Less volume, simple logistics, better stability, homogeneity, greater utilization, less beer loss, the option of automatic dosage, and no separation after the boil – these advantages have persuaded most breweries over the past 50 years to replace hop cones with hop products. Pellets and enriched pellets have been available for almost every variety since the 1960s. Hop extracts were introduced in the 1970s. They were produced by means of ethanol or supercritical CO2 extraction. The CO2 extract contains all the aroma compounds and soft resins from the hops. Both products are free of ethanol and CO2, respectively.
This first generation of hop products was based on pragmatic aspects. Dried hops can be packed and used more easily in pressed powder form. While most brewers to this day still swear by normal pellets for their traditional beer styles because they most closely resemble the cones of the respective hop variety, the first enriched pellets were originally developed for the purpose of alpha acid concentration. Although they had already been established for decades, their potential finally became obvious with the advent of heavily hopped India pale ales (IPAs): The main focus of the new enriched variants is the aroma. They can therefore be seen as the forerunners of a new generation of hop products.
With the growing trend toward extremely hop-forward IPAs, the establishment of dry hopping in virtually every brewery, and a beer culture that celebrates one-off special editions, demand for efficient flavor production has risen. This is all the more important because economic pressures have increased since the lockdown years, consumers are attaching growing importance to naturalness, and sustainable production is in ever-greater demand. Breweries are having to conduct a rigorous reassessment of their processes, recipes, and marketing activities. A smooth, consistent flavor remains their number-one priority. These requirements are being met with a new range of advanced hop products.
This new generation includes both highly enriched pellets that guarantee a consistently distinct variety-specific flavor profile regardless of crop year variations and dry-hopping products that are not only flowable and easy to dose, but also dissolve in the beer without leaving any residue, while simplifying and shortening the process at the same time. Also growing in popularity recently have been downstream products such as BarthHaas’ PHA®s (Precision in Hop Aroma) that enable brewers to produce aromatically diverse beer types on one and the same production line. The advantage of these hop oil products – which have been on the market since the 2000s – is that they do not have to be added until after the filtration stage. Traditionally, they are carried in a solution of propylene glycol (PG), an approved food-safe carrier substance. In order to meet modern requirements, BarthHaas has now developed hop oil products that do not need PG. The new PHA®s are produced by means of a smart emulsification process using other hop compounds. They therefore consist purely of hops and water. Hop oil products have thus evolved into a genuine clean-label solution.
PHA®s are not permissible within the framework of the Purity Law. However, they are also suitable for applications other than beer production. Numerous tests conducted by the product developers at BarthHaas and confirmed again and again over the years in blind tastings at the BrauBeviale trade show have shown that they also deliver convincing results in terms of flavor when used to produce alcohol-free beers and soft drinks. PHA®s complement the flavor profile with pleasant, recognizable hop-based notes in various flavor categories. They are the best example of the new generation of advanced hop products featuring higher utilization, less waste, and optimized processes, as well as focusing on parameters such as flavor consistency, diversification, and naturalness. And their potential extends far beyond the boundaries of beer production!
