From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Malted barley - a primary mash ingredient
In brewing, the act of creating and extracting fermentable and non-fermentable sugars and flavor components from grain by steeping it in hot water, and then allowing it to rest at specific temperature ranges in order to activate enzymes that will convert the starches to sugars is called mashing. Mash ingredients are those materials from which these sugars and flavor components can be obtained. These sugars, having been run off from the mash ingredients, will later be converted to alcohol and other fermentation products by yeast in the brewing process.
The primary type of mash ingredient is grain that has been malted. Modern-day recipes generally consist of a large percentage of a light malt and, optionally, smaller percentages of more flavorful or highly-colored types of malt. The former is called base malt; the latter, specialty malts.
The selection of malts and other grains in a mash, taken together, is called the grain bill. The grain bill of a beer may vary widely in the number of ingredients. For example, Abbeydale Brewery's "Absolution", a pale ale, uses only one mash ingredient: pale malt; meanwhile, Salopian Brewing Company's "Entire Butt", a black porter, declares the following fourteen ingredients in its grain bill: pale malt, lager malt, wheat malt, pale and dark crystal malts, pale and dark chocolate malts, caramalt, torrefied wheat, amber malt, brown malt, and malted oats.
Contents
1 Variables
2 Malts
2.1 Pale malt
2.2 Mild malt
2.3 Stout malt
2.4 Amber malt
2.5 Brown malt
2.6 Chocolate malt
2.7 Black malt
2.8 Crystal malt
2.9 Distillers malt
2.10 Peated malt
2.11 Pilsener malt
2.12 Vienna malt
2.13 Munich malt
2.14 Rauchmalz
2.15 Acid malt
2.16 Unmalted barley
3 Other grains
3.1 Wheat
3.1.1 Wheat malt
3.1.2 Torrefied wheat
3.1.3 Raw wheat
3.1.4 Wheat flour
3.2 Rye
3.3 Sorghum & Millet
3.4 Rice & Corn
4 Non-grain solids
5 Syrups and extracts
6 Regional differences
6.1 Britain
6.2 Continental Europe
6.3 The United States
6.4 Belgium
7 References
8 See also
9 External links
10 Sources
Variables
Further information: Mashing
Each particular ingredient has its own flavor which contributes to the final character of the beverage. In addition, different ingredients carry other characteristics, not directly relating to the flavor, which may dictate some of the choices made in brewing: nitrogen content, diastatic power, color, modification, and conversion.
The color of a grain or product is evaluated by the American Society of Brewing Chemists Standard Reference Method (denoted both SRM and ASBC, although the two methods are equivalent); the older Lovibond series 52 standard, (°L), which corresponds closely to SRM; or by the European Brewery Convention (EBC) standard. The British Institute of Brewing (IOB) standard was formally retired in 1991, but is still occasionally seen in the United Kingdom.
Diastatic power for a grain is measured in degrees Lintner (°Lintner or °L, although the latter can conflict with the symbol °L for Lovibond color); or in Europe by Windisch-Kolbach units (°WK).
Malts
The oldest and most predominant ingredient in brewing is barley, which has been used in beer-making for thousands of years. Modern brewing predominantly uses malted barley for its enzymatic power, but ancient Babylonian recipes indicate that, without the ability to malt grain in a controlled fashion, baked bread was simply soaked in water. European brewers generally make use only of two-row barley; while brewers in North America mainly use six-row barley.
Malted barley dried at a sufficiently low temperature contains enzymes such as amylase which convert starch into sugar. Therefore, sugars can be extracted from the barley's own starches simply by soaking the grain in water at a controlled temperature; this is mashing.
Pale malt
Pale malt is the basis of pale ale and bitter and the precursor in production of most other British beer malts. Dried at temperatures sufficiently low to preserve all the brewing enzymes in the grain, it is light in color and, today, the cheapest barley malt available due to mass production. It can be used as a base malt, that is, as the malt constituting the majority of the grist, in many styles of beer. Typically, English pale malts are kilned at 95-105 °C. Color ASBC 2-3/EBC 5-7. Diastatic power (DP) 45 °Lintner.
Mild malt
Mild malt is often used as the base malt for mild ale, and is similar in color to pale malt. Mild malt is kilned at slightly higher temperatures than pale malt in order to provide a less neutral, rounder flavor generally described as "nutty". ASBC 3/EBC 6.
Stout malt
Stout malt is sometimes seen as a base malt for stout beer; light in color, it is prepared so as to maximize diastatic power in order to better-convert the large quantities of dark malts and unmalted grain used in stouts. In practice, however, most stout recipes make use of pale malt for its much greater availability. ASBC 2-3/EBC 4-6, DP 60-70 °Lintner.
Amber malt
Amber malt is a more toasted form of pale malt, kilned at temperatures of 150-160 °C, and is used in brown porter; older formulations of brown porter use amber malt as a base malt. Amber malt has a bitter flavor which mellows on ageing, and can be quite intensely flavored; in addition to its use in porter, it also appears in a diverse range of British beer recipes. ASBC 50-70/EBC 100-140; amber malt has no diastatic power.
Brown malt
Brown malt is a darker form of pale malt, and is used typically in brown ale as well as in porter and stout. Like amber malt, it can be prepared from pale malt at home by baking a thin layer of pale malt in an oven until the desired color is achieved. 50-70 °L, no enzymes.
Chocolate malt
Chocolate malt is similar to pale and amber malts but kilned at even higher temperatures. Producing complex undertones of vanilla and caramel (but not chocolate), it is used in porters and sweet stouts as well as dark mild ales. It contains no enzymes. ASBC 450-500/EBC 1100-1300.
Black malt
Black malt, also called patent malt or black patent malt, is barley malt that has been kilned to the point of carbonizing, around 200 °C. The term "patent malt" comes from its invention in England in 1817, late enough that the inventor of the process for its manufacture, Daniel Wheeler, was awarded a patent. Black malt provides the color and some of the flavor in black porter, contributing an acrid, ashy undertone to the taste. In small quantities, black malt can also be used to darken beer to a desired color, sometimes as a substitute for caramel. Due to its high kilning temperature, it contains no enzymes. ASBC 500-600/EBC >1300.
Crystal malt
Crystal malts are prepared separately from pale malts. They are high-nitrogen malts which are wetted and roasted in a rotating drum before kilning. They produce strongly sweet toffee-like flavors and are sufficiently converted that they can be steeped without mashing to extract their flavor. Crystal malts are available in a range of colors, with darker-colored crystal malts, that is, those kilned at higher temperatures, producing stronger, more caramel-like overtones. Some of the sugars in crystal malts caramelize during kilning and become unfermentable; hence, addition of crystal malt will increase the final sweetness of a beer. They contain no enzymes. ASBC 50-165/EBC 90-320; the typical British crystal malt used in pale ale and bitter is around ASBC 70-80.
Distillers malt
Standard distillers malt or pot still malt is quite light and very high in nitrogen compared to beer malts. These malts are used in the production of whiskey and generally originate from northern Scotland.
Peated malt
Peated malt is also available; this is distillers malt that has been smoked over burning peat in order to add a dark aroma and flavor characteristic of Islay whisky and some Irish whiskey. Some recent brewers have also included peated malt in interpretations of Scotch ales, although this is generally anhistorical. It has sufficient diastatic power to self-convert.
Pilsener malt
Pilsener malt, the basis of Pilsener lager, is quite pale and strongly flavored. Invented in the 1840s, Pilsener malt is the lightest-colored generally-available malt, and also carries a strong, sweet malt flavor. Usually a Pilsener beer's grain bill consists entirely of this malt, which has enough enzymatic power to be used as a base malt. The commercial desirability of light-colored beers has also led to some British brewers adopting Pilsener malt (sometimes described simply as "lager malt" in Britain) in creating golden ales. In Germany, Pilsener malt is also used in some interpretations of the Kölsch style. ASBC 1-2/EBC 3-4, DP 60 °Lintner.
Vienna malt
Vienna malt or Helles malt is the characteristic grain of Vienna lager and Märzen; although it generally takes up only ten to fifteen percent of the grain bill in a beer, it can be used as a base malt. It has sufficient enzymatic power to self-convert, and it is somewhat darker and kilned at a higher temperature than Pilsener malt. ASBC 3-4/EBC 7-10, DP 50 °Lintner.
Munich malt
Munich malt is used as the base malt of the bock beer style, especially doppelbock, and appears in dunkel lager in smaller quantities. While a darker grain, it has sufficient diastatic power to self-convert, despite being kilned at temperatures around 115 °C. ASBC 4-6/EBC 10-15, DP 40 °Lintner.
