Recently, considerable attention has been focused on the brewing industry that are helpingrntransform Ethiopiaâ€™s business landscapes with alcoholic beverage industries having a lionâ€™srnshare in terms of investment and market. However, the country`s requirement of hops are metrnthrough import. Thus, the need to investigate some Ethiopian plants that could substitute hops inrnbeer brewing. In this paper work bitter leaf (Vernonia amygdalina) was investigated using arnreflux condenser extraction unit and appropriate solvent material to obtain the extract.rnThereafter, the extract was characterized in order to determine its suitability for use in brewingrnby comparing it with those of standard commercial hops values. The optimization of processrnparameters for the bitter leaf extract was investigated using GFD. The three parameters andrntheir ranges namely temperature (80-100oC), time (1-3hr), and particle size (0.25-1.0mm) werernchosen. The individual parameters effect as well as effect of interactions between the processrnparameters on bitterness level and Iso alpha acid value was analyzed using various graphicalrnrepresentations. The physicochemical analysis of the bitter leaf showed that the sample extractrnhad brewing properties or variables as follows: Iso-alpha acid (mg/l) ranged from 7.99-9.14,rnalpha acid (mg/l) of 9.51, total resin (%) of 19.72, hard resin (%) of 5.7, soft resin (%) of 14.02,rnprotein content (%) of 27.73% and fat content (%) of 2.74. The Analytical Bitterness Unit (ABU)rnwas found to be adequate and ranged from 16.55-17.1. The AAS results showed that thernconcentrations of metals of the samples investigated were Calcium (mg/100g) of 25.61Â±0.048,rnMagnesium (mg/100g) of 4.92Â±0.04, Iron (mg/100g) of 9.1Â±0.07and Zinc (mg/100g) ofrn2.27Â±0.052. Based on the comparison, it was observed that the brewing qualities of hops arernpresent in bitter leaf to an appreciable level with variation in the protein and mineral contents.rnConsequently, the results obtained showed that bitter leaf presents an acceptably high level ofrntheir hop properties that is adequate for beer brewing.rnKey words: hop substitution, bitter leaf, optimization, bitterness level, Iso-alpha acid, alpha acid,rnresin.