The Hop Plant (Latin name; Humulus Lupulus) is vital to the brewing industry. It is a perennial vining plant that is grown in areas that are typically temperate in climate. They consume a lot of water during their growth phase and thus need moist soil conditions to thrive.They are a dioecious plant, meaning that each hop vine will produce either male flowers or female flowers. It is the female flowers that brewers are most interested in.

Hops provide bitterness to balance the sweetness of malt. They also add flavour and aroma and help stabilize and preserve beer.