Rauchmalz
Rauchmalz is a German malt that is prepared by being dried over an open flame rather than via kiln. The grain has a smoky aroma and is an essential ingredient in Bamberg Rauchbier.
Acid malt
Acid malt, whose grains contain lactic acid, can be used as a continental analog to Burtonization. Acid malt lowers mash pH, and provides a rounder, fuller character to the beer, enhancing the flavor of Pilseners and other light lagers. Lowering the pH also helps prevent beer spoilage through oxidation.
Honey malt is an intensely-flavored, lightly-colored malt. 18-20 °L.
Melanoidin malt, a malt like the Belgian Aromatic malt, adds roundness and malt flavor to a beer with a comparably small addition in the grain bill. It also stabilizes the flavor.
Unmalted barley
Unmalted barley kernels are used in mashes in Irish whiskey.
Roast barley are unmalted barley kernels which has been toasted in an oven until almost black. Roast barley is, after base malt, usually the most-used grain in stout beers, contributing the majority of the flavor and the characteristic dark-brown color; undertones of chocolate and coffee are common. ASBC 500-600/EBC >1300 or more, no diastatic activity.
Black barley is like roast barley except even darker.
Flaked barley is unmalted, dried barley which has been rolled into flat flakes. It imparts a rich, grainy flavor to beer and is used in many stouts, especially Guinness stout; it also improves head formation and retention.
Torrefied barley is barley kernels that have been heated until they pop like popcorn.
Other grains
Wheat
Wheat malt
Beer brewed in the German Hefeweizen style rely mostly or entirely on malted wheat as a grain, as does Belgian witbier. Lambic also makes heavy use of wheat. Under the Reinheitsgebot, wheat was treated separately from barley, as it was the more expensive grain.
Torrefied wheat
Torrefied wheat is used in British brewing to increase the size and retention of a head in beer. Generally it is used as an enhancer rather than for its flavor.
Raw wheat
Wheat flour
Until the general availability of torrefied wheat, wheat flour was often used for similar purposes in brewing. Wheat flour was also, erroneously, used as a yeast food in medieval and renaissance brewing; flour would be cast into the fermenter to feed top-floating yeasts, which have no means of absorbing the raw flour. Brewer's flour is only rarely available today, and is of a larger grist than baker's flour.
Rye
The use of rye in a beer typifies the rye beer style, especially the German Roggenbier. Rye is also used in the Slavic kvass and Finnish sahti farmhouse styles, as readily-available grains in eastern Europe. However, the use of rye in brewing is considered difficult as rye lacks a hull (like wheat) and contains large quantities of beta-glucans compared to other grains; these long-chain sugars can leach out during a mash, creating a sticky gelatinous gum in the mash tun, and as a result brewing with rye requires a long, thorough beta-glucanase rest. Rye is said to impart a spicy, dry flavor to beer.
Sorghum & Millet
Sorghum and millet are often used in African brewing. As gluten-free grains, they have gained popularity in the Northern Hemisphere as base materials for beers suitable for people with coeliac disease. Sorghum produces a dark, hazy beer, however, and sorghum malt is difficult to prepare and rarely commercially available outside certain African countries. Millet is an ingredient in chhaang and pomba, and both grains together are used in oshikundu.
Rice & Corn
In North America, rice and corn are often used by commercial breweries as a means of readily adding fermentable sugars to a beer cheaply, due to the ready availability and low price of the grains. However, corn is also the base grain in chicha and some caium, as well as Bourbon whiskey; while rice is the base grain of happoshu and various mostly Asian fermented beverages often referred to as "rice wines" such as sake and makkoli; corn is also used as an ingredient in some Belgian beers such as Rodenbach to lighten the body.
Corn was originally introduced into the brewing of American lagers because of the high protein content of the six-row barley; adding corn, which is high in sugar but low in protein, helped thin out the body of the resulting beer. Increased amounts of corn use over time led to the development of the American pale lager style. Corn is generally not malted, but instead introduced into the mash as flaked, dried kernels.
Brewers should notice that corn and rice don't contain any enzymes. It is therefore required that these adjuncts are used together with enzyme rich adjuncts, such as normal malts. Prior to a brew, rice and corn should be cooked for about an hour to allow the starch to gelatinize and thereby render it convertible.
Non-grain solids
Buckwheat and quinoa, while not grains, both contain high levels of available starch and protein, while containing no gluten. Therefore, some breweries use these plants in the production of beer suitable for people with coeliac disease, either alone or in combination with sorghum.
Syrups and extracts
Main article: Adjunct (beer)
Another way of adding sugar or flavoring to a malt beverage is the addition of natural or artificial sugar products such as honey, white sugar, or malt extract. While these ingredients can be added during the mash, the enzymes in the mash do not act on them. Such ingredients can be added during the boil of the wort rather than the mash, and as such, are also known as copper sugars.
One syrup which is commonly used in the mash, however, is diastatic malt extract or DME. DME is prepared by fully converting base malt, then draining the resulting mash, still including amylases, and evaporating it down to a high density. DME is used exclusively in homebrewing as a substitute for base malt. It typically has a diastatic power of around 100 °Lintner.
Regional differences
Britain
British brewing makes use of a wide variety of malts, with considerable stylistic freedom for the brewer to blend them. Many British malts were developed only as recently as the Industrial Revolution, as improvements in temperature-controlled kilning allowed finer control over the drying and toasting of the malted grains.
The typical British brewer's malt is a well-modified, low-nitrogen barley grown in the east of England or southeast of Scotland. In England, the best-known brewer's malt is made from the Maris Otter strain of barley; other common strains are Halcyon, Pipkin, Chariot, and Fanfare. Most malts in current use in Britain are derived from pale malt and were invented no earlier than the reign of Queen Anne. Brewing malt production in Britain is thoroughly industrialized, with barley grown on dedicated land and malts prepared in bulk in large, purpose-build maltings and distributed to brewers around the country to order.
Continental Europe
Before controlled-temperature kilning became available, malted grains were dried over wood fires; Rauchmalz (German: smoked malt) is malt dried using this traditional process. In Germany, beech is often used as the wood for the fire, imparting a strongly smoky flavor to the malt. This malt is then used as the primary component of rauchbier; alder-smoked malt is used in Alaskan smoked porters. Rauchmalz comes in several varieties, generally named for and corresponding to standard kilned varieties (e.g. Rauchpilsener to Pilsener); color and diastatic power are comparable to those for an equivalent kilned grain.
Similarly to crystal malts in Britain, central Europe makes use of caramel malts, which are moistened and kilned at temperatures around 55-65 °C in a rotating drum before being heated to higher temperatures for browning. The lower-temperature moistened kilning causes conversion and mashing to take place in the oven, resulting in a grain's starches becoming mostly or entirely converted to sugar before darkening. Caramel malts are produced in color grades analogous to other lager malts: carapils for pilsener malt, caravienne or carahell for Vienna malt, and caramunch for Munich malt. Color and final kilning temperature are comparable to non-caramel analog malts; there is no diastatic activity. Carapils malt is sometimes also called dextrin malt. 10-120 °L.
The United States
American brewing combines British and Central European heritages, and as such uses all the above forms of beer malt; Belgian-style brewing is less common but its popularity is growing. In addition, America also makes use of some specialized malts:
6-row pale malt is a pale malt made from a different species of barley. Quite high in nitrogen, 6-row malt is used as a "hot" base malt for rapid, thorough conversion in a mash, as well as for extra body and fullness; the flavor is more neutral than 2-row malt. 1.8 °L, 160 °Lintner.
Victory malt is a specialized lightly-roasted 2-row malt that provides biscuity, caramel flavors to a beer. Similar in color to amber and brown malt, it is often an addition to American brown ale. 25 °L, no diastatic power.
Other notable American barley malts include Special Roast and coffee malt. Special Roast is akin to a darker variety of victory malt.
Belgium
Belgian brewing makes use of the same grains as central European brewing. In general, though, Belgian malts are slightly darker and sweeter than their central European counterparts. In addition, Belgian brewing uses some local malts:
Pale malt in Belgium is generally darker than British pale malt. Kilning takes place at temperatures five to ten °C lower than for British pale malt, but for longer periods; diastatic power is comparable to that of British pale malt. ASBC 4/EBC 7.
Special B is a dark, intensely sweet crystal malt providing a strong malt flavor.
Biscuit malt is a lightly-flavored roasted malt used to darken some Belgian beers. 45-50 EBC/25 °L.
