The Bitter, Twisted Truth of the Hop: 50 Years of Hop Chemistry

Abstract

Over the last century, the brewer's archetype of hop chemistry, hopping technology, hop utilization, and hop flavor has substantially transformed. During the 1950s Miller Brewing Company began pioneering work to unravel some of the mysteries of hop chemistry. This work, combined with research findings from various other groups throughout the world, revolutionized the industry. Such realizations of hop chemistry and hop technology in addition to the widening array and understanding of aromatic hop varieties allow the modern practical brewer a diverse palette of hopping choices to ensure production of highly consistent, flavorful, quality beers. Today, brewers may artfully and innovatively craft beers with enhanced properties such as light stability, increased foamability/ head retention, enriched hop flavors, optimized beer mouthfeel, increased hop utilization, and improved microbial and flavor stability. This paper guides the reader through a history of hop chemistry, revealing the “bitter, twisted truth of the hop” from the discovery of hop acids and their transformations to the many innovations that led to the development of advanced hops and novel hop products necessary for the successful development of new and novel beer brands of consistent quality in a large brewery scenario. This paper also provides a framework from which the smaller, craft brewer can take advantage of the more recent developments in hop chemistry to gain enhanced quality, consistency, economy, and novelty moving forward.

• Hops
• Hop acids
• Hop chemistry
• Advanced hop products
• Hop flavor
• Flavor stability
• Light stability
• Antimicrobial
• Foam