A natural foam enhancer from hops
Alpha acids in hops are responsible for beers’ bitterness via their thermal isomerization into isoalpha acids during the kettle boil. The alpha acids that don’t isomerize are absorbed onto the trub and yeast during fermentation with little if any getting into the final beer. Interestingly, alpha acids are soluble in beer and when added post-fermentation can dramatically improve the foam stability and lacing of beers at very low concentrations. This study shows that alpha acids can enhance the foam stability and lacing of beers, similar to tetrahydro-isoalpha acids and better than isoalpha acids or propylene glycol alginate (PGA). Foam stability measurements were made using the NIBEM-T foam tester via EBC test method 9.42.
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