Aromatic malt, by contrast, provides an intensely malty flavor. Kilned at 115 °C, it retains enough diastatic power to self-convert. 50-55 EBC/20 °L.
References
See also
Roasted grain beverage
[edit] External links
"Understanding Malt Analysis Sheets – How to Become Fluent in Malt Analysis Interpretation" by Greg Noonan
How to Brew by John Palmer, an online book detailing all the basics of homebrewing beer.
Sources
Daniels, Ray, Designing Great Beer, 1996, 2000, Brewers Publications. ISBN 0-937381-50-0
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mash_ingredients"
Categories: Brewing
Hidden category: Articles needing additional references from June 2007
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Malt
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Malted barley
Malting is a process applied to cereal grains, in which the grains are made to germinate (by soaking them in water [1]) and are then quickly halted from germinating further (by drying/heating it with hot air before the plant develops).[2][3] Malting is thus a combination of two processes; notably the sprouting process and the kiln-drying process. These latter terms are often preferred when referring to the stadium of brewing for batches of beer (or other beverage) are in (this, as they provide more in-depth information).
The term malt refers to several products of the process:
The grains to which this process has been applied, for example malted barley;
The sugar derived from such grains which is heavy in maltose, such as baker's malt used in cereals such as Rice Krispies.
A product, based on malted milk, similar to a malted milkshake (i.e., "malts").
whisky or beer can also be called malt as in Alfred Edward Housman's aphorism "malt does more than Milton can, to justify God's ways to Man."
Contents
1 Uses
2 Malting
3 Mashing
4 References
5 See also
Uses
Homebrewing malt extracts: liquid in a can and spray dried.
Malted grain is used to make beer, whisky, and malt vinegar. Malting grains develops the enzymes that are required to modify the grain's starches into sugars, including monosaccharides (glucose, fructose, etc.) and disaccharides (sucrose, etc.). It also develops other enzymes, such as proteases which break down the proteins in the grain into forms which can be utilized by yeast. Barley is the most commonly malted grain in part because of its high diastatic power or enzyme content. Also very important is the retention of the grain's husk even after threshing, unlike the bare seeds of threshed wheat or rye. This protects the growing acrospire (developing plant embryo) from damage during malting, which can easily lead to mold growth. It also allows the mash of converted grain to create a filter bed during sparging (see brewing). Other grains may be malted, although the resulting malt may not have sufficient enzymatic content to convert its own starch content fully and efficiently and may create a "stuck sparge" .
Malting
A oast house in Kent
A smoke channel in a oast house
A malting, sometimes called maltings, malthouse, oast house or malting floor, is a building that houses the process of converting barley into malt, for use in the brewing or distilling process. This is done by kiln-drying the sprouted barley. This is usually done by spreading the sprouted barley on a perforated wooden floor. Smoke, coming from a oasting fireplace (via smoke channels) is then used to heat the wooden floor (and thus, the sprouted grain with it). The temperature thus employed is usually around 55° Celsius. A typical floor maltings is a long, single-story building with a floor that slopes slightly from one end of the building to the other. There are a number of maltings buildings still in existence, and a handful are still operational. Floor maltings began to be phased out from the 1940's in favour of 'pneumatic plants'. Here large industrial fans are used to blow air through the germinating grain beds and to pass hot air through the malt being kilned. Like floor maltings these pneumatic plants are batch processes but of considerably greater size, typically 100 tonne batches compared with 20 tonne batches for a floor maltings.
Mashing
It is to be noted that malt is often divided into two categories by brewers; notably those that need mashing and those that don't need mashing.[4] Light colored malts such as pale ale malt, pilsener malt and malted wheat need to be mashed to convert the starches into fermentable sugars. Pre-converted -or "speciality"- malts (caramel or crystal malts) don't need to be mashed.
References
^ "How to brew"-manual by John Palmer
^ "Quality Factors for Malting, Brewing and other End-uses", Oregon State University. Retrieved on 2007-04-13.
^ What is malting?
^ Malt division by mashing and not mashing
Make Your Own Malt, Brew Your Own magazine (ISSN 1081-826X ), August 1997, pp. 32-36.
UK Malt The website of The Maltsters' Association of Great Britain. UK Malting Barley information and malt images.
See also
Look up malt in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Mash ingredients
Beer style
Malta (soft drink)
Malt beverage
Malt liquor
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malt"
Categories: Sweeteners Brewing
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Malted barley
Malting is a process applied to cereal grains, in which the grains are made to germinate (by soaking them in water [1]) and are then quickly halted from germinating further (by drying/heating it with hot air before the plant develops).[2][3] Malting is thus a combination of two processes; notably the sprouting process and the kiln-drying process. These latter terms are often preferred when referring to the stadium of brewing for batches of beer (or other beverage) are in (this, as they provide more in-depth information).
The term malt refers to several products of the process:
The grains to which this process has been applied, for example malted barley;
The sugar derived from such grains which is heavy in maltose, such as baker's malt used in cereals such as Rice Krispies.
A product, based on malted milk, similar to a malted milkshake (i.e., "malts").
whisky or beer can also be called malt as in Alfred Edward Housman's aphorism "malt does more than Milton can, to justify God's ways to Man."
Contents
1 Uses
2 Malting
3 Mashing
4 References
5 See also
Uses
Homebrewing malt extracts: liquid in a can and spray dried.
Malted grain is used to make beer, whisky, and malt vinegar. Malting grains develops the enzymes that are required to modify the grain's starches into sugars, including monosaccharides (glucose, fructose, etc.) and disaccharides (sucrose, etc.). It also develops other enzymes, such as proteases which break down the proteins in the grain into forms which can be utilized by yeast. Barley is the most commonly malted grain in part because of its high diastatic power or enzyme content. Also very important is the retention of the grain's husk even after threshing, unlike the bare seeds of threshed wheat or rye. This protects the growing acrospire (developing plant embryo) from damage during malting, which can easily lead to mold growth. It also allows the mash of converted grain to create a filter bed during sparging (see brewing). Other grains may be malted, although the resulting malt may not have sufficient enzymatic content to convert its own starch content fully and efficiently and may create a "stuck sparge" .
Malting
A oast house in Kent
A smoke channel in a oast house
A malting, sometimes called maltings, malthouse, oast house or malting floor, is a building that houses the process of converting barley into malt, for use in the brewing or distilling process. This is done by kiln-drying the sprouted barley. This is usually done by spreading the sprouted barley on a perforated wooden floor. Smoke, coming from a oasting fireplace (via smoke channels) is then used to heat the wooden floor (and thus, the sprouted grain with it). The temperature thus employed is usually around 55° Celsius. A typical floor maltings is a long, single-story building with a floor that slopes slightly from one end of the building to the other. There are a number of maltings buildings still in existence, and a handful are still operational. Floor maltings began to be phased out from the 1940's in favour of 'pneumatic plants'. Here large industrial fans are used to blow air through the germinating grain beds and to pass hot air through the malt being kilned. Like floor maltings these pneumatic plants are batch processes but of considerably greater size, typically 100 tonne batches compared with 20 tonne batches for a floor maltings.
Mashing
It is to be noted that malt is often divided into two categories by brewers; notably those that need mashing and those that don't need mashing.[4] Light colored malts such as pale ale malt, pilsener malt and malted wheat need to be mashed to convert the starches into fermentable sugars. Pre-converted -or "speciality"- malts (caramel or crystal malts) don't need to be mashed.
References
^ "How to brew"-manual by John Palmer
^ "Quality Factors for Malting, Brewing and other End-uses", Oregon State University. Retrieved on 2007-04-13.
^ What is malting?
^ Malt division by mashing and not mashing
Make Your Own Malt, Brew Your Own magazine (ISSN 1081-826X ), August 1997, pp. 32-36.
UK Malt The website of The Maltsters' Association of Great Britain. UK Malting Barley information and malt images.
See also
Look up malt in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Mash ingredients
Beer style
Malta (soft drink)
Malt beverage
Malt liquor
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malt"
Categories: Sweeteners Brewing
Views
Article
Discussion
Edit this page
History
Personal tools
Log in / create account
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This page was last modified on 10 July 2008, at 16:49.
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HOPS
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
It has been suggested that this page or section be merged with Hop (plant) . (Discuss)
This article is about the beer ingredient. For the botanical article on the hop plant see Hop (plant). See Hop for other meanings
Hop cone in a Hallertau, Germany, hop yard
Cross-section drawing of a hop
Hops are the female flower cones of the hop plant (Humulus lupulus). They are used primarily as a flavoring and stability agent in beer, and also in other beverages and in herbal medicine. The first documented use in beer is from the eleventh century. Hops contain several characteristics favorable to beer, balancing the sweetness of the malt with bitterness, contributing flowery, citrus, fruity or herbal aromas, and having an antibiotic effect that favors the activity of brewer's yeast over less desirable microorganisms. The hop plant is a vigorous climbing herbaceous perennial, usually grown up strings in a field called a hopfield, hop garden or hop yard. Many different varieties of hops are grown by farmers all around the world, with different types being used for particular styles of beer.
