2 HOPS, 



fever in particular. The Arabian Mesues mentions this 

 syrup as a cure for "king's evil," and Andreas Grloretz 

 von Mahren writes as follows about hops in his Chronik 

 (Chronicle) : " The principal use of hops is for making beer, 

 in which it acts as a saline or aromatic; if, however, too 

 much is used, the beer is too bitter and affects the head. 

 Young hop shoots taken with the food purify the blood, heal 

 the itch, and relieve the liver and spleen. Distilled hop 

 extract cleanses the blood from all impurities, tumours and 

 flatulence, and cures skin diseases and other complaints if 

 taken in regular morning doses of 4 to 5 lothe" (the loth = J oz.) . 

 Even at the present time the hop (or rather its Iwpulin) 

 is used as a medicament, although opinion as to its value 

 has greatly changed in many respects. 



Keeping the real value of the hop in mind, its history 

 may be said to date from the time when its employment as 

 a constituent in beer came into prominence. 



It has frequently been asserted that Egypt was the 

 ■original cradle of the brewing industry ; but the correctness 

 of this assumption is in no wise proved, even though Diodorus 

 Siculus, lib. i., cap. 20, relates that the Egyptians must be 

 credited with having invented a beverage prepared from 

 barley and water, and indistinguishable from wine in point 

 of strength and flavour. In any case, the modern beer- 

 drinker would object to have placed before h'im the sour- 

 sweet alcoholic drink which the ancient Egyptians partook 

 of as an intoxicating liquor, since the addition of hops 

 imparts an agreeable taste and improved keeping qualities to 

 beer. 



Although it would now be difficult to imagine beer with- 

 out hops, their use for this purpose does not by any means 

 extend back to the era of the legendary King Gambrinus of 

 Brabant, who is credited with being the first to introduce 

 beer as a beverage among the German peoples. Dr. 0, Cech 



