
American IPABritish, Irish and American40–70
Double IPABritish, Irish and American60–100

So a helles is gently bitter and a double IPA very bitter. But IBU isn’t the whole story: “Lower temperature suppresses the perceived bitterness of all beverages”, and “Some stouts may derive as much of their bitter character from roasted malts as from hops.”[6]

When do brewers add hops?

Timing decides what a hop does. Early in the boil it gives bitterness; late, flavour and aroma; after the boil, mostly aroma. “The traditional three hops-addition steps are a compromise”: “It takes time in the boil kettle to convert the alpha acids into their isomerized bitter form,” but “every minute of that time drives off and breaks down some of the aromatic oils.”[7] That’s one meaning of “triple hopped”, though not the only one: see what does triple hopped mean?

When hops go in, and what each addition doesFrom the mash to the fermenter. The longer hops boil, the more bitterness and the less aroma they leave.
  1. MashLittle bitterness or flavour: expectations should be “modest”.
  2. First wortHops added as the wort runs off, before the boil. Data suggest more IBUs.
  3. Start of the boil“Usually 60 minutes or more”: the bittering addition.
  4. Middle of the boilSome bitterness, but “the important thing is what happens to the aromatics”.
  5. End of the boilThe last few minutes, or at flameout: “very little bitterness”, but “many of the pleasant aromatics remain”.
  6. WhirlpoolHops rest in hot wort, 60–77°C, keeping “almost all of their character”.
  7. Dry hopInto the fermenter or conditioning tank: hop oils, “no measurable IBUs”.

Sources: Craft Beer & Brewing;[7][18] Oxford Companion to Beer.[19][20]

The last step, dry hopping, has a page of its own: what is dry hopping? It’s also how hazy IPAs get their haze.

Types of hops, in brief

Brewers often group hops by their alpha acid: “low-alpha aroma varieties with alpha acid levels of perhaps 2.5%–6%” and “high-alpha bittering varieties with alpha acid levels of perhaps 10%–15%”.[2] Four old European hops are called “noble”: Hallertauer Mittelfrüh, Tettnanger, Spalt and Saaz. The term is “historical and commercial”, “somewhat arbitrarily assigned”.[1] Modern varieties blur the lines: Citra is high in alpha acid, yet its supplier says it “has become a cornerstone of aroma varieties for all brewers”.[21] Our guide to the types of hops compares 28 varieties.

Hops also come in different forms. “Whole leaf hops are the dried cones of the hops plant and the least processed form available.” “Pellets are produced by shredding dried whole hops and then extruding them through a die.” Wet hops, picked and used undried, “are only available during the autumn hops harvest”, and extracts “allow for very precise dosing of bitterness”.[5]

Where are hops grown?

Hops are “native to the Northern Hemisphere in the temperate zones of Europe, western Asia, and North America”, and are now grown commercially “in both hemispheres between roughly 30 and 52 degrees latitude.”[1] Two countries dominate. In 2025 the world grew hops on 52,660 hectares; Germany, “the largest hop-growing country”, had 18,962 and the USA 17,057. Between them they produced 83% of the world’s alpha acid: Germany 43%, the USA 40%.[22]

Where the world’s hops growHop-growing area in 2025, in hectares.
Germany
USA
Everywhere else

Shares are our arithmetic from BarthHaas’s figures.

Source: BarthHaas Report 2025/2026.[22]

Show as a table
Where the world’s hops grow
CountryHectaresDetails
Germany18,962 ha36% of the world’s hop area
USA17,057 ha32% of the world’s hop area
Everywhere else16,641 haThe world total (52,660 ha) less Germany and the USA

Britain grows hops too. “There are just over 50 British farmers growing British Hops in Great Britain today.” Kent, Suffolk, Surrey and Sussex were first, followed by Herefordshire and Worcestershire, and today “about half of the British Hop production is grown by West Midlands-based farmers and half in the South East.”[23] The British Hop Association lists 34 British varieties.[24]

A short history of hops in beer

Brewers found hops later than you might think. The discovery “occurred probably in the 8th century ad”, and “The first recorded use of hops in brewing dates from 822 ad”, by Abbot Adalhard. “Britain, by contrast, seems to have resisted the joys of the hop for a few more centuries”; for a long time the English “considered the hop plant an ‘unwholesome weed that promoted melancholy.’”[1] Before hops, brewers flavoured beer with herbs. That story is in the history of beer before hops and what is gruit?, and you can still buy beer made without hops.

Hops in alcohol-free beer

Taking the alcohol out of beer takes some of the hop aroma with it. Alfa Laval, which makes dealcoholisation equipment, says its process typically recovers about 50% of a beer’s aroma when the target is under 0.5%, and about 25% for 0.0% beer. Its advice for the 0.0% beers is to dry hop after the alcohol has been removed: “We recommend dry hopping 0.0 beers after dealcoholization.”[25] And without alcohol to balance them, “bitterness, sweetness, and aroma can quickly become unbalanced”.[3]

In our directory of 373 beers, we’ve checked the hops of 94, and 23 say they’re dry-hopped or double dry-hopped, from IPAs to lagers and even a stout.

