Humulinones are similar in structure and about 65 % as bitter as iso-alpha acids – see Newsletter

The Hopsteiner Sensory Panel evaluates experimental varieties of interest in the same base beer as two different applications: a late hop addition and a dry hop addition at the beginning of secondary fermentation (hops are removed post-maturation). The raw hop, late hop beer and dry hop beer evaluation results for experimental variety 11405* are detailed below as an example of this process.

Humulinones are formed by the oxidation of alpha acids and are closely related to isoalpha acids in their molecular structure. It’s been reported that humulinones are 65 % as bitter as iso alpha acids and their discovery in hops and hop pellets are relatively new. Interestingly, the small concentration of humulinones in leaf hops increase after pelletization, despite vacuum packaging and cold storage. Leaf hops and hop pellets can contain as much as 0.2 % - 0.5 % w/w humulinones whereas CO2 hop extract contains none. We believe pelletization breaks the lupulin

Genotyping is the characterization of a hop variety by examination of its DNA sequences. This information is used in the Hopsteiner breeding program to select parents and evaluate seedlings, but molecular markers have immediate applications to quality control. For example, prior to propagation for planting a new field, the source material is tested for identity and purity by comparing its DNA fingerprints to an in-house database of molecular marker profiles for reference varieties. Until now, genotyping in hops, or other niche crops, lacked sufficient power, due to the small number of features measured in each assay and the considerable cost. Hopsteiner has solved this by applying Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) to hops, which increases the number and diversity of measured DNA features per assay -- far beyond what is required for routine genotyping.

The quality of beer foam can greatly influence consumer perception. As a result, measuring foam stability is a standard quality control parameter at most breweries. Besides others, foam stability measurements can be performed using Analytica-EBC Method 9.42 [1]. This test measures the stability of foam at 20 °C even though beers are poured and consumed cold. It was discovered that better NIBEM foam results were seen when beers were tested cold compared to room temperature. When an American Lager was treated with 6 ppm of iso-alpha acids, alpha acids, tetrahydro-iso-alpha acids and hexahydro-iso-alpha acids an increase in foam stability was seen as the temperatures of the beers tested got colder. Foam enhancing hop acids such as tetra, hexa and alpha acids experience up to 80 second improvement in foam stability when measured at 14 vs. 21 °C, whereas iso-slpha acids alone only saw about 60 second improvement under the same conditions. ...

In recent years there has been a growing trend towards beers with unique aromas, and breweries

As in previous years we would like to demonstrate how the contribution of hop oils to beer can

The 2014 Hopsteiner Guidelines are ready and will be available at BrauBeviale 2014 in Nuremberg.