My dad brews beer at home (and pretty damn good beer, too). We heard that hops grow well in this area, so he planted some in my backyard last summer. They grew like crazy, but one vine didn’t produce enough for a whole batch of beer. So we’re planting more vines next spring, and in the meantime, we have a sack of these pretty little green cone-shaped flowers.

What else can be done with hops, aside from making beer?

Turns out, not much. We did a little research and found some references to hop tea, which evidently makes you really sleepy (like beer does, only without the alcohol) but is horribly bitter. Since many of my friends have suffered from insomnia (I had a bad case of it a few years ago, myself) I’m always pleased to know about good sleepytime teas. Even if they are horribly bitter.
We also discovered Julmust: the hop-based Swedish Christmas Drink. Evidently Julmust is the reason Coke goes into advertising overdrive over Christmas – they’re trying to compete with the more-popular-for-the-holidays Julmust, which is cola-like but “not at all the same thing as Coke.” You can buy Julmust at Ikea (or in Sweden).
But the whole point is, I have a whole bag of hops. I want to make Julmust. But the recipe is top secret (as is the recipe for Coke).
So here’s what I know (Thank you, Internet!). It’s sort of like cola but different. It’s made with hops. You can make tea out of hops. Hop tea is best made with water between 140 and 160 degrees (not boiling). It gets stronger (and more bitter) the longer you steep it. Generic cola is made of: carbonated water, caramel coloring, orange oil, lemon oil, lime oil, nutmeg oil, cinnamon oil, coriander oil, and bitter-something-or-other. And sugar.
What do I have in my kitchen? Hops. Hot water. Brown sugar, which surely makes up for the lack of caramel coloring. Orange extract. Lemon juice. Nutmeg and cinnamon, for baking. Bitters, for cocktails. Vanilla – why not? All these go into the crockpot.
It came out ok. It reminded me a lot of mulled cider while it was hot (nutmeg, cinnamon) and was very sweet (lots of brown sugar) with a faint bitter aftertaste (hops). I don’t know if it made me sleepy because I was already sleepy when I drank it.

Needs a little work still…. but I think I can turn this into something good.