If you’ve ever tasted beer, you’ve sampled hops. Thanks to Reinheitsgebot, or Bavaria’s beer purity law that went into effect in the year 1516, virtually every beer on the planet today contains hops. Otherwise, the beverage would be a gruit, which gets bitter flavor from herbs and fruits instead of the pillowy female flower cones of Humulus lupulus.
While hops provide bitter flavor, turbidity and antimicrobial protection to every bottle of suds, the herb also lends its antioxidative and anti-inflammatory potential to teetotalers and tea enthusiasts alike as an abundant source of polyphenols. These qualities also make hops flower powder an effective skin care ingredient.
