Hops are the flowers of the hop plant. They are used primarily as a bittering, flavouring, and stability agent in beer, to which, in addition to bitterness, they impart floral, fruity, or citrus flavors and aromas. Hops are also used for various purposes in other beverages and herbal medicine. Many different varieties of hops are grown by farmers around the world, with different types used for particular styles of beer

The most important ingredient in brewing was the last one discovered, because yeast is a single-celled organism that is invisible to the naked eye. Still, brewers have long known that some unseen agent turned a sweet liquid into beer. Long ago, the action of yeast was such a blessing, yet so mysterious, that English brewers called it “Godisgood.”

Although wheat, rye, oats, millet, sorghum, rice and corn have all been used for brewing, barley is the preferred grain for beer. But the starch in a grain of barley isn’t ready to be fermented into alcohol, so the barley is generally converted into malted barley, or “malt.” The process of malting involves soaking the barley, allowing it to germinate, and then stopping germination with heat.