One of the greatest flavor enhancers in beer is hops (Humulus lupulus L.), often referred to as the “spice” of beer. Hops have been used almost exclusively for brewing purposes for 1,200 years or more. German beermakers have been using wild hop to flavor their brew for hundreds of years.
Hops likely originated in China, but the first documented use was in the 8th century when Benedictine monks used them for brewing in a Bavarian abbey outside of Munich, Germany.
The first cultivated hops were introduced into the United States from Europe by the Massachusetts Company in 1629 to stabilize local hop availability. Hop cultivation spread along the Eastern seaboard as new towns and communities provided support for hop production.
The first commercial hop yard in the United States was established in New York in 1808. By the late 1700s and early 1800s, the New England states became the dominant American hop growing region. By the mid-1800s, the state of New York controlled the largest US hop acreage, reaching its peak in the last decades of the century. In 1859 seven‐eighths of the nation's hops were harvested in New York State.
Cultivation of the crop rapidly spread south and west. Wisconsin became a major producer of hop for a brief period late in the nineteenth century, but New York remained the leader until the crop was virtually wiped out in both states by downy mildew in the 1920s.
History of hops in United States
