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Hopper's Hop Bible
The beer hop guide with facts, flavour and a foul mouth.
A searchable guide to beer hops, their origins and their typical aroma and flavour profiles. Find out what brewers use them for, meet their completely fictional Hopperised alter egos, and discover which ones earn my praise or get shown the door.
Find the hop behind the flavour
Search by flavour
Seen a hop on a can? Search its name, or try a flavour such as pineapple, grapefruit, berry, pine or spice.
Beer styles are searchable too.
Compare the details
Learn where a hop comes from and the flavours it’s known for.
If you brew, you can also dig into how it’s used at different stages.
Meet the characters
Every Hopperised persona is made up.
The useful brewing information sits alongside the nonsense, so you can enjoy both without confusing them.
Hopper’s Hell Hops
Chinook, Columbus and Centennial are among the hops that usually send my palate towards the nearest fire exit. You might love them. That’s allowed, even if I’m standing at the other end of the bar.
Hopper’s Hyped Hops
The varieties that suit my palate. I’m drawn to big fruit character and a gentler finish. Nectaron is firmly in my happy place. If I see beers using any hops listed as a Hopper Hyped Hop, they're going in my basket.
These are personal preferences, not quality grades. A hop I dislike can still make a brilliant beer for somebody else.
The nice list.
And the absolutely-not-for-me list.
From a book to a Hop Bible
The Hop Bible started life as a planned book. An online guide lets me keep it updated and make it more accessible, but a printed edition could still happen one day. Some viewers who supported the original project, including Neil, Simon and Don, were turned into completely fictional hops. Their personalities became part of the nonsense.
FICTIONAL SUPPORTER HOP
Donald the Dauntless
Don’s tartan-clad alter ego is a sour-beer-loving Scottish hero, armed with a purple pint and an enthusiastic thumbs-up. If a brewery’s traumatised some berries in a fermentation tank, Donald wants a glass.
FICTIONAL SUPPORTER HOP
Noxious Neil
Neil’s fictional counterpart specialises in finding questionable beers for me to review. He’s the mischievous supporter whispering, “Drink this. For the content,” while already reaching for the next suspicious can.
1. Search:
Start with a hop name, flavour word or beer style.
2. Narrow it down:
Filter by country, real or fictional entries, and Hopper’s verdict.
3. Meet your hop:
Start with flavour and character, then open the extra brewing detail if you want it. Click an available character image to enlarge it.
How to use the Hop Bible
Country flags identify the origin recorded in the entry.
They don’t certify where a particular bag was grown.
Bastard Bitterness skulls are Hopper’s editorial scale, not measured IBU.
Hyped and Hell tags describe my taste.
Fictional entries are labelled separately.
A little hop knowledge goes a long way
Ever wondered why a beer explodes with tropical fruit aromas but leaves your tongue feeling like it just licked a pine tree? We dive deep into the secrets hidden within the hop cone, explaining exactly how lupulin works and why the timing of the boil changes everything in your glass. The illustrated Understanding Hops guide breaks down the complex science, brewing methods, and confusing jargon found on modern craft cans into plain English. You don't need a doctorate in organic chemistry or a master's degree in advanced beard maintenance to get it, just a curiosity for what makes your pint tick.
A few things worth knowing
Is the Hop Bible open yet?
The database is currently a private preview for approved accounts. The introduction and Understanding Hops guide are public.
Are all the characters real hops?
The guide separates researched real entries from clearly labelled fictional hops. Unresolved identities stay in a research archive while their evidence is checked.
Does registering give me a login?
No. It records your interest so I can email you about launch and free access. Approved access is handled separately.
Are the descriptions and ratings guarantees?
No. Growing conditions, crop year, product format and the brewer’s recipe all affect a beer. Flavour notes describe typical associations. My verdicts describe my preferences, not yours.
Meet a few of the characters
Stone fruit, pineapple and passionfruit
Nectaron | New Zealand
Citrus, tropical fruit and stone fruit
Citra | USA
A fruit-led favourite in Hopper’s corner. Its character is fictional. My enthusiasm isn’t.
A familiar name on IPA cans. Hopperised as a fruit-stall showman who has never knowingly travelled light.
A classic American pale ale hop, reimagined as a grizzled grapefruit-carrying veteran.
Cascade | USA
Grapefruit, floral and pine
A taste of the guide. These are illustrated fictional characters, not photographs of the varieties. Aroma descriptions are typical associations, not added ingredients or guaranteed flavours in every beer.
A familiar American IPA hop. Plenty of drinkers love it. I keep this citrus troublemaker firmly on my Hell list.
Lemon, grapefruit and floral notes
Centennial | USA
Get first access
Want to explore the full Hop Bible? Register your interest and I’ll email you when free access opens. Signing up doesn’t create an account or grant immediate entry.