Contents
1 History
2 World production
3 Brewing
4 Hop varieties
4.1 Noble hops
4.2 Other varieties
5 Other uses
6 See also
7 References
History
Hops in the coat of arms of Pašvitinys, Lithuania
Hops were first mentioned by Pliny the Elder in his Naturalis Historia,[1]. The first documented instance of hop cultivation was in 736, in the Hallertau region of present-day Germany, although the first mention of the use of hops in brewing in that country was 1079.[2] Not until the thirteenth century in Germany did hops begin to start threatening the use of gruit for flavoring. In Britain, hopped beer was first imported from Holland around 1400; however, hops were initially condemned in 1519 as a "wicked and pernicious weed". In 1471, Norwich, England banned the plant from the use in the brewing of beer, and it wasn't until 1524 that hops were first grown in southeast England. It was a further century before hop cultivation began in the present-day United States in 1629.[3]
World production
As of 2005, the ten leading countries for hop cultivation (based on reported total production[4]) were:
Countries by hop cultivation, in tonnes (t)
Country
Output (t)
Germany
34 438
USA
23 494
China
10 576
Czech Republic
7 831
Poland
3 414
Slovenia
2 539
United Kingdom
1 693
Spain
1 537
Ukraine
1 474
France
1 372
Important production centers are the Hallertau Valley in Germany (which, in 2006, had more hop-growing area than any other country in the world),[5] and the Yakima (Washington) and Willamette (Oregon) valleys in the United States.[6] The principal production centres in the UK are in Kent (which produces Kent Golding hops) and Worcestershire.[7] [8] Essentially all of the harvested hops are used in beer making.
Global prices for hops (along with barley and malt) are currently on the rise due to a combination of prolonged drought conditions in Australia, North America and New Zealand, a poor harvest in Europe, increasing fuel prices and the rising demand for corn ethanol in the United States.[9] [10] This increase will likely see an increase in the price of beer.
Until mechanisation, the need for massed labor at harvest time meant hop-growing had a big social impact. For example, many of those hop picking in Kent, a hop region first mechanised in the 1960s, were Eastenders. For them, the annual migration meant not just money in the family pocket but a welcome break from the grime and smoke of London. Whole families would come down on special trains and live in hoppers' huts and gradients for most of September, even the smallest children helping in the fields.[11]
Brewing
Early season hop growth in a hop yard in the Yakima Valley, Washington with Mount Adams in the distance
Hops have to be dried in an oast before they can be used in the brewing process. Hop resins are composed of two main acids: alpha and beta acids.
Alpha acids have a mild antibiotic/bacteriostatic effect against Gram-positive bacteria, and favor the exclusive activity of brewing yeast in the fermentation of beer.
Beta acids do not isomerise during the boil of wort, and have a negligible effect on beer flavor. Instead they contribute to beer's bitter aroma, and high beta acid hop varieties are often added at the end of the wort boil for aroma. Beta acids may oxidize into compounds that can give beer off-flavors of rotten vegetables or cooked corn.
The flavor imparted by hops varies by type and use: hops boiled with the beer (known as "bittering hops") produce bitterness, while hops added to beer later impart some degree of "hop flavour" (if during the final 10 minutes of boil) or "hop aroma" (if during the final 3 minutes, or less, of boil) and a lesser degree of bitterness. Adding hops after the wort has cooled and the beer has fermented is known as "dry hopping", and adds hop aroma, but no bitterness. The degree of bitterness imparted by hops depends on the degree to which otherwise insoluble alpha acids (AAs) are isomerized during the boil, and the impact of a given amount of hops is specified in International Bitterness Units. Unboiled hops are only mildly bitter.
Flavors and aromas are described appreciatively using terms which include "grassy", "floral", "citrus", "spicy", "piney" and "earthy". Most of the common commercial lagers have fairly low hop influence, while true pilseners should have noticeable noble hop aroma and certain ales (particularly the highly-hopped style known as India Pale Ale, or IPA) can have high levels of bitterness.
Hop varieties
Particular hop varieties are associated with beer styles, for example pale lagers are usually brewed with European (and often Czech and/or German) hop varieties such as Saaz, Hallertau and Strissel Spalt. English ales use hop varieties such as Fuggle, Golding and Bullion. North American varieties include Cascade, Columbia, Willamette and Amarillo.
Noble hops
Mature hops growing in a hop yard (Germany)
The term noble hops traditionally refers to four varieties of hop which are low in bitterness and high in aroma. They are the central European cultivars, Hallertau Mittelfrüh, Tettnanger, Spalter, and Saaz.[2] They are each named for a specific region or city in which they were first grown or primarily grown. They contain high amounts of the hop oil humulene and low amounts of alpha acids cohumulone and adhumulone, as well as lower amounts of the harsher-tasting beta acids lupulone, colupulone, and adlupulone.
Their low relative bitterness but strong aroma are often distinguishing characteristics of European-style lager beer, such as Pilsener, Dunkel, and Oktoberfest/Märzen. In beer, they are considered aroma hops (as opposed to bittering hops); see Pilsner Urquell as a classic example of the Pilsener style, which showcases Noble hops.
As with grapes, land where the hops were grown affects the hops' characteristics. Much as Dortmunder beer may only within the EU be labelled "Dortmunder" if it has been brewed in Dortmund, Noble hops may only officially be considered "Noble" if they were grown in the areas for which the hops varieties were named.
Some consider the English varieties Fuggle and East Kent Golding to be noble. They are characterized through analysis as having an alpha:beta ratio of 1:1, low alpha-acid levels (2–5%) with a low cohumulone content, low myrcene in the hop oil, high humulene in the oil, a ratio of humulene:caryophyllene above three, and poor storability resulting in them being more prone to oxidation. In reality this means that they have a relatively consistent bittering potential as they age, due to beta-acid oxidation, and a flavor that improves as they age during periods of poor storage.
The term Noble Hop is a traditional designation for hops grown in four areas within Bavaria or Bohemia, something like the French appellations for grapes & wine. Historically, these regions produced superior quality hops, particularly well suited for continental European style beers. Hops grown outside these regions cannot be 'Noble Hops' but nonetheless may be excellent hops.
Hallertau or Hallertauer – The original German lager hop; due to susceptibility to crop disease, it was largely replaced by Hersbrucker in the 1970s and 1980s. (Alpha acid 3.5–5.5% / beta acid 3–4%)
Saaz – Noble hop used extensively in Bohemia to flavor pale Czech lagers such as Pilsner Urquell. Soft aroma and bitterness. (Alpha acid 3–4.5% /Beta acid 3–4.5%)
Spalt – Traditional German noble hop, with a delicate, spicy aroma. (Alpha acid 4–5% / beta acid 4–5%)
Tettnang – Comes from Tettnang, a small town in southern Baden-Württemberg in Germany. The region produces significant quantities of hops, and ships them to breweries throughout the world. Noble German dual use hop used in European pale lagers, sometimes with Hallertau. Soft bitterness. (Alpha Acid 3.5–5.5% / Beta Acid 3.5–5.5%)
Other varieties
Hops being processed for commercial use
Admiral – An English bittering hop used in some English ales. (Alpha acid: 13.5–16%)
Ahtanum – An American aroma-type variety developed by Yakima Chief Ranches, similar to Cascade. (Alpha acid: 5.7–6.3% / beta acid: 5.0–6.5%)
Amarillo – Popular American mid-range alpha variety developed by Virgil Gamache Farms in late 20th century. Also known as VGX001, its strain number. (Alpha acid: 8–11% / beta acid: 6–7% )
Apollo – Characterized by its exceptional high percentage of alpha acids, excellent storage stability of alpha acids, low CoH value for an alpha variety, and resistance to hop powdery mildew strains found in Washington. The new variety was cultivated as a result of a cross in 2000 at Golden Gate Roza Hop Ranches in Prosser, Washington, United States and has been asexually reproduced in Prosser, Washington, United States. (Alpha acid: 20–21%)
Brewer's Gold – British bittering hop developed in 1919. Both Brewer's Gold and Bullion are seedlings of BB1 (found wild in Manitoba). Many modern high alpha hops were developed from Brewer's Gold. (Alpha acid 7.1–11.3% / beta acid 3.3–6.1% / cohumulone 36–45%)
Bullion – Bittering hop. One of the earliest high alpha hops in the world. Raised in 1919 in England from a wild Manitoban female crossed with an English male hop. Mainly bittering Stouts and Dark ales. Intense, black currant aroma, spicy and pungent. Alpha Acid: 6.5–9% Beta Acid: 3.2–4.7% Substitutions: Northern Brewer and Galena.
