How to Grow and Care for Hop

Common hop is a perennial climbing vine that grows up to 6 m tall. Hops are an essential ingredient in beer brewing due to their bitter flavor and aromatic qualities. Interestingly, common hop contains a compound that acts as a natural sedative, making it a popular ingredient in herbal remedies for insomnia and anxiety. Common hop also has a unique feature of being able to rapidly grow up to 20 cm per day during the growing season, making it an impressive sight in gardens and the wild.

Common hop 'Magnum' was developed at the Hüll Hallertau hop research center in Germany. This deciduous climbing plant is a cultivar of the common hop with similar light green leaves and pendulous green-white cone-shaped flowers. The principal difference with this cultivar is in its bitterness, which has made it popular in the brewing industry.

Common hop 'Nugget' is an American cultivar of the Common hop, released in 1983 and noted for its high alpha acids and low cohumulone content. This cultivar is known to be one of the most vigorous growers among hops and it's distinguished by its floral, resiny aroma. It is often grown as an ornamental vine.