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Hopped Beer: The Case For Cultivation

Biére du houblon: Des arguments pour la cutivation

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Abstract

The history of hops, hopped beer, and hop cultivation is unclear and ambiguous. An assessment of the available literature reveals many contradictions, especially regarding the first use of hops in beer and the earliest incidence of hop cultivation. Historically, hops were used for a variety of purposes; now their primary use is as a preservative and flavoring in beer. Hop cultivation is poorly documented, but was certainly undertaken by the 10th century, most probably in response to the demand generated by beer-brewing. After comparing the literature and investigating source material, a chronology of hop use in beer and hop cultivation is proposed.

Zusammenfassung

La littérature écritesur I’histoiredu houblon, son utilisation pour la brasserie, et la cultivation de la plante est imprécise et ambigûe. Une étude de la documentation existante révèle de nombreuses contradictions, surtout sur le sujet de la première utilisation du houblon dans la bière, comparé avec la date de la première culture de la plante. Historiquement, le houblon fut utilisé a des fins diverses; par le suite, son usage principal fut comme agent de consérvation et de goût. La culture du houblon est pauvrement documentée, mais était certainement enterprise à partir du dixième siecle, mais en réponse plus probablement a de la demande générée par la brasserie de la bière. En avoir mené des recherches des sources littéraires, c’est-à-dire des sources originelles ainsi que des sources secondaires, on se propose done à faire une chronologie de l’emploi du houblon dans la fabrication de la bière ainsi que dans la cultivation du houblon.

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Delyser, D.Y., Kasper, W.J. Hopped Beer: The Case For Cultivation. Econ Bot 48, 166–170 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02908210

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