Hops 2013

2013 BJCP Exam Study Group
Class 3: Hops
http://destroy.net/brewing/BJCP-SFHG-2013-hops.pdf
Nathan Smith
<[email protected]>
Twitter: @nathanhomebrew
BJCP National Judge
September 24th, 2013
Hosted by:
San Francisco Homebrewers Guild
BJCP Exam Study- Hops - Outline

Prerequisites: 2012 BJCP Study Guide and 2008 BJCP
style guidelines.
Introduction
BJCP Beer Judge Entrance Exam hop perspective
Focus on why and how (for both history and process)
Important hop varieties for the BJCP exam program.
Sensory perception language.
Summary & Hops beyond the BJCP exam.
Nathan Smith - 2013 BJCP Exam Study Group - Class 3: Hops - http://destroy.net/brewing/BJCP-SFHG-2013-hops.pdf 2
BJCP Exam Study- Hops - Introduction
What are/is.
hops and why are they relevant to brewing?

the active ingredients in hops?
the history of hops in beer?
the different varieties of hops?
How are..
Hops cultivated and what do they look like?
hops used in the brewing process?
BJCP Hops Introduction

What are hops and why are they relevant to
brewing?
Female flowers of the humulus lupulus plant.
Vine-like dioecious perennial.
Dioecuius: separate male/female plants
Long climbing bine with dark green leaves. (13)

Bine vs vine? trichomes instead of tendrils. (13)
Thought to have originated in China (13)

Member of the cannabaceae plant family, related to hemp,
marijuana, nettles and hackberry. (1,13)
1 crop yield per year, dormant phase necessary during the nonproductive season.
Hop fields. Yakima, WA.
Nathan Smith - 2009 BJCP Exam Study Group - Class 3: Hops - http://destroy.net/brewing/BJCP2009-hops.pdf
BJCP Hops Introduction

Primary benefits of hop use in brewing:
Taste: Alpha acids are a bittering agent to balance sweetness, hops
also provide distinctive flavor compounds.
Aroma: Spicy, fruity, herbal, earthy complexity.
Longevity: Preservative. Hops have a bacteriostatic effect against
gram-positive bacteria. (9)
Visual: Head retention.
Process: Kettle coagulation, wort filtration, protein precipitation. (11)
Potential drawbacks:
Light Sensitivity
Haze
Polyphenols
Astringency
Nathan Smith - 2013 BJCP Exam Study Group - Class 3: Hops - http://destroy.net/brewing/BJCP-SFHG-2013-hops.pdf
BJCP Hops - Introduction

Hop Cultivation
Commercial Hop Growing (6,7)
Hops grow best in hot, dry climate between 30-52 degrees North/South.
(13)
Yakima, WA, 46 degrees N. Nelson, New Zealand, 41 degrees S.
Hallertau, Germany, 49 degrees N. Kent, UK, 51 degrees N.
Worldwide production (6,7)

1992: 236k acres worldwide. 2006: 113k acres.
USA: 30k acres, Germany: 40k acres.
USA: 70% Yakima, WA. 15% Oregon, 15% Idaho.
70% of worldwide crop is high alpha for extract production. (6,7)
Hops during the growing season
2.5 months, clockwise

climbing trellis. At peak, up
to 20 inches per week.
2.5 months, vegetative

growth, dark green leaves.
Hops during the growing season
3.5 months, Cascade flowers

starting
4 months, Cascade flowers maturing.
Hops at harvest
10
Hops at harvest
11
BJCP - Hops Introduction - History

