“People have this misconception of hops,” says Sam Ruppert. “Every time they hear the word, they think bitter, but hops impart so many flavors in beer that people don’t even realize.” So when Autumn Eytalis (BellyQ) challenged Ruppert, a bartender at DryHop Brewers, to create a cocktail with hops, he set out to showcase their flavor without the bitterness.
For the spirit, he used Casa Magdalena—a Guatemalan white rum he describes as earthy and grassy—along with lemon juice and the hop syrup. “I can’t take all the bitterness out,” he says. “On the palate, you will get citrusy, you will get tropical, but you will still get some of that piney, earthy bitterness going on there too. Definitely if you smell the cocktail, you’re going to be, like, that smells like a beer.”
*Combine a half ounce of Galaxy hop pellets with two ounces of simple syrup, vacuum-seal, and cook at 138 degrees for half an hour. Strain out hops.