The hops alcohol-free brewers name mostHow many of the 94 beers whose hops we’ve checked use each one, 6 November 2026. Most name two or more.
Citra
Mosaic
Simcoe
Amarillo
Cascade
Azacca
El Dorado
Nelson Sauvin
Motueka
Saaz
Sabro
Columbus

We count a beer’s hops only where the brewer names them on a page we’ve checked, or the beer’s description on Unhopped does. Hops we haven’t confirmed aren’t counted.

Source: Unhopped’s directory of 373 alcohol-free beers.

Show as a table
The hops alcohol-free brewers name most
HopBeers naming itDetails
Citra4141 of the 94 beers whose hops we’ve checked
Mosaic3333 of the 94 beers whose hops we’ve checked
Simcoe1616 of the 94 beers whose hops we’ve checked
Amarillo88 of the 94 beers whose hops we’ve checked
Cascade88 of the 94 beers whose hops we’ve checked
Azacca77 of the 94 beers whose hops we’ve checked
El Dorado77 of the 94 beers whose hops we’ve checked
Nelson Sauvin77 of the 94 beers whose hops we’ve checked
Motueka66 of the 94 beers whose hops we’ve checked
Saaz66 of the 94 beers whose hops we’ve checked
Sabro66 of the 94 beers whose hops we’ve checked
Columbus55 of the 94 beers whose hops we’ve checked

Citra, Mosaic and Simcoe lead, all American varieties; the European hop named most is Saaz, in 6 beers. You’ll find them all in our guide to the types of hops.

Five hoppy alcohol-free beers to try

The five highest-scoring hop-forward beers in our directory that were in stock at The Alcohol Free Co, Dry Drinker or Wise Bartender on 6 November 2026. All 11 are in the best hoppy alcohol-free beers, with prices at each shop.

Athletic Brewing Run Wild IPA · <0.5% ABV · Unhopped score 8.8 · from £2.52 a can in a case of 24 at The Alcohol Free Co (6 November 2026)

Athletic’s flagship IPA. The brewery describes it as “the ultimate sessionable IPA for craft beer lovers”, brewed with a blend of five Northwest hops, with an approachable bitterness to balance the malt body.

Buy at The Alcohol Free Co →Also at Dry Drinker →Our page on it →

Northern Monk Faith Alcohol Free · 0.4% ABV · Unhopped score 8.8 · from £2.46 a can in a case of 24 at Dry Drinker (6 November 2026)

Northern Monk’s hazy pale, which the brewery describes as juicy and fruit-forward, with bright citrus, subtle tropical fruit and a gentle bitterness. Hopped with Citra and El Dorado.

Buy at The Alcohol Free Co →Also at Dry Drinker →Our page on it →

Athletic Brewing Free Wave Hazy IPA · <0.5% ABV · Unhopped score 8.7 · from £2.51 a can in a case of 24 at The Alcohol Free Co (6 November 2026)

Athletic’s hazy IPA. The brewery describes “a hugely hoppy hazy IPA with a juicy body and velvety pour”, with Amarillo, Citra and Mosaic hops giving tangerine and grapefruit aromas.

Buy at The Alcohol Free Co →Also at Dry Drinker →Our page on it →

Brulo Lust for Life DDH IPA · 0.5% ABV · Unhopped score 8.6 · from £3.26 a can in a case of 12 at The Alcohol Free Co (6 November 2026)

Brulo’s flagship: a 0.5% double dry-hopped IPA with Simcoe, Citra and Mosaic.

Buy at The Alcohol Free Co →Also at Dry Drinker →Our page on it →

Lucky Saint Hazy IPA · 0.5% ABV · Unhopped score 8.6 · from £2.37 a can in a case of 24 at Dry Drinker (6 November 2026)

From the team behind Lucky Saint Unfiltered Lager — a hazy IPA that Lucky Saint describes as juicy, with notes of tropical and stone fruits and hop flavours of tropical fruit, zesty citrus and fresh pine. Hopped with Citra, Mosaic and Simcoe.

Buy at The Alcohol Free Co →Also at Dry Drinker →Our page on it →

ABVs follow each beer’s page on Unhopped; some brewers give “under 0.5%”. UK government guidance, which is voluntary, keeps the term alcohol-free for 0.05% ABV or below, though many beers up to 0.5% are sold in the UK as alcohol-free. More in our 0.0% vs 0.5% guide.[26]

Some links on this page are affiliate links: if you buy through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what we say. How we make money.

Questions people ask

What are hops?

The flowers, or cones, of the hop plant, Humulus lupulus. Brewers use the seedless female cones, for bitterness, aroma and to help protect the beer.

What do hops do in beer?

