The Hopsteiner Guidelines 2012 will soon be published and be available at BRAU 2012 in Nuremberg. We are still working on some details of the beer production and will present the balance of World Alpha Acid Supply and Demand as soon as possible…

For many consumers, beer foam is an important visual attribute of beer. It is well known, that hop derived bitter components are important for a good foam quality, as measured by lacing and foam stability. Although tetrahydro-iso-alpha acids have been used widely in the industry to improve foam stability, some brewers have been looking for an alternative as tetrahydro-iso-alpha acids have a slight different bitterness profile compared to iso-alpha acids...

Estimates for the 2012 hop crop in Germany were finalized in the Hallertau on August 17th. We are pleased to attach a list comparing the crop results for 2011 with the estimates for 2012 for the world’s main growing areas.

When exposed to sunlight, i.e. if bottled in green or white glass, beer quickly develops an off-odour usually referred to as “sunstruck-flavour”. For about 50 years, 3-methyl-2-butenthiol (MBT) has been assumed to be the only cause of lightstruck-flavour, particularly due to its very low odour threshold. Several past studies suggest that the formation of thiol is a result of isohumulone coming into contact with light, riboflavin and cysteine. New studies show that it is not only MBT which causes sunstruck-flavour in beer. To assess the impact of hops and light on sunstruck-flavour, both hopped and unhopped beers were analysed before and after illumination. ...

Until its closure in 2007, new hop variety development in England was carried out at Wye College in Kent. Through the determined efforts of the National Hop Association of England the hop breeding programme is being continued by their new subsidiary company called Wye Hops Ltd. Since 2007, it has overseen the development of three new dwarf hop varieties which are described here.

This month, 4 new hop varieties were officially launched. These new varieties were bred in the Hop Research Institute in Hüll, Germany and are characterized by their unique flavours. As dry hopping becomes increasingly popular in the brewing industry, especially among craft brewers worldwide, these flavours, which re-appear in the finished beer, will no doubt make an important contribution to overall beer aroma. ...

The basis for evaluation for the analysis results of hop products is the statistical data of the methods recommended in Chapter 7 of ”Analytica-EBC“. This annually updated collection of methods will soon be available on-line (www.europeanbreweryconvention.org). All the prescriptions have been tested in ring analyses which provide a reliable source for the determination of statistical data. In some cases coefficients of variation (CV) and/or standard deviations (s) are used to characterize accuracy. Newer methods which have been tested according to the Norm „Accuracy (trueness and precision) of measurement methods and results“ (ISO 5725:1994), specify the errors of repeatability (r95) and reproducibility (R95) of an analysis with a statistical certainty of 95%.

Hop products are produced from a naturally grown organic material, which is liable to variable rates of deterioration after harvest and/or processing. Although processing of raw hops helps to preserve their important constituents, it is strongly