Hops: Not just for beer anymore

Pickled hops are showing up in brewery restaurants alongside of the brews.

Mon, Jul 19 2010 at 8:16 AM

Related Topics:

Recipes, Organic Restaurants, Beer

photo: duncan/Flickr

Here’s something you might want to look for next time you’re in a restaurant connected to a craft brewery – pickled hops. Most people don’t think of hops as anything other than an ingredient to add during the beer brewing process to add some bitterness.

Now, according to Tasting Table, “forward-thinking hops farmers and brewers” are pickling “their crop of hops shoots by plunging them into a briny, fragrant solution.”

Pickled hops are being served as part of charcuterie and cheese plates at Cascade Brewery Barrel House in Portland, Oregon and making their way to the tops of pizza at Bob's Keg and Cork in Yakima, Washington.

I did a search for a recipe for pickled hops, but I although I was able to find discussions about pickled hops, I couldn’t find a specific recipe. Apparently, they make a good burger topping when paired with blue cheese.

I would think that someone that grew hops would be able to experiment with different pickling solutions like this All Purpose Pickling Solution recipe from YumYum.

Have you ever had pickled hops or pickled them yourself?

You might also like:

Join the conversation

Comment: 1

Dan Jul 20 2010 at 9:05 AM

You're a bit confused, Robin. In brewing beer, the hop cone is used for its oils, aroma and alpha acids. The part that is pickled is the shoot that first emerges in spring. For about 5 days after the shoot first pops out, it is very tender like asparagus. Then it turns woody and is no good. Look for hop shoot recipes. They are a luxury in Belgium and command a high price. It is said that eating the shoot was the reason the Romans first brought hops from Asia. Only centuries later did a German

.... More

nun discover its bacterio-static properties.