Shellhammer, T. H.1 and Lafontaine, S.1, (1)Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA
Technical Session 2: Hops I
Sunday, June 04, 2017
2:45–4:00 p.m.
Harbourview (1st Floor)
American craft beer style/flavor is often driven by the unique qualities of American hops. Cascade, Chinook, and Centennial hops are prominently used singly and in blends by brewers. A sensory-directed mixture study was performed to understand the contribution that each of these hops makes to beer flavor. Fifteen beers were prepared by dry-hopping a common base beer with different blends of the whole cone hops from the three individual hop cultivars. The treatments were evaluated by trained panelists using descriptive analysis, where the response variables encompassed the sensory attributes describing unique aromatic features of the three hops, (i.e., citrus, tropical/fruity, tropical/catty, herbal). Using these outputs, response-surface diagrams were produced illustrating the sensory contributions of each individual cultivar, as well as mixtures of the cultivars, on a per attribute basis. These response diagrams can be used to select combinations of the three hops that provide similar or dissimilar overall flavor. Brewers, growers, and suppliers will benefit from these response diagrams when faced with varying availability of individual cultivars in selecting hops.
Thomas Shellhammer is the Nor’Wester Endowed Professor of Fermentation Science in the Department of Food Science and Technology at Oregon State University, where he leads the brewing science education and research programs. His brewing research investigates hops, beer quality and the origins of hop aroma and flavor in beer. He is a past president of the ASBC, the current president of the MBAA District Northwest, and serves on the Board of Examiners of the IBD. Thomas received his Ph.D. degree from the University of California, Davis in 1996.
View Presentation
