Historic Hop alternatives.

[barabool]

Found an interesting article in the Kilmore Free Press from 1883

BEER. (1883, February 15). Kilmore Free Press (Kilmore, Vic. : 1870 - 1954), p. 4 Edition: MORNING. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article57702672

BEER
Comsiderable commotion (the British
Medical Jorurnal states) has been raised in the
beer-brewing and beer drinking world by a
letter published in a contemporary, written
by a firm of drug-brokers in Mincing-lane,
with reference to the substitution of drugs
possessing bitter flavour and tonic qualities
forjhops. They state that, in consequence of
the failure of this season's crop of English
hops, calumba root, camomiles, quassia, and
cheretta have greatly advanced in price,
thereby implying that these substances are
likely to be largely employed in producing
the flavour dear to the palate of the consumer
of" bitter." The great firms of brewers
have, in consequence, unanimously protested
that they never use anything but hops to
produce the bitter constituent of their beers,
and therefore practically deny the inference
to be drawn from Messrs. Joseph's. statistics.
This, doubtless, is the fact ; but if the case
were otherwise, and- the drugs named were
used in the brewing of bitter beer, no possible
injury, but rather benefit, would result to
the beer,,drinking public,. Few old Indians,,
or any persons suffering from the possession,
of the "liver," but know the good effects of
calumba; quassia is also one of the most
efficient vegetable bitters known to phar-.
macists. The same may be said of oheretta
and camomiles; so that, even if the hop crop
were deficient, it is certain that the public
health would not suffer, and drinkers of bitter
beer would not detect any difference of flavor
in their beloved beverage.

 

[Greg.L]

There is a tree from america called Ptelea trifolia (hop tree) in the citrus family, said to have been used as a hop substitute.

In Australia we have dodonea, "hop bush" reputed to have been used by settlers when no hops were available. Early settlers in Australia were very keen on the booze, even used it for currency, so they probably tried a lot of hop substitutes. If you read accounts of early travellers, drunkeness is a common theme.

 

[barabool]

This is interesting -



I wonder what sort of hops Australia would have been importing into England in 1829?
I can find a lot of references to "Colonial Hops" and the 'caput mortuum' of the imported English hops in the earlier days of colonisation. But no mention of types or if there were something natural already in Tasmania or if rhizomes were imported with the convicts.
Reference: The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser 9 May 1829: 2. <http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article2192393>.

 

[TimT]

I started a thread about a similar topic here.

You shouldn't really think of other herbs as hop alternatives though - each bring their own qualities to the brews. That said, some herbs will bring a taste to a beer quite similar to that of hops: alehoof or ground ivy (glechoma hederacae) is supposed to have a taste almost identical to hops (at least according to one brewing book I've read). I had some in the gardens but the bloody snails got to it! I'll give it another go in spring.

Most of my brews at the moment don't have hops. Best herb, so far, is yarrow: it brings a lovely warm taste to a brew - not a harsh bittering like hops.

 

[barabool]

History of hops in Australia:
From the book

To Feed A Nation: A History of Australian Food Science and Technology
edited by Keith Farrer
http://books.google.com.au/books?id=GX75Ru2AJKAC&lpg=PA21&ots=5Sv3x0aZ2X&dq=Daedalus%20hops&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q=Daedalus%20hops&f=false


Brewing and other fermentations
Brewing
In the 18th century the water supply was usually polluted and it was far safer for the ordinary man to drink ale or beer. In any case, Sydney was settled by hard drinkers. and though beer and porter were imported from the beginning these drinks were not cheap, so home brewing of a sort was resorted to almost as soon as the colonists settled down. James Squire. an emancipist was Australia's first commercial brewer. He began in a small way in 1790 but lack of suitable bitters was a drawback. He did, however, get some hops from the Daedalus, which arrived in 7th April 1793. His sources of fermentable sugars were maize and colonial grown barley, which he used in his early brewery at Kissing Point (Ryde). He preferred the reliability of the maize ‘as the barley is so bad‘, though that from the environs of Launceston was good. At Kissing Point he also had a tavern for the refreshment of travellers on the river between Sydney and Parramatta. There so was a strong demand for spirits but until 1821. when the threat of famine was past. distillation was forbidden. and the government's desire in the early days to supply an alternative to spirits an echo of the English campaign against the excesses highlighted by Hogarth—led Governor King in 1804 to establish the first brewery at Parramatta. It is highly likely that the idea emanated from Sir Joseph Banks. In 1798 King, of whom Sir Joseph approved. was in London preparing to sail to succeed Governor Hunter. and Banks was organising a ‘Plant Cabin' similar to the one that had been tried and removed from Cook's Resolution. This one failed. too, but before it did. Banks, in a letter of June 1798 to John King, Under-Secretary of State, Home Office, had said, I have consulted Col. Paterson about the European Plants and Fruit Trees that have already been introduced into the Colony and I found that many of importance are still wanting, Particularly the hop. which, by Enabling the Colonials to brew beer, will diminish the consumption of unwholesome spirits, and add materially sicl to the health and comfort of the inhabitants. '
But successful hop growing was a quarter of century away and the problem of a suitable bittering agent remained. ln I794 John Boston,a surgeon and apothecary, had tried the leaves of love apple (Lyropersirum spp.) in the beer he brewed from malted maize. Some native plants were tried in Van Dienten's Land—reminiscent. perhaps, of the herbal beers of the English north—but there was no substitute for hops. Without them, the government attempts to overcome the demand for spirits by providing beer were doomed. James Squire was probably also the first to grow hops. From 1805 he developed hop fields near his brewery, and several others followed; but New South Wales was not really suitable for hop growing, Van Diemen's Land was. It still is Squire's contemporary judgement was ‘I find the Colonial Hops very good, but I think they grow better at the Derwent. Some hops were grown there before the 1820:, but from 1822 this agricultural industry was firmly established in the Derwent Valley by William Shoobridge who hailed from the Hop fields of Kent.....

