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Kettle hopping sour beers can be a difficult thing for the new sour beer brewer. The usage of hops generally inhibits most lactic acid bacteria species, however there are many exceptions to this. Lactic acid bacteria can have a range of hop tolerance, with species such as ''Lactobacillus acetotolerans'' that tolerated Goose Island's Bourbon County Stout at 60 IBU <ref>[https://www.facebook.com/groups/MilkTheFunk/permalink/1363048380390039/ MTF thread that reported an MBAA presentation by Brett Porter from Goose Island. 07/30/2016.]</ref>. Some breweries report that their house lactic acid bacteria can tolerate IBU ranges up to 10-20 IBU. White Labs claims that their ''L. delbuekii'' (WLP677) is tolerant of up to 20 IBU, however, most ''Lactobacillus'' cultures from yeast labs are not hop tolerant <ref>[http://www.themadfermentationist.com/p/commercial-cultures.html "Commercial Brettanomyces, Lactobacillus, and Pediococcus Descriptions; Commercial Yeast Laboratories." The Mad Fermentationist blog. Michael Tonsmeire. Retrieved 12/12/2016.]</ref>. See the [[Lactobacillus#Culture_Charts|''Lactobacillus'' culture charts]] and [[Lactobacillus#Hop_Tolerance|hop tolerance]] for more information.
For both mixed fermentation sour beers and kettle sour beers, hops are often not used at all. In the case of kettle sours, sometimes brewers opt to add hops after the wort has been soured (see [[Wort Souring]]). Commercial brewers in the USA must by law use 7.5 pounds of hops for 100 barrels of beer <ref>[https://www.ttb.gov/rulings/2008-3.pdf "Classification of Brewed Products as “Beer” Under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and as “Malt Beverages” Under the Federal Alcohol Administration Act". TTB Ruling 2008, Number 2008-3. 07/07/2008. Retrieved 12/12/2016.]</ref> (malt beverages without hops can still be approved by the FDA instead of the TTB; contact the TTB for guidance <ref>[https://www.facebook.com/groups/MilkTheFunk/permalink/1508230109205198/?match=ZGFuIHBpeGxleQ%3D%3D MTF thread with John Joyce and Joseph Kearns on TTB vs FDA approval for beer/malt beverages without hops. 12/13/2016.]</ref>). Since there is no US regulation for when the hops must be added, mash hopping might be a considered technique for commercial breweries in the US and in other parts of the world where hops are a requirement for beer (mash hopping retains only about 30% of the IBU that a 60 minute boiling addition does <ref>[https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/how-to-brew/resources/conference-seminars/ "Putting Some Numbers on First Wort and Mash Hop additions." David Curtis. 2014 National Homebrewers Conference presentation slides. Retrieved 12/12/2016.]</ref>). In historical German Berliner Weisse brewing, mash hopping or boiling hops during the decoction were also typical techniques (see [[Berliner_Weissbier#Historical|Berliner Weisse historical brewing]]). Another historical technique for adding hops to beer is to add a hop tea (hops boiled in water), for example in historical [http://www.garshol.priv.no/blog/331.html raw ale] brewing <ref>[http://www.garshol.priv.no/blog/331.html "Raw ale". Larsblog. Lars Marius Garshol. 05/06/2015. Retrieved 12/12/2016.]</ref>. For lactic acid cultures that are hop tolerant, hops can be used as a way to inhibit the amount of acid produced by them if the brewer desires this. Another advantage of using at least some hops in the kettle is that various compounds from hops contribute to head retention, and using a small amount of hops in the kettle (and perhaps dry hopping) can greatly assist with head retention in sour beers.
A popular technique for [[100%25_Brettanomyces_Fermentation|100% Brettanomyces Fermentation]] is to use a typical IPA recipe. Hops do not inhibit ''Brettanomyces'' yeast. Some of the fruity characteristics of ''Brettanomyces'' can complement the fruity character of hops such as Citra, Amarillo, and Galaxy. For beers that are fermented with just ''S. cerevisiae'' and ''Brettanomyces'' but not lactic acid bacteria (such as some American farmhouse ales), Old World and noble hops are often used as well as North American and New Zealand/Australian citrusy hops, depending on what flavor and aroma profile the brewer is intending.