Hops

[yanke...@gmail.com]

German monks never "discovered" hops. Hops were just one of dozens of
different herbs used to flavor beer and add to it their medicinal
qualities (sedative, estrogen hormone replacement). All the German
monks did was insist that everybody stop using the other dozens or
herbs and only use this one herb. Purity laws were not about purity,
they were about conforming to what these monks of the early protestant
reformation wanted people to drink.

[Charlotte_0'Neil]

Presumably, the monks who insisted that only hops be used in beer did
so because they appreciated the estrogen which reduced their sex drive
and brought out their feminine side, the aristocracy liked it because
they saw the value of the sleep-inducing effects of hopped beer,
keeping the workers sedated and peaceful, and the merchants recognized
the advantage of hops' preservative effects, creating a product that
could be bought, sold and shipped over distances.

The question remains, why do ordinary men choose to drink a product
that reduces their sex drive and put them to sleep just so that the
beer industry can make a profit?