Maybe I should have called this blog Appellation Hops. Or at least created a separate category for Hops, rather than lumping it with Ingredients.

But on the heals of Sam Adams news about freeing up hops for smaller brewers the latest issue of Brew Your Own magazine arrived yesterday with the “Hop Survival Guide.”

It includes substitution strategies, information about growing your own hops, profiles on varieties, a lot of stuff you really care about if you are a homebrewer and don’t care about at all if you aren’t.

I’m not suggesting you rush out an buy the magazine if you aren’t a homebrewer. I understand you don’t give a hoot about comparing batch and continuous sparging or the science and method of wort chilling.

However, if you see the magazine at your local independent book store (always a favorite stop for us on Saturday) you may want to grab it and decide on your own. The two page (36 & 37) Hop Guide is an education in itself. And while “Meet the New Hops” includes data that will make your eyes glaze over, it also introduces you to hops worth paying attention to, such as Glacier and Saphir. Think of it like being a wine drinker several years ago and reading about Malbec.

As long as you are flipping pages, work your way back to page 59, where John Palmer writes about “Behind the IBU.” I couldn’t help but think of Steve Earle singing Tom Waits’ “Way Down in the Hole.” A little time spent trying to understand the ins and outs of measuring International Bitterness Units should send you scurrying back to the safety of discussions about aroma and flavor.

Posted: February 16th, 2008 under Ingredients.