ABOUT THE HOP PLANTHops are the tiny green pine-cone like flowers of the hop plant botanist call Humulus lupulus. For craft brewers, hops provide the magic flavor in craft beer. Hops are generally harvested in September when they reach a towering 18 feet tall. Hops are typically categorized as either a bitter hop or an aroma hop. Aroma hops when properly brewed can produce a wide variety of complex flavors describes as citrus, grapefruit, pine, floral and herbal. In H2OPS sparkling hop water, we use a premium blend of aroma hops. Bittering hops are used to balance out the sweetness form the malted grains in beer. Because we have no sugars or grains in our hop water, we only brew with aroma hops. We are incredibly passionate about hops. There are over 100 varieties and all have different flavor characteristics. Selecting the best quality hops and the right varieties is one of the most critical things we do. Importantly, behind every hop is a hop farmer and these talented and hardworking folks are our heroes. Each September, we make the trek up to the sunny Yakima valley to meet with them personally and select our varieties. This is our favorite time of year. Check out our hop harvest video to learn more about how our hops are picked and readied for brewers to use.