Ayako Sanekata (1),
Takeshi Kaneko (2), Takeshi Nakamura (2), Kiyoshi Takoi (3), Atsushi
Tanigawa (3); (1) Sapporo Breweries Ltd., Yaizu, Japan; (2) Frontier
Laboratories of Value Creation, Sapporo Breweries Ltd., Japan; (3)
Product & Technology Innovation Department, Sapporo Breweries Ltd.,
Yaizu, Japan
Technical Session 14: Hops II
Tuesday, August 16 • 9:45–11:30 a.m.
Plaza Building, Concourse Level, Governor’s Square 14
In recent years, special varieties of aroma hops, which have various
characteristic flavors and are mainly grown in the United State and
Australia, have attracted research attention all over the world. Among
such varieties, many craft brewers are interested in ‘Sorachi Ace’. This
hop imparts a variety-specific flavor, for example woody, pine-like,
citrus, dill-like and lemon grass-like, to finished beers. About 30
years ago, Sapporo Breweries Ltd. bred ‘Sorachi Ace’ in Sorachi-gun,
Hokkaido, Japan. Sapporo is the only brewing company to breed both
barley and hops in the world. After that, a commercial hop-breeder
brought ‘Sorachi Ace’ to the United States in 1993. Now, this hop is
often used in many craft beers. However, the flavor compound that
contributes to its characteristic aroma, especially the woody, pine-like
flavor, has not been sufficiently investigated yet. The aim of this
study is to reveal the key components of the variety-specific flavor of
‘Sorachi Ace’. We investigated the specific flavor compounds derived
from ‘Sorachi Ace’ by solid-phase microextraction–gas
chromatography–mass spectrometry (SPME-GC-MS) and gas
chromatography–olfactometry (GC-O) analyses. As a result, we identified
the unique volatile compound only in the test-beer brewed with ‘Sorachi
Ace’ at a significant level. In addition, we found that monoterpene
alcohols were included at relatively high levels in ‘Sorachi Ace’ beer.
Then we quantified these compounds in various hops and compared the
behavior of these compounds during the brewing process. Furthermore, we
investigated the sensory characteristics of these unique compounds
derived from ‘Sorachi Ace’ by a model sensory evaluation. Based on our
findings, we propose the hypothesis of the formation of the
variety-specific flavor in ‘Sorachi Ace’ beer, using several volatiles
as the key components.
Ayako Sanekata graduated from Kyushu University with a master’s
degree in bioresource and bioenvironmental sciences in 2004. She joined
Frontier Laboratories of Value Creation of Sapporo Breweries Ltd. in
2010. She has been engaged in chemical analysis related to quality
assurance and studying the analysis of flavor components.