Boiled, their alpha acids become iso-alpha acids, the main source of beer’s bitterness. Their essential oils give aroma and flavour, and one hop compound, lupulone, is antimicrobial.

Are hops related to cannabis?

They’re in the same plant family, Cannabinaceae. Brewers use only the female hop cones.

Does all beer have hops?

Almost all modern beer does, but not all: gruit and other unhopped beers use herbs instead. See beer made without hops.

Do alcohol-free beers have hops?

Yes, as a rule. We’ve checked the hops of 94 of the 373 beers in our directory, and Citra is the one named most.

Where are hops grown in the UK?

About half of British hops are grown in the West Midlands (Herefordshire and Worcestershire) and half in the South East, where Kent, Suffolk, Surrey and Sussex were the first hop counties. Just over 50 farmers grow them, the British Hop Association says.

Which country grows the most hops?

Germany: 18,962 hectares in 2025, ahead of the USA’s 17,057, BarthHaas says.

Sources

Opened and checked on 6 November 2026. Beer facts, prices and stock come from each beer’s page on Unhopped and the shops’ own listings on the same day.

  1. Carollo Blake V. Hops. In: The Oxford Companion to Beer, ed. Garrett Oliver (Oxford University Press, 2012), via Craft Beer & Brewing. beerandbrewing.com
  2. Brynildson M. Alpha acids. In: The Oxford Companion to Beer, ed. Garrett Oliver (Oxford University Press, 2012), via Craft Beer & Brewing. beerandbrewing.com
  3. Beer Today. BarthHaas issues white papers on alcohol-free brewing, 20 May 2026. Opened 6 November 2026. beertoday.co.uk
  4. Shellhammer T. Cohumulone. In: The Oxford Companion to Beer, ed. Garrett Oliver (Oxford University Press, 2012), via Craft Beer & Brewing. beerandbrewing.com
  5. Carpenter D. 6 Forms of Hops. Craft Beer & Brewing, 20 June 2017. Opened 6 November 2026. beerandbrewing.com
  6. Peacock V. Bitterness. In: The Oxford Companion to Beer, ed. Garrett Oliver (Oxford University Press, 2012), via Craft Beer & Brewing. beerandbrewing.com
  7. Goldman J. Learning Lab: Standard Hops Additions. Craft Beer & Brewing, 25 January 2020. Opened 6 November 2026. beerandbrewing.com
  8. Beer Judge Certification Program. 2021 Beer Style Guidelines: 10A Weissbier. styles.bjcp.org
  9. Beer Judge Certification Program. 2021 Beer Style Guidelines: 4A Munich Helles. styles.bjcp.org
  10. Beer Judge Certification Program. 2021 Beer Style Guidelines: 5B Kölsch. styles.bjcp.org
  11. Beer Judge Certification Program. 2021 Beer Style Guidelines: 5D German Pils. styles.bjcp.org
  12. Beer Judge Certification Program. 2021 Beer Style Guidelines: 11B Best Bitter. styles.bjcp.org
  13. Beer Judge Certification Program. 2021 Beer Style Guidelines: 15B Irish Stout. styles.bjcp.org
  14. Beer Judge Certification Program. 2021 Beer Style Guidelines: 21C Hazy IPA. styles.bjcp.org
  15. Beer Judge Certification Program. 2021 Beer Style Guidelines: 18B American Pale Ale. styles.bjcp.org
  16. Beer Judge Certification Program. 2021 Beer Style Guidelines: 21A American IPA. styles.bjcp.org
  17. Beer Judge Certification Program. 2021 Beer Style Guidelines: 22A Double IPA. styles.bjcp.org
  18. Weikert J. Hops: Start to Finish. Craft Beer & Brewing, 7 July 2018. Opened 6 November 2026. beerandbrewing.com
  19. Brynildson M. First wort hopping. In: The Oxford Companion to Beer, ed. Garrett Oliver (Oxford University Press, 2012), via Craft Beer & Brewing. beerandbrewing.com
  20. Dry hopping. In: The Oxford Companion to Beer, ed. Garrett Oliver (Oxford University Press, 2012), via Craft Beer & Brewing. beerandbrewing.com
  21. Yakima Chief Hops. Citra® Brand HBC 394 (variety page). Opened 6 November 2026. yakimachief.com
  22. BarthHaas. BarthHaas Report 2025/2026 on the 2025 hop crop (news release), 21 July 2026. Opened 6 November 2026. barthhaas.com
  23. British Hop Association. Growers (web page, updated 3 February 2023). Opened 6 November 2026. britishhops.org.uk
  24. British Hop Association. British Hop Varieties (web page, updated 5 July 2022). Opened 6 November 2026. britishhops.org.uk
  25. Alfa Laval. Beer dealcoholization webinar, 21 November 2019: frequently asked questions. Opened 6 November 2026. alfalaval.com
  26. Department of Health and Social Care. Low Alcohol Descriptors Guidance. 13 December 2018. Opened 4 November 2026. gov.uk (PDF)

More on hops