The underappreciated influence of base malts on the taste of beer

Session beers | The most overlooked flavor contribution to beer comes, perhaps surprisingly, from the largest portion of the mash, the base malt. Brewers often purchase their pale base malt in bulk and then use it for all of their beers as if the nature and character of the pale foundation grist had little effect on the taste of the final beer – at least compared to the specialty malts and the hops in the recipes. In reality, however, this is not the case.

Malting barley report | The spring barley harvest in Europe is heterogeneous this year. More acreage in some countries does not necessarily mean a larger supply of good quality batches. Nevertheless, there is an abundant supply of spring barley available. A corona conditioned smaller demand for beer affects the demand.

Collaboration with European Breweries | Yakima Chief Hops, Yakima, USA, a 100 % farmer owned global hop supplier, has teamed up with some of the leading breweries across Europe to help launch Talus™ HBC 692, the newly named hop from the Hop Breeding Company, developed in part by Yakima Chief Ranches.

On the fate of branched chain fatty acids in beers

New hypothesis | Isobutyric acid, isovaleric acid, and 2-methylbutyric acid, so-called branched chain fatty acids, originate from malts, hops, and yeast fermentation. Their origin and behaviour during the beer brewing process is very complex. Ethyl esters of branched chain fatty acids (ethyl isobutyrate, ethyl isovalerate, and ethyl 2-methylbutyrate) are formed during fermentation. It is assumed that these esters simply originate from corresponding fatty acids by esterification with ethanol. This study proposes a new hypothesis for a potential biotransformation pathway of these esters in beer. The following article summarises parts of the research results that have already been published in BrewingScience, 2019, issue 6: November/December.

Discovering the secrets of hops

Barth-Haas Campus | The Barth-Haas Group opened its new sensory campus at the end of April. It is housed at the company headquarters in Nuremberg, Germany. Dr. Christina Schönberger is responsible for the campus including the brand-new concept brewery. She leads BRAUWELT International readers on a tour through the Barth-Haas Campus, unveiling what it has to offer.

Spring barley 2020 in Europe | The acreage of spring barley in Europe remains spacious. Even though growing conditions are not favourable in all regions, barley is not expected to be in short supply this year.

The impact of climate change on hops

THE CLIMATE FACTOR | Climate change, which has been predicted for some time, is now clearly visible, in spite of what the doubters say. In this article, weather data from the Hallertau hop growing region are compared with results from hop harvests in order to examine the effects of climate change.

Hop Products Australia | After more than a month of cutting, picking, drying, pressing, pelletising and packaging, the numbers are in. Hop Products Australia, North Hobart, Australia (HPA) harvested 631 hectares across its three farms in 2020, which resulted in a production volume of 1,554 metric tonnes.

Time of harvest and its influence on sulphur compounds of hops

Holistic approach | The craft brewer movement has profoundly changed the world of beer and hops. Formerly, the focus was exclusively on hop bitter substances (α-acids). Hops are meantime viewed again in a more differentiated and holistic way. A new awareness of varietal differences, growing regions and the great multiplicity of hop components has developed.

Towards the use of green malt in breweries for more ecological beer

A green approach | At a time when climate and ecology are at the center of political and citizen debates, it is also the duty of industries to reduce their ecological footprint. For breweries, the use of green malt is one way to achieve this. Castle Malting has been thinking and searching for many years for the best way to value green malt.

Auxiliary bitter compounds in hops and the quality of bitterness in beer

Improving the harmony | The term “auxiliary bitter compounds” in hops refers to all bitter compounds in the hop resin which are transferred to the beer and are not iso-α-acids. The majority of these substances are considered desirable from a sensory perspective. The ratio of the non-specific EBC bittering units (spectrophotometric method) to the specific iso-α-acids (HPLC method) serves as an indicator for the amount of auxiliary bitter compounds in beer. The evaluation of various existing data demonstrates: adding larger amounts of aroma hops over several additions not only influences the aroma but also serves to improve the harmony of the beer bitterness.