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.

Full hop aroma with 50% less hops

Efficient aroma extraction and reproducible aromatisation – these were the requirements for developing HopGun by BrauKon GmbH in Truchtlaching. A diploma thesis written at the Chair of Brewing and Beverage Technology at the TU München in Weihenstephan investigated the extent to which hop-accented beers can be brewed using the new miracle device.

Beer filtration, a technique that is not normally practiced in terms of craft brewing, could potentially lead to an enrichment in certain beer aroma profiles.

The supply of spring malting barley in Europe will be significantly smaller this year than in other years. In certain regions the acreage was reduced. Overall, qualities do not meet the expectations.

On August 15 and 16, RMI Analytics conducted a malting barley crop tour in South Central Saskatchewan visiting commercial fields, trial plots, grain elevators and silos near Saskatoon. During the tour the barley harvest was just starting but the weather was holding up progress with heavy showers occurring on a daily basis. Crops that were planted early in the seeding period are more advanced and will be harvested in the coming days, but some later seeded barley is still up to three weeks away from harvest.

Crop 2016 estimates for Germany were finalized in the Hallertau growing area on August 24th, 2016.

3rd German Hop Convention

The 3rd German Hop Convention will take place this year in the Hallertau, immediately after the hop harvest, from October 11th to 13th. This event is the third of its kind and has been conceived with a view to outreaching to the international brewing communities and craft beer brewers. It is organised by the Association of German Hop Growers [EV] and HVG Hopfenverwertungsgesellschaft e.G. BRAUWELT International spoke with Otmar Weingarten, Managing Director of the Association of German Hop Growers [EV] to find out more about the event.