* This is your brain on Saaz
* Random observation: The best Citra?
* Hop profile: Styrian Wolf
* Links
– Two faces of Citra
– Down on the small hop farm
– BarthHaas annual report
– Hop sensory
– Hops and NA beers
Welcome to Vol. 8, No. 3. Hop harvest has begun east of the Mississippi, and will be underway in the world’s primary growing regions in a matter of weeks. Reports indicate that most farms “are in a pretty good position to get to the finish line.” Of course, those of us west of the Mississippi who are waking up these days to hazy skies that result from wildfires remember the impact of smoke taint on the 2020 and 2021 crops. Be alert.
RELAX, HAVE A PILSNER
After a conversation with a hop merchant about fractionating essential oil, I revisited research—mentioned briefly in “For the Love of Hops”—related the relaxing effect of certain compounds.
Scientists at Sapporo in Japan used headband sensors to measure the brainwaves of participants, first when they were smelling beer, then later in an experiment that included drinking the beer. They found:
– When subjects smelled the odor of essential oil extract from Saazer hops, the rhythm of the frequency fluctuation in the right frontal alpha-waves significantly increased in regularity, showing that the subjects felt a lower level of arousal and became more relaxed.
– The degree of comfortableness increased with an increased concentration of the hop oil.
– The researchers also measured the relaxing effect of four components found in hop oil. When the subjects smelled the odor of linalool or geraniol, the rhythm of the frequency fluctuation in the right frontal alpha-waves again increased in regularity, showing that the subjects became more relaxed. Neither humulene nor myrcene led to an increase in regularity when smelled, indicating that the emotions of subjects were not changed while smelling them.
– The subjects reported feeling relaxed by the aromas of linalool and geraniol because they provided floral and green impressions.
In the follow up study that included drinking beer, researchers found:
– An increasing tendency in the rhythm regularities of the frequency fluctuations of the right frontal alpha-waves while drinking a European pilsner-type beer with aromas characterized by hops.
– A decreasing tendency was observed while drinking a stout with aromas characterized by a roasted flavor. Therefore, the pilsner had a more relaxing effect than the stout.
They noted, “While drinking beer, we need to perform a series of actions, such as lifting the glass by hand, carrying it to the mouth, using facial muscles for drinking, and processing a lot of stimuli, such as odors, tastes, and tactile sensations in the nose, mouth, and throat. The stout beer has a stronger bitter flavor than the pilsner beer. Therefore, it is difficult to clarify what stimuli affect the brainwaves while drinking beer.”
And they added, “Many beer brands, particularly in Japan, promote their palatability through the concept of refreshment while drinking in big gulps. However, there is another type of palatability linked to relaxation, that of slowly sipping a glass of beer.”
Another reason to stop and smell the hops, and not just in pilsners.
A REMINDER ABOUT BOILING
Speaking of linalool and geraniol . . . Research by Toru Kishimoto at Asahi in Japan (the same scientist who was among the first to investigate the impact of thiols on hop aroma) provides a reminder of what is lost during the brewing process. These are the results of boiling individual compounds. Look, in particular, at the impact on linalool and geraniol:
RANDOM OBSERVATION
A post at DC Beer about Other Half’s Citra Week includes this fact: Other Half will use 80,000 pounds of Citra this year. Yes, that is 40 tons, but it still is only one-half of one percent of Citra harvested in 2023. That leaves plenty of Citra for brewers elsewhere.
Remember that when reading what OHDC (sorry fans of Other Half’s HDHC releases; I had to do that) head brewer Ben Little tells DC Beer. First there is what OH is looking for: “We typically see it come across in our beers with profiles of tangerine/sweet orange, lychee, and various tropical fruits (think pineapple, papaya, guava). These are often balanced by a trace backdrop of spring onion, which helps provide a serious bright pop to the fruit notes.”
Little describes the selection process, which takes longer for Other Half because we’re talking about hops grown across a total of about 50 acres. He concludes: “At that point, smaller breweries are often choosing from lots leftover. I know that some suppliers do offer the ability to ask for lots with certain characteristics whether they are contracting or buying on ‘spot.’ Even then, they are just choosing from what is left.”
In fact, more than 13 million pounds were left.
HOP PROFILE: STYRIAN WOLF
Heritage: In the teens, the Slovenian Institute of Hop Research and Brewing released several hops with Styrian in the name. This gets particularly confusing because Savinjski Golding, also known as Styrian Golding, has been around since the 1930s and isn’t actually a Golding. It is genetically identical to Fuggle. Styrian Golding has a wonderful aroma, but it is not as intense and assertive as newer varieties from the US Northwest or Australasia.
Hop breeders in European countries—at the Slovenian Institute, the Czech Hop Research Institute, or elsewhere—recognize that brewers in their countries are following the lead of Americans and using more of what the Europeans call “flavor hops,” with Citra and Mosaic being two prime examples. Most of the new varieties that have been assigned Styrian as a first name fit in the “flavor” category.
The basics: 10-18.5% alpha acids, 5-6% beta acids, 2.2-3.6 mL/100 grams total oil. Low cohumulone (22-23% of alpha acids), and a level of farnesene (4.5-6.5% of alpha acids) not common in North American cultivars.
Aroma qualities: Brimming with tropical fruit character, supplemented by lemon zest.
Also notable: Typically, the community of growers in Slovenia picks the names that will be assigned to a hop. However, this time they followed a suggestion from Nick Floyd of Three Floyds Brewing when deciding what to call Wolf.
ADDITIONAL READING
– When I linked to a Yakima Chief Hops flash sale last month I failed to point out the interesting spider charts that came with the announcement. They are a great way to visualize the potential difference between lots, and between T90 and Cryo pellets.
– Last year for The New Brewer, I wrote about “a year in hops” on five hop farms beyond the American Northwest. One of those was Zachrich Farm & Hop Yard in Ohio, where Nick Zachrich and his wife, Mallory, with occasional help from three young children, grow six varieties on one-and-a-quarter acres. Nick and Mallory both come from families with longtime connections to farming. “We wanted our kids to have that agriculture experience,” said Nick, whose day job is managing a major agriculture trade show.
Examining five farms did not leave room for the details David Nilsen could add when writing only about the Zachrich farm for Porch Drinking.
– The BarthHaas Report 2023/2024 is available to download. Always a great resource.
– Eric Sannerud offers a different approach to rubbing hops that he calls Comparative Aroma Analysis (which contrasts to what he calls Descriptive Aroma Analysis).
– A couple of stories about how hops may improve the flavor of non-alcoholic beers have posted at Brewing Industry Guide. The first includes a look at the flavors drinkers expect, and the second examines some of the advanced product created to deliver those flavors. [Subscription required]
ABOUT HOP QUERIES
Hop Queries is a free monthly newsletter from Stan Hieronymus, sponsored by Best of Craft Beer Awards. Feel free to forward the newsletter to peers you think would enjoy it, and suggest they subscribe.