Hops are a flower used primarily as a flavouring and stability agent in beer, as well as in herbal medicine. The first documented use in beer is from the eleventh century. Hops come from the flowers of Humulus lupulus, originally named by Pliny the Elder in his Naturalis Historia, Hops were introduced to British beers in the early 15th century, and hop cultivation began in the present-day United States in 1629.