What is the history of hops in beer?
Most recent addition of the 4 common ingredients.
Gruit before hops, combination of herbs/spices.
First written documentation in the west:
Gaius Plinius Secundus aka. Pliny the Elder (61-113 AD). Discusses
hops in his study of natural history. To the Romans, it was Lupus
Salictartius, from the way they originally grew. As the ancients said,
hops grew "wild among willows, like a wolf among sheep, Lupulus
derived from the Latin lupus (wolf). (9)
Modern scientific name, Humulus Lupulus coined by Swedish
botanist Carl Linne (Linnaeus) in 1753 by joining the two terms (14):
Humulus/humle/humli = Swedish term for hop.
Lupulus = Latin word for hop coined by Pliny the Elder.
BJCP - Hops Introduction - History

First recorded
Harvesting: 768AD, Hallertau region (13)
Use in beer: 822AD, Abbott Adelhard, Benedictine Monestary of Corby
in the Picardy, northeastern France. (13)
Preservative qualities: 1150-1160 in Physica, Abbess Hildegard of St.
Rupertsberg first documented preservative effects. (14)
German acceptance 1500s, documented in the 1516 purity

law, the Reinheitsgebot. (1)
Introduced into British Isles from Holland in 1500s.
They were not well accepted under Henry VIII and were not in
widespread use until the 1600s. (1)
By the 1700s.. Hodgsons India Ale hopped at a rate of 10.5oz. Per US
5 gallons, approximately 70 ounces per US barrel (3.5 lb per). (4)
BJCP Hops Intro

Active Ingredients: & acids
What are the active ingredients in hops?

Soft resins found in the lupulin gland of the flower.
& acids. Bacteriostatic against gram+ bacteria. (1)

acids: primary humulone, also cohumulone, adhumulone.
Total acid content ranges from 2-20%.

Cohumulone, humulone 15-50% each. Variety specific. (11)
Adhumulone 15%. (11)
High cohumulone: can provide harsh bitterness, lower foam stability. (13)
acids: lupulone, colupulone, adlupulone. (11)

Most sought after hops have 1:1 :. Worldwide crop majority 2:1.
14
BJCP Hops Intro

Hop flower Profile
Mature hop flower, profile,

split in half, displaying
lupulin glands. (8)
15
BJCP Hops Intro

Active Ingredients: essential oils
Essential oils
Responsible for distinct hop aroma.

~.5-3% volume by weight. Extremely volatile.
Can increase perceived bitterness & enhance mouth feel. (11)
80% hydrocarbons. Primarily: (11, 13)
Humulene: woody, balsamic.
Carophyllene: black-pepper spicy.
Myrcene: Geranium-like floral.
Farsenene: Gardenia-like floral. (less frequent)
Linalool: Citrus-like bergamot. (least frequent, but high impact)
Remainder oxygenated sulfur containing hydrocarbons. (11)
BJCP - Hops Introduction

Hop Acids
Soft Resins (&) extracted by boiling. each contribute bitterness.
acids isomerized into iso-alpha acids/iso-humulones during boil.
Chemical structure re-arranged into a more stable form. (13)
Approximately 25-30% alpha acids utilized during a typical bittering charge
in a 60-90 minute boil.
Extraction influenced by density of wort and length of boil.
acids are poorly soluble in wort and contribute only about 10% of
bittering. (11)
acids Higher bacteriostatic effect than acids. (9)
Highly oxidized acids can have a spoiled vegetal taste. (11)

Varieties
~100 varieties of hops are available commercially.
Varieties change quickly, ex: Cluster original American hop

- 70% of all U.S. hops grown/used in 1978. Very small percentage now.
Key varieties for BJCP exam: Noble hops and signature varieties
for hop forward styles.
Noble hops are the most ancient land races of hops.
German Tettnang
German Hallertau Mittelfruh
German Spalt
Czech Saaz *country designations important!
Noble hop common traits:
Flavor & Aroma: spicy and floral

Low alpha acid %, nearly equal beta acid.
Low myrcene content, low cohumulone content and high humulene content.
Notoriously low yielding (can be 3:1 lower), disease prone, store poorly. (13)
18

Varieties important for BJCP exam
Name
Alpha Acid % Flavor and Aroma
Associated Styles
Cascade
4.5-7
Flowery, citrusy, grapefruit & pine (13)
American ales
Centennial
9.5-11.5
Floral, citrus, lime
American ales
Chinook
12-14
Spicy, piney, grapefruit. (13)
American ales
Fuggle
4-5.5
Earthy, woody, geranoil, fruity
British ales
Hallertau
Muttelfrueh
Kent Golding
3-5.5
German lagers
4-7
Complex slightly herbal, pleasant, mild.

