much of Europe Monasteries brewed it for themselves and for nearby settlements By the 9th century, alehouses had become common in England, with individual keepers brewing their own Until 1200, the English government considered ale to be a food, and did not tax it It was in medieval Germany that two great innovations made beer largely what it is today: brewers preserved and flavored it with hops, and began to ferment it slowly in the cold to make mild-flavored lager Hops The earliest brewers probably added herbs and spices to beer, both to give it flavor and to delay the development of off-flavors from oxidation and the growth of spoilage microbes In early Europe this mixture, called gruit in German, included bog-myrtle, rosemary, yarrow, and other herbs Coriander was also sometimes used, juniper in Norway, and sweet gale (Myrica gale) especially in Denmark and Scandinavia It was around 900 that hops, the resinous cones of the vine Humulus lupulus, a relative of marijuana, came into use in Bavaria Thanks to its pleasant taste and effectiveness in delaying spoilage, it had largely replaced gruit and other herbs by the end of the 14th century In 1574, Reginald Scot noted in A Perfite Platforme of a Hoppe Garden that the advantages of hops were overwhelming: “If your ale may endure a fortnight, your beer through the benefit of the hops, shall continue a month, and what grace it yieldeth to the taste, all men may judge that have sense in their mouths.” Still, it was not until about 1700 that English ale was hopped as a matter of course Food Words: Malt Our ancestors probably began soaking and sprouting grains because it was an easy way to make them soft enough to eat as is, and quicker to cook In fact our word for ... had largely replaced gruit and other herbs by the end of the 14th century In 1574, Reginald Scot noted in A Perfite Platforme of a Hoppe Garden that the advantages of hops were overwhelming:... endure a fortnight, your beer through the benefit of the hops, shall continue a month, and what grace it yieldeth to the taste, all men may judge that have sense in their mouths.” Still, it was not...that hops, the resinous cones of the vine Humulus lupulus, a relative of marijuana, came into use in Bavaria Thanks to its pleasant taste and effectiveness in delaying spoilage,