{"id":8406,"date":"2013-08-05T13:25:27","date_gmt":"2013-08-05T20:25:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/?p=8406"},"modified":"2013-08-05T13:25:27","modified_gmt":"2013-08-05T20:25:27","slug":"into-the-brew-there-will-be-hops","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/2013\/08\/05\/into-the-brew-there-will-be-hops\/","title":{"rendered":"Into the Brew: There Will Be Hops"},"content":{"rendered":"

I’m not\u00a0the\u00a0biggest fan of hop puns.\u00a0The\u00a0incredible proliferation of hoppy beer-producing small breweries over\u00a0the\u00a0past several years has led\u00a0to\u00a0a flood of me-too beer names all clamoring\u00a0to incorporate \u201chops\u201d in some awkward fashion. So imagine\u00a0the\u00a0horror I felt when attending a symposium where Tim Kostelecky of Barth-Haas<\/a>, one of\u00a0the\u00a0world’s largest hop suppliers, switched\u00a0to\u00a0a powerpoint slide listing just about every hop pun name in use. Kostelecky was delivering a presentation on hop varieties\u00a0to\u00a0a group of brewers who had converged on Paso Robles this past June. Brewers from as far away as Minnesota (Surly), Indiana (Three Floyds), Michigan (Bell’s), and even Europe (Birificio Italiano, Brasserie de la Senne) were in attendance, along with a collection of Californian brewers. We were eager\u00a0to\u00a0learn about new varieties, techniques, and scientific research, as well as discuss our own experiences. Yet as much as I wanted\u00a0to\u00a0roll my eyes at\u00a0the\u00a0puns, Kostelecky’s infectious enthusiasm for all things hop-related gave him a pass.<\/p>\n

\"1\"<\/a>Barth-Haas works with growers all over\u00a0the\u00a0world\u00a0to\u00a0process and deliver hops\u00a0to\u00a0brewers large and small, and they also develop new varieties. Technical Manager Georg Drexler flew in from Germany for\u00a0the\u00a0symposium, and kicked things off with a presentation and discussion of brewing\u00a0techniques for emphasizing hop flavor and aroma. Whirlpool and dry hopping have been widely practiced in\u00a0the\u00a0American\u00a0brewing\u00a0industry for years now, though these techniques have been less widely adopted in Europe, and Germany especially. Up until very recently it was believed that\u00a0the\u00a0German Reinheistgebot<\/a>, also called\u00a0the\u00a0\u201cBeer Purity Law,\u201d forbid adding hops after\u00a0the\u00a0end of\u00a0the\u00a0wort boil, but a recent reinterpetation of\u00a0the\u00a0law now allows dry hopping with whole hop products, though not with hop extracts, which can still only be added to\u00a0boiling wort.<\/p>\n

When wort \u2013\u00a0the\u00a0malt-sugar solution that is fermented\u00a0to\u00a0make beer \u2013 is boiled, brewers typically add hops at least two times: once at\u00a0the\u00a0beginning of\u00a0the\u00a0boil (usually 60-90 minutes in duration)\u00a0to\u00a0attain a high amount of isomerization of alpha acids, which adds bitterness\u00a0to\u00a0beer, and again near\u00a0the\u00a0end of\u00a0the\u00a0boil time\u00a0to\u00a0provide more essential oil retention, which provides\u00a0the\u00a0characteristic flavor and aroma of hops. By\u00a0the\u00a0end of\u00a0theboil, most of\u00a0the\u00a0essential oil from\u00a0the\u00a0bittering hop addition has been boiled off, and you are left with mostly just\u00a0the\u00a0bitterness from\u00a0the\u00a0iso-alpha acids in\u00a0the\u00a0hops, which have been made soluble by\u00a0the\u00a0heat of\u00a0the\u00a0boil.<\/p>\n

When\u00a0the\u00a0wort boil ends, brewers typically whirlpool\u00a0the\u00a0wort, either by pumping\u00a0the\u00a0wort tangentially back\u00a0into\u00a0the\u00a0kettle, or pumping it\u00a0into\u00a0a special whirlpool vessel.\u00a0The centrifugal forces in\u00a0the\u00a0whirlpool cause\u00a0the\u00a0solid matter\u00a0to\u00a0form a cone in\u00a0the\u00a0center, allowing\u00a0the\u00a0liquid\u00a0to\u00a0be pumped off\u00a0the\u00a0side of\u00a0the\u00a0vessel. This post-boil step has become a popular time\u00a0to\u00a0add more hops in\u00a0the\u00a0search for bigger and better hop aroma, as\u00a0the\u00a0lack of boiling action allows more essential oil\u00a0to\u00a0remain.\u00a0The\u00a0wort is usually only a couple of degrees below boiling at this point, and you still lose some lighter oils\u00a0to vaporization, especially myrcene, which is a big part of\u00a0the\u00a0aroma of many IPAs. At\u00a0the symposium, Drexler went over new research that suggests lower whirlpool temperatures increase oil retention and overall hop aroma. Some brewers, especially homebrewers, are trying this by lowering\u00a0the\u00a0temperature\u00a0to\u00a0about 170-180 degrees and then adding their hops before resting for about 20-30 minutes and cooling\u00a0to\u00a0yeast-pitching temperature. This reduced temperature can be accomplished by either recirculating some of\u00a0the\u00a0wort through\u00a0the\u00a0heat exchanger and back\u00a0into\u00a0the\u00a0kettle\/whirlpool, running and immersion chiller for a short amount of time, or\u00a0brewing\u00a0to\u00a0a slightly higher gravity and blending in some cold water at\u00a0the\u00a0end of\u00a0the\u00a0boil.<\/p>\n

