Technical Ssupport | Free polyfunctional thiols like 4-mercapto-4-methylpentan-2-one (4MMP), 3-mercaptohexan-1-ol (3MH) as well as 3-mercapto-4-methylpentan-1-ol (3M4MP) are known as very potent aroma compounds in food and beverages including beer. Even contents of a few μg/kg in hops can be high enough to finally result in significant contributions to beer flavour, especially after dry hopping. The known aroma impressions are blackcurrant-like for 4MMP, grapefruit-like or rhubarb-like, both for 3MH and 3M4MP.

Hop market | We are experiencing significant change in the hop market. There have been drastic acreage reductions in USA and reductions are expected in Europe. The beer industry has experienced a decline in production heretofore unknown. It remains challenging to reach new generations of consumers.

Technical support | After adding hops for dry hopping, beer is constantly changing its properties. The interaction between hops and beer can be observed visually on the changing beer turbidity during both processing at the brewery and in the packaged beer.

Hop market | Weather conditions in Europe during the growing season were characterised by sufficient rainfall in most growing regions. Harvest expectations in terms of quantity and quality are positive.

Hop market | The first survey of hop acreage in 2024 was recently completed. The significant decline in acreage in the USA is noteworthy.

Technical Support | Non-alcoholic beers (NAB) are more popular than ever. Depending on the production technique of dealcoholization, NABs have a very different character. The state-of-the-art physical echniques to produce NABs are either thermal evaporation or reverse osmosis, besides the other technique of using speciality yeasts. For NABs produced by physical techniques, the sensory contribution of hops is even more pronounced after dealcoholization. Hop variety, hop product and hopping recipe can strongly influence the overall impression of the so produced NAB.

Company update | Hopsteiner is redefining customer service: thanks to the customer portal launched in 2023, managing contracts and data has never been easier. Hopsteiner has struck a chord with its customers with this excellent digital  Service: the number of users has risen steadily since the launch and the solution has become part of everyday life for numerous breweries.

Technical support | As usual at the turn of the year, we’d like to share some averaged data on the recent and previous crop year’s composition of aroma substances of some selected hop varieties. This comparison is intended as a helpful indication to achieve consistent hop aroma in beer, especially when changing from one crop year to another.