Is hop addictive?
I love good beer. That probably won’t surprise you. And I can really look forward to a good alcohol-free IPA. The kind where, as soon as you open the can, you can smell that the brewer hasn’t held back on the hops.
But why do you sometimes crave one so much? We’re talking about beers with up to 0.5% alcohol, so it’s not the alcohol. Could the hops have something to do with it? After all, aren’t hops related to cannabis?
Reason enough to find out what this little plant actually does.
First things first: what are hops?
Hop is a climbing plant. Brewers use its female flowers, known as hop cones, to make beer. They contain compounds that give beer its bitterness and aroma. Depending on the hop variety, you might smell and taste citrus, flowers, tropical fruit or something resinous.
That also explains why two alcohol-free IPAs can taste so different. Some are quite bitter, while others greet you with a burst of fruit. The hops a brewer chooses and how they use them make a big difference. And that’s what makes tasting so much fun. There are so many different alcohol-free IPAs that you can keep discovering something new.
Related to cannabis. Really?
Yes. Hops and cannabis both belong to the hemp family, Cannabaceae. There’s a word for your next Scrabble game. So they are botanically related. That would make a fun fact on a beer label. They also share certain aroma compounds. That may explain why some heavily hopped beers remind you of another smell. Especially those resinous aromas often described as “dank”.
But ordinary brewing hops won’t get you high. Being related doesn’t mean that hops contain the same compounds or have the same effects as cannabis. A generous dose of hops won’t turn your alcohol-free IPA into a liquid joint.
What about that relaxing effect?
You’ll also find hops outside the beer world. In herbal teas, for example, and in sleep remedies containing plant extracts. Often alongside valerian. Hops have traditionally been used for mild tension and to help people fall asleep.
That sounds like a pretty good explanation for that relaxed feeling when you’re having a beer on the sofa.
But it’s not quite that simple. Scientific evidence for a sleep-promoting effect of hops is limited. And when studies look at a combination of hops and valerian, you can’t easily tell how much of the effect comes from the hops. So the fact that hops are used in a sleep remedy doesn’t make alcohol-free beer a sleep aid. However tempting that reasoning might be.
But are hops addictive?
Hops aren’t known to be addictive. There’s no evidence that normal use causes physical dependence. At the same time, long-term use of hops as a stand-alone herbal remedy has only been studied to a limited extent. So a definitive statement would be too simplistic.
What can happen is that you get used to your beer. To the taste, the cold glass, the moment you open it. Friday afternoon. Work’s done. Time to sit down. A nice alcohol-free beer. When those things often go together, you can start wanting a beer before you’ve even opened the fridge. Hops don’t need to have an addictive effect for that to happen. And looking forward to another one the following Friday doesn’t make hops addictive. Enjoying something and being physically dependent on it are two different things.
Personally, I’m mostly curious about what brewers can do with hops. Some beers hit the spot; others aren’t quite for me. And sometimes you find a truly superb beer. With a beer like that, what I really want to know is which hops went into it. That gives me something else to look out for when I open the next can.
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