Hops and malt are lost
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Hops and malt are used as basic ingredients in beer production. However, if the mixture or the subsequent fermentation process fails, the hops and malt have been wasted and the beer is completely unusable.
The expression 'hops and malt' as such probably originated in the 16th century.
Goethe wrote: "Often wasted are malt and hops / On so many poor drops, / So many wrong-headed fools, / And all labour lost." The saying "Hopfen und Malz, Gott erhalt's!" ("Hops and malt - may the Lord protect them") is also well known.
Nowadays, the saying means that the effort is/was/will be in vain or that someone is simply incorrigible and does not listen to any kind of advice.
