Beer seasoning, hops become an ingredient in gin – 01/27/2023 – Full Glass

Often dubbed as beer spice, hops have a true legion of worshipers — they are the “hop heads”, those who even sigh with the accentuated bitterness of “well hopped” IPAs.

For the little flower that gives the aroma and bitterness to our everyday fermented beer has now been exploited in another beverage, gin.

The most recent member of this tiny group is Citra Hop Gin, a typical London dry composed of 14 botanicals —such as juniper, coriander, cardamom, jasmine, cinnamon, Brazil nut and physalis, among others— and the addition of Citra hops , one of the most popular in brewing recipes.

Botanical is the name used in gin for the herbs, seeds, spices and everything else you include in the formula as flavoring elements.

“We made many versions, recipes and different opinions until we arrived at Citra Hop Gin, a product that we are very proud of, which arrives to unify lovers of a good drink”, says Douglas Salvador, CEO and founder of Clube do Malte.

The drink was produced in partnership with Vesper Destilaria, from Pinhais, from Paraná. With 45% alcohol, the drink is sold exclusively on the Clube do Malte website, for R$89.

However, the adventures with hops in gin are older. In 2017, Marcelo Maaz began experimenting with the little flower even before opening his distillery, Geest, in Vargem Grande do Sul (São Paulo). The following year, he released the first recipe. Since then, there have been seven other different recipes, in which the variation of hops or some botanicals has changed.

The current Geest Hopped Gin is a London dry with 41% alcohol and Cascade hops, which refers to citrus and yellow fruits. The gin costs R$98 on the official website (destilariageest.mercadoshops.com.br/), and can also be found at Market Livre or at some partner stores.

A partner at Esconderijo bar —which has a great drinks menu and Juan Caloto beers—, Maaz says that adding hops to gin is no easy task. “We’ve already inserted it in different ways. Sometimes it didn’t turn out well. We’ve already used it in distillation, in maceration, inserting it later, distilling it alone, infusing it. Today we do a mix of procedures”, he says.

Who also has the darling distillate in its portfolio is the Paraná-based brewery Bodebrown, with the Meller Hop Gin, made with 11 botanicals and Citra hops — the same as the Clube do Malte. With 46%, the gin is available on the brand’s e-commerce (loja.bodebrown.com.br), for BRL 93.50.

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