Hops are green, cone-shaped flowers that grow on long, twisty climbing vines. They look a little bit like tiny pinecones hanging from the vine! Hops have a very special smell and a bitter taste that most kids would think is pretty yucky. The flowers are covered in a sticky yellow powder that gives them their strong flavor. People have been growing hops for over a thousand years, and they were even used long ago as a medicine to help people feel calm and sleepy.
Hop vines are some of the fastest-growing plants you will ever see. They can grow up to a whole foot in just one single day, which means they race all the way to the top of tall poles in only a few weeks! Farmers string up big ropes and wires for the vines to climb, and the fields end up looking like a green jungle. People use hops to help make certain grown-up drinks and to keep them fresh for a longer time. After the hop flowers are picked in the fall, they are dried out and packed up to be used all year long.
