MBAA TQ https://doi.org/10.1094/TQ-58-3-0812-01 | 
VIEW ARTICLE
Leandro Meiners (1) and Matías Cavanna (2). 1. PLACEBO Brewing, Buenos Aires, Argentina. 2. Dos Dingos Cerveza Independiente, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Abstract
Biotransformation has become a buzzword within the brewing community, with many brewers swearing by dry hopping during active fermentation to encourage it. In this review, we aim to cover the academic literature on this topic and attempt to elucidate if biotransformation is the main driving force behind the observed sensory changes of different dry hop timings or if other physical, biological, or chemical processes take a lead role. When the potential sensory impact of each biotransformation pathway is considered, we argue that only thiol release and potentially esterification (although more studies are still required to ascertain its contribution) could have a marked effect, with other causes, such as CO2 scrubbing and yeast binding, having an influence not normally recognized.
Keywords: biotransformation, dry hopping, late hopping, bioconversion
