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​​​​How Hoppy Beer Production Has Redefined Hop Quality and a Discussion of Agricultural and Processing Strategies to Promote It​​​​​

MBAA TQ https://doi.org/10.1094/TQ-56-1-0221-01 | VIEW ARTICLE

 

Scott R. Lafontaine and Thomas H. Shellhammer. Department of Food Science and Technology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, U.S.A.

 

Abstract
Recently, the evolution in the production of hop-forward beer styles has brewers reexamining their hop usage throughout the brewing process and is resulting in a coincidental change in the definition of hop quality. The increased use of aroma hop additions and the demand for aroma hop varieties have shifted brewers’ focus toward hop oil content and composition instead of, or in addition to, organoleptic properties and increased humulone (α-acid) content. This focus on new aspects of hop quality has led to a reexamination of the agricultural and processing methods that potentially impact aroma hop quality. It is essential for hop quality parameters to be based on the planned use of hops throughout the brewing process (i.e., kettle, late, or dry hopping) but also constrained by realistic expectations of what growers can achieve given the relatively tight harvest window for hops, the ever-changing demands by brewers for unique varieties, and climatic challenges that hop farmers face from year to year.

Keywords: Humulus lupulus, beer, harvest maturity, hop quality, aroma hop, dry hopping​