Cascade – Very successful and well-established American aroma hop developed by Oregon State University's breeding program in 1956 from Fuggle and Serebrianker (a Russian variety), but not released for cultivation until 1972. Piney, citrusy, and quite assertive. Aroma of Sierra Nevada Pale. One of the "Three Cs" along with Centennial and Columbus. Named for the Cascade Range. (Alpha acid: 4.5–6.0% / beta acid: 5.0–7.0% )
Centennial – American aroma-type variety bred in 1974 and released in 1990. Similar to Cascade and Chinook. One of the "Three Cs" along with Cascade and Columbus. (Alpha acid: 9.5–11.5% / beta acid: 4.0–5.0%)
Challenger – English hop with fresh pine notes. Introduced in 1972. (Alpha acid 6.5–8.5% / beta acid 4–4.5%)
Chinook – American cross between Petham Golding and a USDA-selected male. Typical American citric pine hop with notable grapefruit and pineapple flavours. (Alpha acid 12.0–14.0% / beta acid 3.0–4.0%)
Cluster – Originated from mass selection of the Cluster hop, which is an old American cultivar. It is suggested that they arose from hybridization of varieties, imported by Dutch and English settlers and indigenous male hops. Also known as Golden Cluster, used as the sole bittering hop in the iconic Queensland, Australia beer XXXX Gold and XXXX Bitter. (Alpha acid: 5.5–8.5% / beta acid: 4.5–5.5%)
Columbus – A high yielding, high alpha acid American bittering hop. Also known by the trade name Tomahawk. One of the "Three Cs" along with Cascade and Centennial. (Alpha acid 14–17%)
Crystal – An American triploid variety developed in 1993 from Hallertau, Cascade, Brewer's Gold and Early Green. Quite aromatic, fruity. (Alpha acid 3.5–5.5% /beta acid 4.5–6.5%)
Eroica – A strongly flavored bittering hop used in wheat beers. (Alpha acid 9–12%)
First Gold – English dwarf hop. A cross-pollination of Whitbread Golding variety and a dwarf male. It is like a spicier Golding, with a higher alpha and slightly richer bitterness. (Alpha acid 6.5–8.5% / beta acid 3–4%)
Fuggles – Main English hop developed late 19th century. Considered by some to be less refined than Goldings, others prefer its juicier, more woody character. (Alpha acid 4–5.5% / Beta acid 2–3%)
Galena – American bittering hop developed from Brewer's Gold by open pollination in the state of Idaho. Has a moderate bitterness despite its high alpha content. (Alpha acid 12–14% / beta acid 7–9%)
Glacier – Low-cohumulone American Fuggle descendant. Mild bittering and soft, fruity character with hints of apricot and pear. (Alpha acid 5.5% / beta acid 8.2%)
Goldings – The traditional and very popular English aroma hop. Developed prior to 1790. Soft, earthy, vaguely farm-like aroma. Widely cultivated. Called East Kent Goldings if grown in East Kent, Kent Goldings if grown in mid-Kent, and Goldings if grown elsewhere. (Alpha acid 4–5.5% / beta acid 2–3.5%)
Greenburg – American Hop found in southern Idaho. Fruity flavor with a touch of woody flavors. Used mainly in microbrews (Alpha acid 5.2% / beta acid 7.2%)
Hops piled high after harvest
Hersbrucker – Noble hop used in German pale lagers. Noted for grass and hay aroma. (Alpha acid 3–5.5% / beta acid 4–5.5%)
Herald – An English aroma and bittering hop; sister of Pioneer. (Alpha acid 11–13% / Beta acid 4.8–5.5%)
Horizon – American high alpha cross made in Oregon in 1970. Horizon and Nugget share a common parent (#65009). Soft bitterness. (Alpha acid 11–13% / beta acid 6.5–8.5% / cohumulone 17–21%)
Liberty – American cross between Hallertauer Mittlefrüh and downy mildew resistant male, developed in 1983. (Alpha acid 3.0–5.0% / beta acid 3.0–4.0%)
Lublin – The grassy, hay-like signature of Polish lagers. The bitterness is slightly harsher than noble varieties, but the aroma is a little bit softer.
Magnum – A bittering/aroma type cultivar, bred in 1980 at Huell, the German Hop Research Instititute, from the American variety Galena and the German male 75/5/3. (Alpha acid: 10.0–12.6% / beta acid: 5.0–7.0%)
Millennium – Bittering variety, bred from Nugget and with similar characteristics. (Alpha acid 15.5% / beta acid 4.8%)
Mount Hood – Soft American variety developed from Hallertau. Frequently used in styles that require only a subtle hop aroma. Named for Mount Hood in Oregon. (Alpha acid 5.0–8.0% / beta acid 5.0–7.5%)
Hop cones
Nelson Sauvin – A new variety developed in Nelson, New Zealand. Named with more than a nod towards the Sauvignon Blanc grape, this hop produces unique fruity characteristics reminiscent of white wine. (Alpha acid 12–14% / beta acid 7–8%)
Newport – Recently developed American high-alpha bittering hop. (Alpha acid 10–17%)
Northdown – Dual purpose hop in England developed in 1970s, with a Northern Brewer-like bitterness, and soft aroma. (Alpha acid 7.5–9.5% / beta acid 5–5.5%)
Northern Brewer – Developed in England in 1934 from a cross between a female hop of wild American parentage and an English male. Grown in Europe and America as a dual-purpose hop, but the aroma is mellow, so is mainly used for bittering in combination with other hops. (Alpha acid 8–10% / beta acid 3–5%)
Nugget – (Domestic--All Purpose) Alpha Acid: 12–14% Beta Acid: 4–6%. Aroma: Quite heavy and herbal, spicy.
Pacific Gem – High alpha bittering hop from New Zealand. Most are organic. Pleasant woody flavour and berry aroma. (Alpha acid 14–16% / beta acid 8–8.4%)
Palisade – Fairly recent American cross of Tettnager and open pollination resulting in a moderate alpha hop with good aroma characteristics. (Alpha acid 6–10% / beta acid 4–7%)
Perle – German dual-purpose hop, with floral, spicy aroma. Often used in combination with other hops. (Alpha acid 7–9.5% / beta acid 4–5%)
Pioneer – English hop; a sister of Herald. A clean, soft and rounded bitterness with a recognisable English aroma. (Alpha acid 8–10% / beta acid 3.5–4%)
Polnischer Lublin - Polish; Finishing hop. Another source of the classical noble-aroma type hop with long and strong traditions. Widely believed to be a clone of Saaz. Aroma is mild and typical of noble aroma types. Subs: Czech Saaz, Tettnang. Alpha Acid: 3–4.5% Beta Acid: 2.3–3.8%
Pride of Ringwood – Infamous Australian hop. First used in 1965 when it was the highest alpha acid hop in the world. Used extensively in Australian pale ales and lagers. (Alpha acid 7–10% / beta acid 4–6%)
Progress – Higher alpha English hop developed in the 1960s as a replacement for Fuggles. Often used with Goldings. (Alpha acid 5–7% / beta acid 2–2.5%)
Santiam – American floral aroma hop with mid-range alpha acid. Pedigree includes Tettnang (mother), Hallertau Mittelfrüh (grandmother) and Cascade (great grandmother). Named for the Santiam River in Oregon. (Alpha acid 5–7% / beta acid 6–8%).