Aged: cedar, leather, tobacco(13)
Gentle, fragrant, earthy, fruity, geraniol
Czech Saaz
3-5
Mild, slightly spicy, herbal, flowery
Bohemian Pilsner
German Spalt
4-5
German lagers, ales
German Tettnanger
3.5-5.5
Delicate Spicy, pleasant, mild, slightly

flowery/gardenia. (13)
Delicate Spicy, pleasant, mild, slightly
citrus/grassy (13)
Woody, Minty
U.S. Northern Brewer 6-10
British ales
German lagers, ales

California Common
19

Brewing Process: hop formats
Hop formats: Whole flower, pellets, plugs. All start as kiln-dried
flowers. Each has different storage and utilization
characteristics.
Whole Flowers: Unruptured lupulin glands, most perishable,
bulky storage.
Some brewers insist on them. Sierra Nevada is one example.

Higher quantity of vegetative matter = lower batch efficiency.
Often have lower kettle utilization than pellet hops, up to 25% less (10).
Soft, even, gentle extraction of acids & oils over a longer period of time. (5)
Hop processing
21
Hop processing
22

Brewing Process: hop formats
Pellets: Ruptured lupulin glands, most stable, space-efficient storage.
Direct, more immediate, in your face dissolution of acids & oils. (5)
T90 pellets: Powderized whole flowers at a 90% recovery of whole flowers by
weight.
T45 pellets: Powderized lupulin glands with vegetal material separated
mechanically from resins/oils at -35 degrees C. 45% recovery of whole flowers
by weight. (7).
Plugs: Compressed flowers. .5oz units. Designed for British cask ales.
(11).
Extremely perishable product. Freshness is important for all styles with 1
big exception.

Brewing Process
Brewers commonly add hops at 4 possible times during the brewing
process: At 60, 30 and 0 minutes left in the boil and post fermentation
(dry hopping).
All have different effects on hop bitterness, flavor and aroma in the
finished beer and not all beers will utilize each addition point.
Boil time, min.
Bitterness
contribution
Flavor contribution Aroma

Contribution
60
High
Low
None
30
Low
Moderate
Moderate
None
Low
High
Dry Hop
None
Low
Highest

Measuring bitterness: IBU
Percentage of bittering extracted from hops into a finished beer is commonly

referred to as IBU, International Bitterness Units. (1 IBU = 1ppm, or 1 mg per Liter)
(W U A 7,489 )
IBU
(V C)
W = Weight in ounces
U = Utilization in percent
A = Alpha acids in percent

V = Volume in gallons
C = Gravity correction factor 1+[gravity-1.060/.2] (10)
Example values: 20% for 30 minutes, 27% for 60 minutes, 34% for 90 minutes.
To simplify matters, assume it is 1 for hand calculations.
7489 = Constant value used to convert from gallons and ounces to parts per million
Example calculation: 1 oz Fuggles hops, 5% AA boiled for 60 minutes, 5gal., 1.050 OG.
IBU = [1 * 0.27 * 0.05 * 7489] / 5 = 20.22


Measuring bitterness: IBU
American Light Lager: 8-12IBU, close to flavor threshold. Some English pale ales can
have up to 45IBU in a beer starting at the same original gravity as the American Light
Lager. (10)
Measured IBU level does not always translate to the perceived bitterness. (1)
Higher gravity wort can lower kettle utilization as much as 15%. (10)
The ionic makeup of the brewing water, particularly carbonate and sulfate levels,
directly affects the perception of bitterness. (11)
Any post-fermentation filtering, fining, centrifuging can also lower measured IBU
and/or perceived bitterness. (10)
BJCP Exam Hops

