Modern Experimentation – The Most Ancient of Brewing Traditions

When asked to name the three essential ingredients of beer, most people will plump for malt, yeast and hops. The real answer is malt, yeast and water – the same basic formulation as bread. This may seem strange in an age when hops are the dominant flavour of beer, but it wasn’t always the case. In fact, hops were once seen as an adulterer of real beer, a ‘wicked weed’ that destroyed the traditional sweet taste of the ancient and cherished brew. Hops are primarily a flavouring which started to replace other herbs and spices from the end of the medieval period. It is also mildly narcotic, but its success in becoming the dominant ingredient at the time was mainly due to its additional ability to preserve, and so extend the life of the beer.

To the modern brewer, hops are a much loved ingredient with almost limitless potential. But the ancient tradition of incorporating other flavourings is becoming increasingly common, and allows for even more interesting and complex recipes. During the world hop shortages of 2007-8, while larger brewers may have cut back their hops to a bare minimum, to the greatest detriment of the beer, smaller brewers became even more experimental. Ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, orange or lemon peel have all appeared as adjuncts in beers in recent years. But the dominant flavour remains the hop, an ingredient of which many a brewer will wax lyrical long after its narcotic effects have died away. Whereas the malt, yeast and water all play a part in the taste of the beer, hops play a greater role now than perhaps ever before. But the modern brewer is also prepared to experiment with additional flavourings in ways that have not been seen since Tudor times. In doing so, they are continuing the most ancient of brewing traditions, where the brewer selected his (or usually her in pre-commercial times) ingredients from whatever smorgasbord of herbs, fruit and spices were available.