Sapphire – A new breed of hop that is starting to replace the Hallertauer Mittlefrueh variety, which has become more and more susceptible to disease and pests. Shares many of the Hallertaur Mittlefrueh characteristics and is very well suited as an aroma hop. This hop is distinguished by a sweet and clean citrus aroma that has a hint of tangerine. (Alpha acid 2–4.5% / Beta acid 4–7%)
Satus – A bittering-type cultivar of recent origin. (Alpha acid: 12.5–14.0% / beta acid: 8.5–9.0%)
Select – German disease-resistant Hallertauer and Spalt pale lager variety developed in early 1990s. (Alpha acid 4–6% / beta acid 3.5–4.5%)
Simcoe – American high alpha variety released in 2000. Distinctive passionfruit flavour and aroma where Simcoe hops are utilised late in the boil (i.e., boiled for between 20 and 0 minutes). (Alpha acid 12–14% / beta acid 4–5%)
Sterling – American floral hop released in 1998. A cross between Saaz and Mount Hood in character but easier to grow. (Alpha acid 6–9% / beta acid 4–6%)
Strisselspalt – French aroma hop from Alsace, used mostly in pale lagers. Similar to Herbrucker. (Alpha acid 3–5% / beta acid 3–5.5%)
Styrian Goldings – Slovenian variant of Fuggles. Used in English ales and Belgian strong ales amongst others. (Alpha acid: 4.5–6.0% / beta acid: 2.5–3.5%)
Summit - Very high alpha acid hop, AA 17-19%. Useful for barleywines, stouts and IPAs. Has tangerine-like secondary flavor.
Tardif de Bourgogne – French hop, used as an aromatic in continental lagers. (Alpha acid: 3.1–5.5% / beta acid: 3.1–5.5)
Hop cones
Target – Dusty, earthy English mid-to-high alpha hop bred from Kent Goldings. (Alpha acid 9.5–12.5% / beta acid 5–5.5%)
Tomahawk – Bittering hop. Same as Columbus. (Alpha acid: 14–18% / beta acid: 4.5–5.8%)
Tradition – Bred in 1991 from Hallertau Mittlefrüh by the Hull Hop Research Institute in Germany for resistance to disease. Grassy like Hallertau, but easier to grow. (Alpha acid 5–7% / beta acid 4–5%)
Ultra – A triploid aroma-type cultivar, originated in 1983 from a cross between the colchicine-induced tetraploid Hallertau mf (USDA 21397) and the diploid Saazer-derived male genotype (USDA 21237m). Ultra is the half-sister to Mount Hood, Liberty and Crystal. Its genetic composition is 4/6 Hallertau mf, 1/6 Saazer, and 1/6 unknown. This cultivar was released for commercial production in March, 1995. (Alpha acid: 4.5–5.0% / beta acid: 3.6–4.7%)
Vanguard – American aroma cross developed from Hallertau in 1982. (Alpha acid 5.5%–6% / beta acid 6–7%)
Warrior – New American bittering hop, popular with growers and brewers. (Alpha acid 15–17% / beta acid 4.5–5.5%)
Willamette – Popular American development in 1976 of the English Fuggle. Mild aroma hop, with an herbal, sometimes gently fruity character. Named for the Willamette Valley, an important hop-growing area. (Alpha acid 4.0–6.0% / beta acid 3.0–4.0%)
Zeus – American aromatic high-alpha hop with noticeable bitterness. Similar, if not identical, to Columbus/Tomahawk. (Alpha acid 15.0%)
Other uses
The only major commercial use for hops is in beer, although hops are also an ingredient in Julmust, a carbonated beverage similar to cola soda that is popular in Sweden during December. Hops are also used in herbal medicine such as products like 'Kalms' tablets[citation needed], and can be smoked[citation needed].
See also
Gruit
Rhamnus prinoides
References
^ Secundus, Gaius Plinius (77). "Naturalis Historia". Pliny the Elder. Retrieved on 2007-01-26.
^ Corran, H.S. (23-Jan-1975). Purchase Used: A History of Brewing. Vermont Canada: David and Charles PLC, 303. ISBN-10:0715367358.
^ Bamforth, Charles W. (1998). Beer: tap into the art and science of brewing. Plenum Press, 245. ISBN 0306457970.
^ B.12.11.02.Tableau Global.xls
^ http://www.hmelj-giz.si/ihgc/doc/5-EC%20table%20Nov06.pdf
^ NCGR-Corvallis Humulus Genetic Resources
^ [1]
^ Untitled Document
^ Beer Prices Rising Amid Crop Shortage
^ “It's Enough To Drive You To Drink”, The Press: A6, 2008-04-09
^ Connie's Homepage - Hop Picking in Kent
3. University of Vermont Extension System Department of Plant and Soil Science Growing Hops in New England - COH 27 Leonard P. Perry, Extension Associate Professor
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It has been suggested that this page or section be merged with Hop (plant) . (Discuss)
This article is about the beer ingredient. For the botanical article on the hop plant see Hop (plant). See Hop for other meanings
Hop cone in a Hallertau, Germany, hop yard
Cross-section drawing of a hop
Hops are the female flower cones of the hop plant (Humulus lupulus). They are used primarily as a flavoring and stability agent in beer, and also in other beverages and in herbal medicine. The first documented use in beer is from the eleventh century. Hops contain several characteristics favorable to beer, balancing the sweetness of the malt with bitterness, contributing flowery, citrus, fruity or herbal aromas, and having an antibiotic effect that favors the activity of brewer's yeast over less desirable microorganisms. The hop plant is a vigorous climbing herbaceous perennial, usually grown up strings in a field called a hopfield, hop garden or hop yard. Many different varieties of hops are grown by farmers all around the world, with different types being used for particular styles of beer.
Contents
1 History
2 World production
3 Brewing
4 Hop varieties
4.1 Noble hops
4.2 Other varieties
5 Other uses
6 See also
7 References
History
Hops in the coat of arms of Pašvitinys, Lithuania
Hops were first mentioned by Pliny the Elder in his Naturalis Historia,[1]. The first documented instance of hop cultivation was in 736, in the Hallertau region of present-day Germany, although the first mention of the use of hops in brewing in that country was 1079.[2] Not until the thirteenth century in Germany did hops begin to start threatening the use of gruit for flavoring. In Britain, hopped beer was first imported from Holland around 1400; however, hops were initially condemned in 1519 as a "wicked and pernicious weed". In 1471, Norwich, England banned the plant from the use in the brewing of beer, and it wasn't until 1524 that hops were first grown in southeast England. It was a further century before hop cultivation began in the present-day United States in 1629.[3]
World production
As of 2005, the ten leading countries for hop cultivation (based on reported total production[4]) were:
Countries by hop cultivation, in tonnes (t)
Country
Output (t)
Germany
34 438
USA
23 494
China
10 576
Czech Republic
7 831
Poland
3 414
Slovenia
2 539
United Kingdom
1 693
Spain
1 537
Ukraine
1 474
France
1 372
Important production centers are the Hallertau Valley in Germany (which, in 2006, had more hop-growing area than any other country in the world),[5] and the Yakima (Washington) and Willamette (Oregon) valleys in the United States.[6] The principal production centres in the UK are in Kent (which produces Kent Golding hops) and Worcestershire.[7] [8] Essentially all of the harvested hops are used in beer making.
Global prices for hops (along with barley and malt) are currently on the rise due to a combination of prolonged drought conditions in Australia, North America and New Zealand, a poor harvest in Europe, increasing fuel prices and the rising demand for corn ethanol in the United States.[9] [10] This increase will likely see an increase in the price of beer.
Until mechanisation, the need for massed labor at harvest time meant hop-growing had a big social impact. For example, many of those hop picking in Kent, a hop region first mechanised in the 1960s, were Eastenders. For them, the annual migration meant not just money in the family pocket but a welcome break from the grime and smoke of London. Whole families would come down on special trains and live in hoppers' huts and gradients for most of September, even the smallest children helping in the fields.[11]
Brewing
Early season hop growth in a hop yard in the Yakima Valley, Washington with Mount Adams in the distance
Hops have to be dried in an oast before they can be used in the brewing process. Hop resins are composed of two main acids: alpha and beta acids.
Alpha acids have a mild antibiotic/bacteriostatic effect against Gram-positive bacteria, and favor the exclusive activity of brewing yeast in the fermentation of beer.
Beta acids do not isomerise during the boil of wort, and have a negligible effect on beer flavor. Instead they contribute to beer's bitter aroma, and high beta acid hop varieties are often added at the end of the wort boil for aroma. Beta acids may oxidize into compounds that can give beer off-flavors of rotten vegetables or cooked corn.
The flavor imparted by hops varies by type and use: hops boiled with the beer (known as "bittering hops") produce bitterness, while hops added to beer later impart some degree of "hop flavour" (if during the final 10 minutes of boil) or "hop aroma" (if during the final 3 minutes, or less, of boil) and a lesser degree of bitterness. Adding hops after the wort has cooled and the beer has fermented is known as "dry hopping", and adds hop aroma, but no bitterness. The degree of bitterness imparted by hops depends on the degree to which otherwise insoluble alpha acids (AAs) are isomerized during the boil, and the impact of a given amount of hops is specified in International Bitterness Units. Unboiled hops are only mildly bitter.
