Hops - a new wave to hop usage
(Excerpt from Belgium Shop Newsletter)
Brewers have been making beer for well over 5,000 years, but amazingly hops have only been a main ingredient for the past few hundred years. Even more incredible is that hops have only been utilized for their diverse aroma and flavor contributions – for only the past decade or two. It’s a split of a split second in terms of beer’s timeline, Examiner.com reports.
American craft brewers have recently initiated the not-so-traditional flavour and aroma characters that beer drinkers generally know as floral and fruity. But it’s far more interesting than just “fruity and floral.”
It may have begun with Michael Jackon’s ground breaking books where he describes the spicy and herbal character of such traditional hops as German Hallertauer and Czech Saaz. These are wonderful hops having fantastic herbal notes in flavor and aroma. But the issue for the beer drinking renaissance originating in the USA was that the level of hop flavor and aroma was far below the levels new beer drinkers were seeking.
Along came Cascade hops in the 1970s. This was the original citrus “fruity” hop used by craft brewers. Whether they knew what they were doing or not, they added these hops in different ways, creating hop aromas and flavours that were perceived by beer drinkers and zealously welcomed.
Higher alpha acid (more bitterness) hybrids followed such as Centennial, Chinook, Nugget – all adding to the American “citrus” hop revolution. Then in the early 2000, perhaps as early as the waning years of the 20th century, new American varieties were joined by unique hops from New Zealand. These hops, such as New Zealand Nelson B. Sauvin, Pacific Hallertauer, American Mt. Hood, Amarillo, Simcoe, Columbus, Citra, Sterling and many others were bred for their agriculture qualities and alpha acid (bitterness) strength.
But the unforeseen happened.
American craft brewers began using these hops in late additions in the brewing process and dry hopping in the fermentation and aging process. Their procedures and methodology was equally diverse.
A new way of utilizing hops emerged. Not only did it emerge, it is now a major emphasis distinguishing American craft brewers contributions to world-wide beer trends.
Grapefruit, tangerine, lemon, lime, rose, honey, nectar-floral, bergamot, passion fruit, red and black currant, gooseberry, banana, wine-grape bouquet, piney, woody, melon, lychee, geranium, apricot, peach, mango, mint, strawberry, blueberry, pineapple, water melon, peppery characters from hops are just the tip of the tail that wags hop horticulture.
Hop growers are finally beginning to understand that there are a growing number of brewers and beer drinkers who not only desire, but demand hop-character diversity in their beer. And brewers are willing to invest to assure that not only hops are grown with these characters, but want them to be sustainable. This is a complete topsy-turvy upside down way of thinking from the traditional hop growers perspective. Driven by large brewer’s desire for efficiency and hop bitter utilization, for decades it’s been completely about alpha acid yield and dollars. In short, alpha acid yield per acre has driven hop agriculture. Mostly it still is. American craft brewers brew only 5% of the volume of beer enjoyed in the USA, but they account for perhaps 30% of the hop usage. And often they aren’t just interested in plain old bitterness from hops.
Hop breeding in the USA has been going on for decades. There has been more attention paid to breeding for hop aroma and flavor, but not enough. Now the German Society of Hop Research Advisory Board last month released a document called, “New Trends in Hop Breeding.”
The Society of Hop Research recognizes the Classical Way and the New Way:
Classical Way:
traditional fine aroma of the Hallertauer mittelfrueh and Tettnanger type new aroma varieties with a distinctive aroma profile, such as Saphir, Opal and Smaragd
New Way:
trend started by the US craft brewers
search for unhoppy, fruity, exotic flavours derived from hops
developing hops with these aroma notes.
Cross breeding programs are underway in what is called the “H?ll Aroma Breeding” program. Key hop compounds have been identified such as:
citronellol = citrus like
limonene = citrus like
linalool = citrus, flowery like
geraniol = flowery, rose like
4-mercapto-4-methyl-pentan –2-on = black currant like
isobutyl isobutyrate = green apple like
2-methylbutyl isobutyrate = apricot flavour
But with a special note they justifiably recognize that knowing the above essential oils of dried hop cones does not mean it is easy to predict aroma and flavor notes in beer. That is very true. Why?
Getting hop flavours and aromas into beer depends on many variables.
When the hops are added if added late in the brewing process
Density or strength of the beer/wort
Variable during dry hopping period
Level of alcohol
Yeast in suspension (they interact with oils)
Alcohol
Beer style
Malt ingredients used
Temperature
Type of circulation
Time in contact with beer
Condition of hops and recognizing that qualities change with time
What are they cross breeding with various H?ll hop varieties? Mostly American Cascade hop, along with Fuggle.
These are interesting times for beer drinkers. The horizon looks promising, but it will take time for hop breeds to be ready for actual cultivation. Some varieties might have fantastic qualities, but are susceptible to disease and pests. It takes time. While beer drinkers anticipate, brewers will need to invest time, effort and support hop growers in their endeavor to pursue sustainable harvest of hops that offer a diverse variety of aromas and flavors. Why? Because beer drinkers want these exciting character in
their beer.