BJCP Sensory Perception Language
Flavor/aroma/appearance/mouthfeel, good and bad
Acceptable flavors/appearances, within a range:
Bitterness - isomerized hops.
Cloudiness/haziness - hop polyphenols, acceptable in some styles (14C,
Imperial IPA for example.)
Grassiness - appropriate in small levels in some styles: American Pale ale, all of
category 14 (IPA). possible source=over dry hopping, hop varieties (Cascade).
Head retention - high alpha acid hops can help contribute to good head
retention.
Off flavors/aromas/mouthfeel, always:

Cheesiness (isovaleric) - oxidized, old hops.
Skunkiness/lightstruck - Ultraviolet light reacting with isomerized hop alpha
acids.
Astringency - excessive hopping can be a source.
Summary & Hops beyond the

BJCP exam.
Stan Hieronymus For The Love of Hops, Mitch Steele IPA: Brewing Techniques..
New high alpha cultivars have a common lineage:
BB1: Obtained in 1916 rhizome taken from a wild hop in Morden, Manitoba.
Brewers Gold Crossed with other hops: Magnum, Chinook, Centennial, Nugget
Horizon.
Yakima Chief, Hopunion, USDA variety databooks and websites.
Newer cultivars with ancestry and characteristics of common hop varieties.
Santiam: Tettnang, Sterling: Saaz, Mt. Hood: Hallertau, Willamette: Fuggle.
Other tasting ideas:
Orval to highlight Styrian Goldings in balance with esters and brett.
La Rulles Tripel or Houblon Chouffe to show American Hops in a Belgian Ale.
Single hop beers at Triple Rock, Bistro IPA festivals, hop varieties listed.
28
BJCP Exam Preparation: Hops

Credits and References
1. 2008 BJCP guidelines, and BJCP Study Guide. www.bjcp.org
2. Brewers Association http://www.beertown.org/events/gabf
3. London and Country Brewer, Second Edition. Printed for Melliurs Fox at the Half Moon and Seven
Stars, Westminster Hall, 1736.
4. Pale Ale, Second Edition. Terry Foster, Brewers Publications, 1999.
5. The New Brewer Volume 23, Number 6. The Eternal Quest for the Ultimate Hop Impact by
Matthew R. Brynildson (p. 2229)
6. Growing Hops. Ralph Olson, live interview. The Brewing Network. March 26th, 2006.
7. Hops and Malt Shortage. Ralph Olson, live interview. The Brewing Network. December 2nd,
2007.
8. Humulus Lupulus: Hopping for Flavor and Aroma Matthew R. Brynildson, Michigan Brewers Guild
and MBAA District Michigan Winter Conference
9. Mike Lieber, Paul Keefer, Paul Hsi, Presentation to Mad Zymurgists BJCP Class March 12, 2008
10. Designing Great Beers. Ray Daniels, Brewers Publications, 1994.
11. The Brewers Handbook. Ted Goldammer, KVP Publishers, 1999.
12. Principles of Brewing Science. George Fix, Ph. D. Brewers Publications, 1999.
13. Oxford Companion to Beer. Edited by Garrett Oliver. Oxford University Press, 2012.
14. For The Love of Hops. Stan Hieronymous. Brewers Publications, 2012.
15. Designing Great Beers. Ray Daniels. Brewers Publications, 1996-2000.
29
BJCP Exam Preparation: Hops