Flavors and aromas are described appreciatively using terms which include "grassy", "floral", "citrus", "spicy", "piney" and "earthy". Most of the common commercial lagers have fairly low hop influence, while true pilseners should have noticeable noble hop aroma and certain ales (particularly the highly-hopped style known as India Pale Ale, or IPA) can have high levels of bitterness.
Hop varieties
Particular hop varieties are associated with beer styles, for example pale lagers are usually brewed with European (and often Czech and/or German) hop varieties such as Saaz, Hallertau and Strissel Spalt. English ales use hop varieties such as Fuggle, Golding and Bullion. North American varieties include Cascade, Columbia, Willamette and Amarillo.
Noble hops
Mature hops growing in a hop yard (Germany)
The term noble hops traditionally refers to four varieties of hop which are low in bitterness and high in aroma. They are the central European cultivars, Hallertau Mittelfrüh, Tettnanger, Spalter, and Saaz.[2] They are each named for a specific region or city in which they were first grown or primarily grown. They contain high amounts of the hop oil humulene and low amounts of alpha acids cohumulone and adhumulone, as well as lower amounts of the harsher-tasting beta acids lupulone, colupulone, and adlupulone.
Their low relative bitterness but strong aroma are often distinguishing characteristics of European-style lager beer, such as Pilsener, Dunkel, and Oktoberfest/Märzen. In beer, they are considered aroma hops (as opposed to bittering hops); see Pilsner Urquell as a classic example of the Pilsener style, which showcases Noble hops.
As with grapes, land where the hops were grown affects the hops' characteristics. Much as Dortmunder beer may only within the EU be labelled "Dortmunder" if it has been brewed in Dortmund, Noble hops may only officially be considered "Noble" if they were grown in the areas for which the hops varieties were named.
Some consider the English varieties Fuggle and East Kent Golding to be noble. They are characterized through analysis as having an alpha:beta ratio of 1:1, low alpha-acid levels (2–5%) with a low cohumulone content, low myrcene in the hop oil, high humulene in the oil, a ratio of humulene:caryophyllene above three, and poor storability resulting in them being more prone to oxidation. In reality this means that they have a relatively consistent bittering potential as they age, due to beta-acid oxidation, and a flavor that improves as they age during periods of poor storage.
The term Noble Hop is a traditional designation for hops grown in four areas within Bavaria or Bohemia, something like the French appellations for grapes & wine. Historically, these regions produced superior quality hops, particularly well suited for continental European style beers. Hops grown outside these regions cannot be 'Noble Hops' but nonetheless may be excellent hops.
Hallertau or Hallertauer – The original German lager hop; due to susceptibility to crop disease, it was largely replaced by Hersbrucker in the 1970s and 1980s. (Alpha acid 3.5–5.5% / beta acid 3–4%)
Saaz – Noble hop used extensively in Bohemia to flavor pale Czech lagers such as Pilsner Urquell. Soft aroma and bitterness. (Alpha acid 3–4.5% /Beta acid 3–4.5%)
Spalt – Traditional German noble hop, with a delicate, spicy aroma. (Alpha acid 4–5% / beta acid 4–5%)
Tettnang – Comes from Tettnang, a small town in southern Baden-Württemberg in Germany. The region produces significant quantities of hops, and ships them to breweries throughout the world. Noble German dual use hop used in European pale lagers, sometimes with Hallertau. Soft bitterness. (Alpha Acid 3.5–5.5% / Beta Acid 3.5–5.5%)
Other varieties
Hops being processed for commercial use
Admiral – An English bittering hop used in some English ales. (Alpha acid: 13.5–16%)
Ahtanum – An American aroma-type variety developed by Yakima Chief Ranches, similar to Cascade. (Alpha acid: 5.7–6.3% / beta acid: 5.0–6.5%)
Amarillo – Popular American mid-range alpha variety developed by Virgil Gamache Farms in late 20th century. Also known as VGX001, its strain number. (Alpha acid: 8–11% / beta acid: 6–7% )
Apollo – Characterized by its exceptional high percentage of alpha acids, excellent storage stability of alpha acids, low CoH value for an alpha variety, and resistance to hop powdery mildew strains found in Washington. The new variety was cultivated as a result of a cross in 2000 at Golden Gate Roza Hop Ranches in Prosser, Washington, United States and has been asexually reproduced in Prosser, Washington, United States. (Alpha acid: 20–21%)
Brewer's Gold – British bittering hop developed in 1919. Both Brewer's Gold and Bullion are seedlings of BB1 (found wild in Manitoba). Many modern high alpha hops were developed from Brewer's Gold. (Alpha acid 7.1–11.3% / beta acid 3.3–6.1% / cohumulone 36–45%)
Bullion – Bittering hop. One of the earliest high alpha hops in the world. Raised in 1919 in England from a wild Manitoban female crossed with an English male hop. Mainly bittering Stouts and Dark ales. Intense, black currant aroma, spicy and pungent. Alpha Acid: 6.5–9% Beta Acid: 3.2–4.7% Substitutions: Northern Brewer and Galena.
Cascade – Very successful and well-established American aroma hop developed by Oregon State University's breeding program in 1956 from Fuggle and Serebrianker (a Russian variety), but not released for cultivation until 1972. Piney, citrusy, and quite assertive. Aroma of Sierra Nevada Pale. One of the "Three Cs" along with Centennial and Columbus. Named for the Cascade Range. (Alpha acid: 4.5–6.0% / beta acid: 5.0–7.0% )
Centennial – American aroma-type variety bred in 1974 and released in 1990. Similar to Cascade and Chinook. One of the "Three Cs" along with Cascade and Columbus. (Alpha acid: 9.5–11.5% / beta acid: 4.0–5.0%)
Challenger – English hop with fresh pine notes. Introduced in 1972. (Alpha acid 6.5–8.5% / beta acid 4–4.5%)
Chinook – American cross between Petham Golding and a USDA-selected male. Typical American citric pine hop with notable grapefruit and pineapple flavours. (Alpha acid 12.0–14.0% / beta acid 3.0–4.0%)
Cluster – Originated from mass selection of the Cluster hop, which is an old American cultivar. It is suggested that they arose from hybridization of varieties, imported by Dutch and English settlers and indigenous male hops. Also known as Golden Cluster, used as the sole bittering hop in the iconic Queensland, Australia beer XXXX Gold and XXXX Bitter. (Alpha acid: 5.5–8.5% / beta acid: 4.5–5.5%)
Columbus – A high yielding, high alpha acid American bittering hop. Also known by the trade name Tomahawk. One of the "Three Cs" along with Cascade and Centennial. (Alpha acid 14–17%)
Crystal – An American triploid variety developed in 1993 from Hallertau, Cascade, Brewer's Gold and Early Green. Quite aromatic, fruity. (Alpha acid 3.5–5.5% /beta acid 4.5–6.5%)
Eroica – A strongly flavored bittering hop used in wheat beers. (Alpha acid 9–12%)
First Gold – English dwarf hop. A cross-pollination of Whitbread Golding variety and a dwarf male. It is like a spicier Golding, with a higher alpha and slightly richer bitterness. (Alpha acid 6.5–8.5% / beta acid 3–4%)
Fuggles – Main English hop developed late 19th century. Considered by some to be less refined than Goldings, others prefer its juicier, more woody character. (Alpha acid 4–5.5% / Beta acid 2–3%)
Galena – American bittering hop developed from Brewer's Gold by open pollination in the state of Idaho. Has a moderate bitterness despite its high alpha content. (Alpha acid 12–14% / beta acid 7–9%)
Glacier – Low-cohumulone American Fuggle descendant. Mild bittering and soft, fruity character with hints of apricot and pear. (Alpha acid 5.5% / beta acid 8.2%)
Goldings – The traditional and very popular English aroma hop. Developed prior to 1790. Soft, earthy, vaguely farm-like aroma. Widely cultivated. Called East Kent Goldings if grown in East Kent, Kent Goldings if grown in mid-Kent, and Goldings if grown elsewhere. (Alpha acid 4–5.5% / beta acid 2–3.5%)
Greenburg – American Hop found in southern Idaho. Fruity flavor with a touch of woody flavors. Used mainly in microbrews (Alpha acid 5.2% / beta acid 7.2%)
Hops piled high after harvest
Hersbrucker – Noble hop used in German pale lagers. Noted for grass and hay aroma. (Alpha acid 3–5.5% / beta acid 4–5.5%)
Herald – An English aroma and bittering hop; sister of Pioneer. (Alpha acid 11–13% / Beta acid 4.8–5.5%)
Horizon – American high alpha cross made in Oregon in 1970. Horizon and Nugget share a common parent (#65009). Soft bitterness. (Alpha acid 11–13% / beta acid 6.5–8.5% / cohumulone 17–21%)
Liberty – American cross between Hallertauer Mittlefrüh and downy mildew resistant male, developed in 1983. (Alpha acid 3.0–5.0% / beta acid 3.0–4.0%)
Lublin – The grassy, hay-like signature of Polish lagers. The bitterness is slightly harsher than noble varieties, but the aroma is a little bit softer.
