World Beer Cup 2012

This year is the ninth edition of the biannual international beer competition, hosted by the Brewers Association. The 2012 World Beer Cup® will be held in San Diego, California, USA. Judging takes place May 1-2, 2012 in conjunction with Craft Brewers Conference. The competition will judge more than 3600 entries. Awards will be presented at the World Beer Cup Gala Awards Dinner on 5 May 2012, during the Craft Brewers Conference in San Diego. Every entering brewery receives one complimentary ticket to the awards ceremony.

Hops are one of the most interesting research areas worldwide and the full extent of all the applications for hops are far from being known. Therefore the Barth-Haas Group, the world’s largest supplier of hop products and services, will again confer grants for hop research projects in 2012.

The basis for evaluation for the analysis results of hop products is the statistical data of the methods recommended in Chapter 7 of ”Analytica-EBC“. This annually updated collection of methods will soon be available on-line (www.europeanbreweryconvention.org). All the prescriptions have been tested in ring analyses which provide a reliable source for the determination of statistical data. In some cases coefficients of variation (CV) and/or standard deviations (s) are used to characterize accuracy. Newer methods which have been tested according to the Norm „Accuracy (trueness and precision) of measurement methods and results“ (ISO 5725:1994), specify the errors of repeatability (r95) and reproducibility (R95) of an analysis with a statistical certainty of 95%.

The world’ s longest-established brewing competition is gearing up with a change of name – to The International Brewing Awards - and a growing list of sponsors, judges and brewers around the globe registering their interest.

The enrichment of the hop polyphenol xanthohumol (XN) in beer is limited because it is hardly soluble in water and it isomerises during wort boiling. Commercial dark beers comprise higher XN contents and in first investigations roasted substances proved to have potential for XN enrichment. In our brewing trials (10 and 50 L scale) we examined isomerisation in worts produced with different ratios of roasted malt beer. Moreover, we studied the point in time for XN addition to wort, as well as 23 malt and cereal varieties and a roasted malt liquid for the first time. In order to describe the XN carrier effect in more detail we compared gel permeation chromatograms of Pilsener, caramel, and roasted malt wort. Stability tests showed that XN is widely stable during pasteurisation..

Foreign particles in food and beverages constitute a serious problem to industry, due to company image and legal responsibility, and the consumer, whose health might be threatened. In this case random testing does not suffice and every container has to be individually tested for absence of such particles. Consequently, there is an urgent need for a reliable, fast and low cost system, which can be automated and which can be applied to filled and closed containers. The presented paper describes a system, which is based on rotatory movement of bottles. Due to their importance glass and PET bottles were used as examples for the approach, forcing particles like glass splinters to move to the wall..

Hop products are produced from a naturally grown organic material, which is liable to variable rates of deterioration after harvest and/or processing. Although processing of raw hops helps to preserve their important constituents, it is strongly

International review of aroma hop varieties – 1990 to date

The use of different hop varieties and hop products make it possible for brewers to create more distinct beers and thus to set themselves apart from the competition. With new types of hop products, attributes other than bitterness and hop aroma can be positively influenced, such as, foam and mouthfeel. The simplest and most traditional method for giving beer a unique hop character can be achieved by selecting a suitable hop variety. The choice of one or more aroma hop varieties is central for providing the beer with individual character. The following provides an overview of the trends in brewing with aroma hops, both in Germany and around the world.

Hard resins – components of brewing value

Research carried out between 2003 and 2009 showed a certain trend that the ratio of hard resins to alpha acids increases with increased quality of bitterness. The lower the ratio, the higher the alpha acid content and the lower the content of hard resins, resulting in a harsher bitterness. Based on these analyses, the author Jens Eiken proposes a new method of classifying hops which also regards different hop products and hop varieties as well as the time of addition.

High quality malting barley – advances in breeding

High quality malting barley has been enhanced through advances in barley breeding to create a superior product for the premium market. However, general appreciation for this product is lacking. This plays a role in judging its value and therefore its price acceptance in commercial trading. From the current perspective, it appears that the long years invested in breeding malting barley have apparently not paid off.

Ten steps for planning a brewery renovation or expansion project

Demands on modern breweries are in a constant state of flux as a consequence of scientific advances and fluctuations in growth. Obsolete equipment is replaced with new technology, batch sizes are modified and processes optimized. These changes underscore the need for realistic and future-oriented planning. Of course, there are experts who specialize in planning and designing breweries. Nonetheless, it is always a good idea to devote some time to deliberation on the matter before consulting equipment manufacturers and engineers.