6 - The processing of hops

Abstract

Publisher Summary This chapter presents that hops have an enormous impact on beer flavor, even though they are only used in comparatively small amounts. Hops have preservative effects as well as giving beer its characteristic bitterness and aroma. Obtaining an intense hop aroma no longer necessitates high bitterness, because of the wide range of hop products now available. Recent research has revealed possible health attributes in hops, which may influence the importance of hops as a raw material, not only for brewing but also for other areas, such as “nutraceuticals” and functional foods. Many breweries realized that there were major advantages in using hop pellets and hop extracts, such as reduced transportation and storage costs, easier handling and more consistent dosing. Today, the vast majority of hops is processed into hop pellets or hop extracts. Apart from hop variety, parameters that influence the utilization of components with brewing values include the type of hop product selected, dosage, time of dosage, intensity of wort boiling, pH value of the wort, trub separation, fermentation temperatures, form of fermentation tanks and the method of filtration and stabilizing. More than 95% of the hops grown worldwide are processed into hop products, due to their storage stability, homogeneity, higher efficiency and ease of handling.