Magnum – A bittering/aroma type cultivar, bred in 1980 at Huell, the German Hop Research Instititute, from the American variety Galena and the German male 75/5/3. (Alpha acid: 10.0–12.6% / beta acid: 5.0–7.0%)
Millennium – Bittering variety, bred from Nugget and with similar characteristics. (Alpha acid 15.5% / beta acid 4.8%)
Mount Hood – Soft American variety developed from Hallertau. Frequently used in styles that require only a subtle hop aroma. Named for Mount Hood in Oregon. (Alpha acid 5.0–8.0% / beta acid 5.0–7.5%)
Hop cones
Nelson Sauvin – A new variety developed in Nelson, New Zealand. Named with more than a nod towards the Sauvignon Blanc grape, this hop produces unique fruity characteristics reminiscent of white wine. (Alpha acid 12–14% / beta acid 7–8%)
Newport – Recently developed American high-alpha bittering hop. (Alpha acid 10–17%)
Northdown – Dual purpose hop in England developed in 1970s, with a Northern Brewer-like bitterness, and soft aroma. (Alpha acid 7.5–9.5% / beta acid 5–5.5%)
Northern Brewer – Developed in England in 1934 from a cross between a female hop of wild American parentage and an English male. Grown in Europe and America as a dual-purpose hop, but the aroma is mellow, so is mainly used for bittering in combination with other hops. (Alpha acid 8–10% / beta acid 3–5%)
Nugget – (Domestic--All Purpose) Alpha Acid: 12–14% Beta Acid: 4–6%. Aroma: Quite heavy and herbal, spicy.
Pacific Gem – High alpha bittering hop from New Zealand. Most are organic. Pleasant woody flavour and berry aroma. (Alpha acid 14–16% / beta acid 8–8.4%)
Palisade – Fairly recent American cross of Tettnager and open pollination resulting in a moderate alpha hop with good aroma characteristics. (Alpha acid 6–10% / beta acid 4–7%)
Perle – German dual-purpose hop, with floral, spicy aroma. Often used in combination with other hops. (Alpha acid 7–9.5% / beta acid 4–5%)
Pioneer – English hop; a sister of Herald. A clean, soft and rounded bitterness with a recognisable English aroma. (Alpha acid 8–10% / beta acid 3.5–4%)
Polnischer Lublin - Polish; Finishing hop. Another source of the classical noble-aroma type hop with long and strong traditions. Widely believed to be a clone of Saaz. Aroma is mild and typical of noble aroma types. Subs: Czech Saaz, Tettnang. Alpha Acid: 3–4.5% Beta Acid: 2.3–3.8%
Pride of Ringwood – Infamous Australian hop. First used in 1965 when it was the highest alpha acid hop in the world. Used extensively in Australian pale ales and lagers. (Alpha acid 7–10% / beta acid 4–6%)
Progress – Higher alpha English hop developed in the 1960s as a replacement for Fuggles. Often used with Goldings. (Alpha acid 5–7% / beta acid 2–2.5%)
Santiam – American floral aroma hop with mid-range alpha acid. Pedigree includes Tettnang (mother), Hallertau Mittelfrüh (grandmother) and Cascade (great grandmother). Named for the Santiam River in Oregon. (Alpha acid 5–7% / beta acid 6–8%).
Sapphire – A new breed of hop that is starting to replace the Hallertauer Mittlefrueh variety, which has become more and more susceptible to disease and pests. Shares many of the Hallertaur Mittlefrueh characteristics and is very well suited as an aroma hop. This hop is distinguished by a sweet and clean citrus aroma that has a hint of tangerine. (Alpha acid 2–4.5% / Beta acid 4–7%)
Satus – A bittering-type cultivar of recent origin. (Alpha acid: 12.5–14.0% / beta acid: 8.5–9.0%)
Select – German disease-resistant Hallertauer and Spalt pale lager variety developed in early 1990s. (Alpha acid 4–6% / beta acid 3.5–4.5%)
Simcoe – American high alpha variety released in 2000. Distinctive passionfruit flavour and aroma where Simcoe hops are utilised late in the boil (i.e., boiled for between 20 and 0 minutes). (Alpha acid 12–14% / beta acid 4–5%)
Sterling – American floral hop released in 1998. A cross between Saaz and Mount Hood in character but easier to grow. (Alpha acid 6–9% / beta acid 4–6%)
Strisselspalt – French aroma hop from Alsace, used mostly in pale lagers. Similar to Herbrucker. (Alpha acid 3–5% / beta acid 3–5.5%)
Styrian Goldings – Slovenian variant of Fuggles. Used in English ales and Belgian strong ales amongst others. (Alpha acid: 4.5–6.0% / beta acid: 2.5–3.5%)
Summit - Very high alpha acid hop, AA 17-19%. Useful for barleywines, stouts and IPAs. Has tangerine-like secondary flavor.
Tardif de Bourgogne – French hop, used as an aromatic in continental lagers. (Alpha acid: 3.1–5.5% / beta acid: 3.1–5.5)
Hop cones
Target – Dusty, earthy English mid-to-high alpha hop bred from Kent Goldings. (Alpha acid 9.5–12.5% / beta acid 5–5.5%)
Tomahawk – Bittering hop. Same as Columbus. (Alpha acid: 14–18% / beta acid: 4.5–5.8%)
Tradition – Bred in 1991 from Hallertau Mittlefrüh by the Hull Hop Research Institute in Germany for resistance to disease. Grassy like Hallertau, but easier to grow. (Alpha acid 5–7% / beta acid 4–5%)
Ultra – A triploid aroma-type cultivar, originated in 1983 from a cross between the colchicine-induced tetraploid Hallertau mf (USDA 21397) and the diploid Saazer-derived male genotype (USDA 21237m). Ultra is the half-sister to Mount Hood, Liberty and Crystal. Its genetic composition is 4/6 Hallertau mf, 1/6 Saazer, and 1/6 unknown. This cultivar was released for commercial production in March, 1995. (Alpha acid: 4.5–5.0% / beta acid: 3.6–4.7%)
Vanguard – American aroma cross developed from Hallertau in 1982. (Alpha acid 5.5%–6% / beta acid 6–7%)
Warrior – New American bittering hop, popular with growers and brewers. (Alpha acid 15–17% / beta acid 4.5–5.5%)
Willamette – Popular American development in 1976 of the English Fuggle. Mild aroma hop, with an herbal, sometimes gently fruity character. Named for the Willamette Valley, an important hop-growing area. (Alpha acid 4.0–6.0% / beta acid 3.0–4.0%)
Zeus – American aromatic high-alpha hop with noticeable bitterness. Similar, if not identical, to Columbus/Tomahawk. (Alpha acid 15.0%)
Other uses
The only major commercial use for hops is in beer, although hops are also an ingredient in Julmust, a carbonated beverage similar to cola soda that is popular in Sweden during December. Hops are also used in herbal medicine such as products like 'Kalms' tablets[citation needed], and can be smoked[citation needed].
See also
Gruit
Rhamnus prinoides
References
^ Secundus, Gaius Plinius (77). "Naturalis Historia". Pliny the Elder. Retrieved on 2007-01-26.
^ Corran, H.S. (23-Jan-1975). Purchase Used: A History of Brewing. Vermont Canada: David and Charles PLC, 303. ISBN-10:0715367358.
^ Bamforth, Charles W. (1998). Beer: tap into the art and science of brewing. Plenum Press, 245. ISBN 0306457970.
^ B.12.11.02.Tableau Global.xls
^ http://www.hmelj-giz.si/ihgc/doc/5-EC%20table%20Nov06.pdf
^ NCGR-Corvallis Humulus Genetic Resources
^ [1]
^ Untitled Document
^ Beer Prices Rising Amid Crop Shortage
^ “It's Enough To Drive You To Drink”, The Press: A6, 2008-04-09
^ Connie's Homepage - Hop Picking in Kent
3. University of Vermont Extension System Department of Plant and Soil Science Growing Hops in New England - COH 27 Leonard P. Perry, Extension Associate Professor
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