“I was immediately drawn to these beers’ intense hop aroma, smooth flavor and special pillowy mouthfeel,” says DiSorbo, the author of The Book of Hops: A Craft Beer Lover’s Guide to Hoppiness. “I found myself making trips to all the breweries throughout New England that were experimenting, refining and mastering recipes and methodologies to best express the characteristics of modern New World American hops. I became hooked on hops,” DiSorbo told Forbes. 

“Hops were the driving force behind craft brewing, and I wanted to learn as much as I could about these cone-shaped flowers,” DiSorbo says. “Looking back at my initial proposal for this book from 2015, it’s amazing to see how much has changed in the craft beer industry in such a short time. Luckily for me and this project, the U.S. brewery count has nearly doubled to more than 9,000 in that short period of time, and I believe the love for hoppy beers has driven that growth.”

Connecticut resident Dan DiSorbo wrote a new book about hops after falling in love with hazy New England ales and IPAs.

DiSorbo’s book profiles 50 of the world’s most popular hops and describes 20 beer styles with a brief history and summary of each style’s taste profile.

“When I first started my own personal journey toward becoming an enlightened hophead, there actually weren’t many books specific to hops,” he says. “There are many amazing books dedicated to other important topics like history and culture, science and brewing, beer styles and tasting, but nothing dedicated to the symbiotic relationship between hops and craft beer. Almost all books were geared toward industry professionals or home brewers, so they tend to be very analytical, technical or instructive. While I may enjoy textbooks of this nature, I found these books were overly complex and less appealing to your average craft beer drinker. I purposefully created The Book of Hops to be less complex and more like a sessionable beer, an enjoyable and easy drink.”

“New England pale ales and IPAs will always hold a special place in my heart as my all-time favorite beer style, but I always say whatever beer I’m drinking now, because I enjoy exploring new beers and breweries,” DiSorbo explains. “When I was in the Pacific Northwest for hop harvest last year, I was pleasantly surprised by the cold IPAs from Wayfinder and pFriem breweries. They’re a new spin on a hop-forward IPA that’s crisp, refreshing and delicious.”