High IBU beers (40 ppm of isoalpha acids or more) that are heavily dry hopped, with 1 lb of hops per barrel (0,381 kg/hl) or more, can experience significant changes in hop acid composition. When dry hopping high IBU beers, the leaf material of hops or hop pellets absorb and remove significant amounts of isoalpha acids and add significant amounts of low bitter humulinones and very low bitter alpha acids. ...

Craft beer buffs consider it the Oscar awards ceremony of the Italian brewery movement. “Beer of the year”, the contest now at its twelfth edition, will be the barometer that shows the sector’s ferment, highlighting emerging realities, professionalism, passion and innovations.

As in previous years, we performed a tasting of Pale Ales at the BrauBeviale 2016.

Hops, like sleeping beauty, have finally awoken from a deep sleep!

Of the three raw materials stipulated for brewing beer under the German Reinheitsgebot, hops are the least significant in terms of quantity but perhaps the most important with regard to their sensory impact. And although they are only present on a scale of one part per thousand in beer, the influence of hops is strong in the brewing world – and similarly, the brewing world substantially impacts hops as well.

Behaviour of linalool during beer staling

Hop aromatic beers have been around forever and a day. Linalool is frequently referred to as an indicator substance for sensory impression [1-4]. The rediscovery of dry hopping resulted in many hoppy, palateful beers coming on the market. But what about stability of hop aroma? Opinions voiced in the literature differ. This contribution analyses the behaviour of linalool in different beers during ageing at 20 and 30 °C based on many sample withdrawals. A sensory assessment was not part of the analyses to start with.

As already shown before in previous years, we would like to demonstrate how the contribution of hop oils to beer can vary from one crop year to another.

From October 24 to 26 2016 RMI Analytics conducted a malting barley crop tour in South Australia, taking in the growing regions of the Clare and Barossa Valley’s in the Mid-North region.

The 2016 Hopsteiner Guidelines are ready and will be available at BrauBeviale 2016 in Nuremberg.

Dry hopping and barrel aging – a collision of aromas or synergistic harmony?

Inspired by a lecture they attended at the Bierkulturhaus in Obertrum, Austria, the authors of this article decided to delve deeper into the subject of combining maturation on oak with dry hopping. The particular challenge, in this case, was to discern what influence the oak has on the beer and to find a hop variety or a hop product that would complement the aromas and flavors imparted by the wood. Once this was established, a second set of trials was carried out to determine how the quantity of the hop addition and the time spent on the wood influenced the beer.

Using MALDI-TOF-MS to classify yeasts of interest to brewers

Rapid and reliable identification of cultured and harmful yeasts is vital in many stages of beer production. The MALDI-TOF-MS system, established in clinical diagnostics, would also be suitable for use as a rapid and innovative classification method in the brewing industry in future.

A new machine improves work safety with compressed hops

Whole hops are enjoying increased popularity in breweries. They are packaged in vacupacks or so-called “hop bricks”, both of which are characterized by a high degree of compression as well as the exclusion of air. For the brewer, using vacupacks in the brewhouse is not so simple, since they have to be broken into pieces to measure out the hop additions. This is usually accomplished with a hammer, a chisel or a saw – a method requiring strength and effort – not to mention occupational safety risks.