Question: are hops and barley the same thing?
Answer: It's not a case of hops or barley. Nowadays most beers are brewed using barley malt and hops with yeast as the fermenting agent. Numerous other ingredients can be added or substituted, such as wheat malt, rice, sorghum, maize, fruit etc. ... Hops don't replace barley, they are a different ingradient.