Hops vs wormwood
The two bitterest things in the European drinking repertoire, and the two that most reward being used in tiny quantities. Both built industries on bitterness and neither is drunk alone by choice.
botanical
What is being compared
Point by point
| Aspect | Hop flower | Wormwood |
|---|---|---|
| What it built | Hopped beer, which spread from Bavaria and Bohemia between the ninth and fifteenth centuries. | Absinthe and vermouth — Wermut is German for the plant, and vermouth takes its name from it. |
| Flavour | Very bitter and resinous, with a citrus-pine top note that varies enormously by variety. | Overwhelmingly bitter with an anise-camphor aroma above it. |
| Quantity | A few cones is plenty and a spoonful is undrinkable. | A pinch is a large dose, and it is used at that scale in mixed bitters. |
| Before hops | The winner. Gruit herbs were displaced by it across northern Europe. | One of the gruit bittering herbs it displaced, alongside yarrow and bog myrtle. |
| Buying | Rarely sold by variety for infusion, which makes the result unpredictable. | Several Artemisia species are sold as wormwood and differ widely in bitterness. |
The short answer
Both are best met in the drinks built around them rather than in a cup on their own. As blending bitters they are used at pinch scale and that is not a suggestion.
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