\"2\"<\/a>While dry hopping remains\u00a0the\u00a0most effective way\u00a0to\u00a0get a big hop aroma in a beer, Drexler stressed that hop-focused beers lack complexity when not also given a generous dose of late-boil or whirlpool hops. Hop varieties will always lend a different aroma when added\u00a0to\u00a0hot wort than\u00a0to\u00a0fermented beer, even with intensity controlled for.\u00a0The biological interactions of fermenting yeast have\u00a0the\u00a0capability\u00a0to\u00a0change aromatic compounds from hops, creating wholly different aromas than were present in\u00a0the\u00a0wort before fermentation. Some of these compounds, like glycosides, are combinations of hop and malt compounds that are bonded during wort boiling and then cleaved\u00a0into\u00a0new compounds by\u00a0the\u00a0yeast during fermentation.<\/p>\n

At\u00a0the\u00a0Br\u00e4u Beviale industry convention in Germany in 2011, Barth-Haas conducted taste tests with several single-hop beers, including dry hopped and non-dry hopped versions with German Tradition, American Citra, and New Zealand Nelson Sauvin.\u00a0Theresults showed marked differences in aromatic impression between\u00a0the\u00a0two versions of each variety.\u00a0The\u00a0dry hopped Citra beer was\u00a0the\u00a0most preferred, while\u00a0the\u00a0non-dry hopped Citra beer was fourth, behind\u00a0the\u00a0non-dry hopped Tradition beer in second and dry hopped Tradition beer in third. These results can be interpreted in different ways, but they seem\u00a0to\u00a0confirm that\u00a0the\u00a0big oil profiles being developed in American hops are best expressed through dry hopping, while\u00a0the\u00a0noble and noble-derivative hops of Germany best show their classic hop aroma when added\u00a0to\u00a0the\u00a0boil. Poor Nelson Sauvin was relegated\u00a0to\u00a0last and second\u00a0to\u00a0last place with\u00a0the\u00a0dry hopped and non-dry hopped versions, respectively. I suspect that many brewers are still not on board with\u00a0thepowerful tropical, grassy, and white wine aromas it lends\u00a0to\u00a0beer.<\/p>\n

While brewers typically dry hop their beers for periods of several days\u00a0to\u00a0a couple of weeks, new research suggests that\u00a0the\u00a0main hop oils reach their peak concentration in beer in a much shorter amount of time. A 2011 study by Peter Wolfe at Oregon State University tested extraction rates for various hop oils using both whole-cone and pelletized Cascades from that year’s harvest. While pellets generally led\u00a0to\u00a0better extraction, peak concentration of most oils was reached in under six hours, suggesting that much shorter dry hop times are possible.\u00a0The\u00a0tests were done at 23 degrees Celsius, which is warmer than what most brewers dry hop at, but Wolfe concluded that even at cold temperatures, extraction doesn’t take more than a day.<\/p>\n

\"3\"<\/a>New hop varieties were a big topic at\u00a0the\u00a0symposium, with some of\u00a0the\u00a0most exciting new ones surprisingly coming from Germany.\u00a0The\u00a0H\u00fcll hop research center <\/a>has released four new varieties in\u00a0the\u00a0last couple of years, all targeted at\u00a0the\u00a0bigger, fruitier aromas ofthe\u00a0newer hops from\u00a0the\u00a0US, Australia, and New Zealand. Polaris is a high alpha hop with\u00a0the\u00a0highest levels yet of any variety (19-23%), and a correspondingly high oil content. Its aroma is described as floral and minty, with \u201cice candy\u201d being a popular descriptor. Mandarina Bavaria is a mid-alpha hop (7-10%) with a very fruity aroma of tangerine, pear, orange, and lime.\u00a0The\u00a0Barth-Haas guys were very excited about this one and see it as a German answer\u00a0to\u00a0American hops like Citra and Amarillo. Hallertau Blanc is another mid-alpha (9-12%) hop that is similar\u00a0to\u00a0the\u00a0popular Nelson Sauvin from New Zealand, with an aroma of tropical fruit, grass, white wine, gooseberry, and grapefruit. H\u00fcll Melon rounds out\u00a0the\u00a0new group of German hops, with a lower alpha content of 6.9-7.5%, but a very fruity aroma with a distinct honeydew melon quality.<\/p>\n

While Germany is making waves with its new releases, mostly due\u00a0to\u00a0how different they are compared\u00a0to\u00a0older varieties from\u00a0the\u00a0country, New American variety Mosaic was released in larger quantities this past harvest after some limited availability as HBC 369 previously. Mosaic is a high alpha variety (11-13.5%) that is a cross between Simcoe and a Nugget-derived male plant. Its aroma is floral and fruity with\u00a0the\u00a0character of tropical fruit, berry, citrus, and pine. Lots of American brewers are experimenting with Mosaic right now so it should be relatively easy\u00a0to\u00a0find an IPA or pale ale with it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I’m not\u00a0the\u00a0biggest fan of hop puns.\u00a0The\u00a0incredible proliferation of hoppy beer-producing small breweries over\u00a0the\u00a0past several years has led\u00a0to\u00a0a flood of me-too beer names all clamoring\u00a0to incorporate \u201chops\u201d in some awkward fashion. So imagine\u00a0the\u00a0horror I felt when attending a symposium where Tim Kostelecky of Barth-Haas, one of\u00a0the\u00a0world’s largest hop suppliers, switched\u00a0to\u00a0a powerpoint slide listing just about every […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1120,1119,190,115],"class_list":{"0":"post-8406","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-san-diego-beer-beverage-news","7":"tag-barth-haas","8":"tag-hops","9":"tag-into-the-brew","10":"tag-sam-tierney","11":"entry","12":"has-post-thumbnail"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","wps_subtitle":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pdtr4y-2bA","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8406","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8406"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8406\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8406"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8406"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8406"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}