Usability and Technological Opportunities for a Higher Isomerization Rate of α-Acids: A Review

Abstract

Hops are an essential raw material for beer production in the brewery. The hop constituents give the beer its bitter taste, additional aroma, and can make it more stable. As hops are a cost-intensive ingredient, the bitter substance yield plays a major role for breweries. Various approaches are available to increase hop utilization in brewhouses. They range from pre-isomerized hop products or catalysts, which are only utilized outside the German Beer Purity Law, to different procedures, as well as novel brewhouse and dosing equipment. Examples include changes in the mashing process, pre-isomerization systems, or fractional wort boiling.

Keywords:

• Brewhouse
• hop utilization
• hops
• iso-α-acids
• isomerization rate

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.