We presented a first estimate of crop 2009 hop production at drinktec. At that time there was still some uncertainty regarding the actual crop size and alpha contents of crop 2009 hops. The figures are now clearer. Based on the updated crop size of 111.483 mt of hops there will be a total of approx. 9,942 mt of alpha acid available for the coming year.

At the Drinktec 2009 we invited visitors to taste two Pilsner type beers. About 300 people assessed our beers, brewed using 50 % each of the new aroma varieties Saphir and Smaragd. Hop dosage, based on alpha-acid content, was as follows: …

The official German 2009 hop crop estimates were published on August 19th. Following please find those estimates as well as the final world hop crop figures

There are several options available for brewers to produce beers with hop aroma.

Spring 2008 witnessed an acreage increase that had not been seen for over thirty years.

A prerequisite for the production of lightstable beers is the use of reduced hop products, iso-alpha acids which have been converted into rho-, tetra- and hexa-hydro-iso-alpha acids.

Increased demand for hops worldwide for many years has resulted in the breeding of hop plants and consequent development of new varieties with ever increasing alpha acid concentrations. This trend was accompanied by the introduction of 2 new classifications, one called “High-Alpha varieties”, the other called “Super-High-Alpha varieties”.

For brewers, the most important compounds of hops are the alpha acids. During wort boiling the insoluble alpha-acids isomerise to soluble iso-alpha acids which are the main bittering compounds in beer. Depending on hop variety and hop product, there are several soluble unspecific resins other than the iso-alpha acids which contribute to beer bitterness. The content of “non alpha bitterness” can be shown by comparing the unspecific EBC 7.5 method with the specific HPLC method used for the determination of alpha acids (EBC 7.7). The ratios of these two methods are demonstrated in figure 1 and 2 for fresh aroma and bitter hops: ...