 

[barabool]

...Most of my brews at the moment don't have hops. Best herb, so far, is yarrow: it brings a lovely warm taste to a brew - not a harsh bittering like hops.

I have found a lot of references to 'Horehound' - a weed that early settlers used for bittering. Have you ever tried this???

 

[TimT]

Nope. Sounds intriguing though. Should add that one to the list.

 

[barabool]

Nice Landline vid on current hops...
hthttp://www.abc.net.au/landline/content/2012/s3496477.htm

 

[Greg.L]

Horehound is a very common weed, I have plenty to spare. Very good name too, for your brew.
The main benefit of hops is the antimicrobial action, beer has a high pH and wouldn't be very stable without hops. Before hops all ale had to be consumed soon after brewing, not such a problem in small communities. A good hop substitute would need to be a preservative as well.

 

[manticle]

I presume you mean high pH when compared with other fermented beverages as opposed to simply 'high'. Beer has a low pH but it is higher than cider or wine.

 

[Greg.L]

I presume you mean high pH when compared with other fermented beverages as opposed to simply 'high'. Beer has a low pH but it is higher than cider or wine.

By high I mean high enough that most bacteria are quite happy. When pH gets below 4 most bacteria struggle to get going, especially spoilage bacteria. pH is a very important part of food stability, the higher the pH the harder it is to keep food (or drink) from spoiling.

 

[TimT]

I wonder if the anti-bacterial effect of hops is not highly exaggerated. I know from experience that it doesn't stop all bacteria. And just what bacteria does it stop, exactly? There's a lot of bacteria and mould out there - a lot of ways for beer to go wrong.

Other herbs I've heard mention with similar preservative effects to hops include juniper, yarrow and wormwood. Wormwood especially... that stuff offends just about everything, from bacteria to insects to, er, humans. (Mugwort is a fairly palatable brewing herb in the wormwood family). There are probably many more.

The best way to keep your beer being infected is by applying a whole range of measures: a good mash. A thorough boil. A rapid cooling. A clean fermentation vessel (or at least free from everything except previous brewing yeasts). A healthy yeast that's able to eat all nutrients before bacteria can get to them. And least amongst these preservative efforts, I suspect, would be the addition of preservative herbs.

 

[Greg.L]

Hops have been extensively studied, if you do a search of academic journals you will find articles detailing the preservative properties of hops, I remember being surprised how effective the compounds in hops are at inhibiting microbial spoilage.

You left out the best way to stop infections, keeping oxygen out of you fermenter. Most infections in home brewing are aerobic organisms which need oxygen to grow, that is why you see them floating on the surface. (and don't say the co2 will keep oxygen out, gases don't work that way.)

 

[pilgrimspiss]

Horehound is a very common weed, I have plenty to spare. Very good name too, for your brew.
The main benefit of hops is the antimicrobial action, beer has a high pH and wouldn't be very stable without hops. Before hops all ale had to be consumed soon after brewing, not such a problem in small communities. A good hop substitute would need to be a preservative as well.

I do a bitter lager for my old man using hore hound, POR and columbian cane sugar. Its called 'Son of a Whore' its really bitter but absolutely delicious. You can buy horehound from most online herb suppliers. It grows a lot along the coast too if you know what your looking for. Its an introduced species.

Also do a Fraoch (Traditional Scottish Ale - Our family originates from Stirlingshire where they were tartan weavers) using Heather tips, lemon myrtle and fuggles.....thats delicious.

Cheers
Matty

edit - said my name twice after cheers..hahaha

 

[TimT]

I'm hoping to be able to find some wild patches of it round here... the cheap alternative!