when did hops start being used in beer
Hops The first documented use of hops in beer is from the 9th century[citation needed], though Hildegard of Bingen, 300 years later, is often cited as the earliest documented source.[3] Before this period, brewers used gruit, composed of a wide variety of bitter herbs and flowers, including dandelion, burdock root, marigold, horehound (the old German name for horehound, Berghopfen, means "mountain hops"), ground ivy, and heather.[4] Early documents include mention of a hop garden in the will of Charlemagne's father, Pepin III.[5]