Further Reading
Haunold and G. Nickerson, "Factors Affecting Hop Production, Hop Quality, and Brewer
Preference," Brewing Techniques, vol. 1, no. 1, 18-24 (1993).
Mark Garetz, "Hop Storage: How to Get--and Keep--Your Hops' Optimum Value," Brewing
Techniques, vol. 2, no. 1, 26-32 (1994).
Glenn Tinseth, "The Essential Oil of Hops: Aroma and Flavor in Hops and Beer," Brewing
Techniques, vol. 2, no. 1, 33-37 (1994).
VanValkenburg, "A Question of Pedigree--The Role of Genealogy in Hop Substitutions,"
Brewing Techniques, vol. 3, no. 5, 54-59 (1995).
Don Put, "Home Brewery Basics: The Pursuit of Hoppiness--Part I: From Farm to Market to
Brewery, Hops Lead a Fascinating, Delicate Life," Brewing Techniques, vol. 4. no. 2, 12-19
(1996).
Don Put, "Home Brewery Basics: The Pursuit of Hoppiness--Part II: The Care and Feeding
of Hops in the Brewhouse," Brewing Techniques, vol. 4. no. 3, 18-23 (1996).\
7.W. Lemmens, "Hops in America: a 20-Year Overview," Brewing Techniques, vol. 4, no. 6,
56-65 (1996).
Jim Busch, "How to Master Hop Character--Exploring Hop Flavors and Aromas for More
Targeted Recipe Formulation," Brewing Techniques, vol. 5, no. 1, 30-33 (1997).
Mark Garetz, "Boost Hop Bouquet by Dry-Hopping," Zymurgy, vol. 16, no. 2, 42-52 (1992).
The Classic Guide to Hops, Zymurgy, vol. 20, no. 4 (1997).
30

Hops 2013

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Hops 2013

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Hops 2013

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

2013 BJCP Exam Study Group

BJCP Exam Study- Hops - Outline

Summary & Hops beyond the BJCP exam.

BJCP Exam Study- Hops - Introduction

hops and why are they relevant to brewing?

BJCP Hops Introduction

Long climbing bine with dark green leaves. (13)

Thought to have originated in China (13)

Hop fields. Yakima, WA.

BJCP Hops Introduction

BJCP Hops - Introduction

Worldwide production (6,7)

70% of worldwide crop is high alpha for extract production. (6,7)

Hops during the growing season

2.5 months, clockwise

2.5 months, vegetative

Hops during the growing season

3.5 months, Cascade flowers

4 months, Cascade flowers maturing.

BJCP - Hops Introduction - History

BJCP - Hops Introduction - History

German acceptance 1500s, documented in the 1516 purity

BJCP Hops Intro

What are the active ingredients in hops?

& acids. Bacteriostatic against gram+ bacteria. (1)

Total acid content ranges from 2-20%.

acids: lupulone, colupulone, adlupulone. (11)

BJCP Hops Intro

Mature hop flower, profile,

BJCP Hops Intro

Responsible for distinct hop aroma.

BJCP - Hops Introduction

BJCP - Hops Introduction

Varieties change quickly, ex: Cluster original American hop

Noble hop common traits:

Flavor & Aroma: spicy and floral

BJCP - Hops Introduction

Alpha Acid % Flavor and Aroma

Flowery, citrusy, grapefruit & pine (13)

Floral, citrus, lime

Spicy, piney, grapefruit. (13)

Earthy, woody, geranoil, fruity

Complex slightly herbal, pleasant, mild.

Mild, slightly spicy, herbal, flowery

German lagers, ales

Delicate Spicy, pleasant, mild, slightly

U.S. Northern Brewer 6-10

German lagers, ales

BJCP - Hops Introduction

Some brewers insist on them. Sierra Nevada is one example.

BJCP - Hops Introduction

BJCP - Hops Introduction

Flavor contribution Aroma

BJCP - Hops Introduction

Percentage of bittering extracted from hops into a finished beer is commonly

A = Alpha acids in percent

To simplify matters, assume it is 1 for hand calculations.

IBU = [1 * 0.27 * 0.05 * 7489] / 5 = 20.22