2024 BarthHaas Grants go to scientists from Arkansas and Berlin

Germany | The 2024 BarthHaas Grants awarded by hop specialist BarthHaas go to Scott Lafontaine, Assistant Professor in Food Chemistry at the University of Arkansas, and the research team Mariana Carvalhal Pinto, Philip Wietstock and Brian Gibson, who work at the Technical University of Berlin. BarthHaas is supporting their scientific projects with a grant of 10,000 euros each.

Scott Lafontaine and his team are investigating whether and to what extent hops and hop products can increase food safety when used in alcohol-free beverages – particularly in alcohol-free beer. The background to this is the trend towards a healthier nutritional style, which is also boosting the demand for alcohol-free alternatives. The new study researches the effect of different hop products on pathogens found on foods.

The studies carried out by Mariana Carvalhal Pinto, Philip Wietstock and Brian Gibson examine the impact of dry hopping on the proteome (the protein composition) of brewing yeasts. The research is based upon the knowledge that dry hopping not only improves the aroma and taste of beer, but can also compromise the vitality and fermentation performance of yeasts.

Dr. Christina Schönberger, head of the BarthHaas Brewing Solutions team, congratulated the prizewinners for their creative approaches. “I am very pleased with the scientific commitment of both teams and am excited to see their results. Many of the projects we have supported in recent years have led to completely new insights.”

Since 2007, the annually awarded BarthHaas Grants have supported groundbreaking scientific projects at universities and research institutes. In many cases they have served as seed capital: Many successful projects attracted wide attention and could then be continued with public funding.

BarthHaas hopes by means of the grants to arouse enthusiasm for hops, support research concepts and, last but not least, establish and intensify contacts with promising young research scientists. A lot has happened in hop research in recent years. By awarding the BarthHaas Grants, BarthHaas has consistently given decisive impetus to the field of science.