Searching the world of hops and brewing to bring you the latest news and research ... so you don‘t have to!
Play some music for the yeast!
In this study, New Zealand researchers investigated how the particle motion component of audible sound affects beer fermentation. They used linear actuators (LATs) that predominantly deliver the particle motion component of sound rather than the pressure component. Fermentation yeast was subjected to continuous stimulation at 800–2,000 Hz as the sound treatment and no sound stimulation as the control treatment. Previous studies have shown the varying effects of sound on microbial cultures. These studies often used air-to-liquid sound application, which can alter sound properties. This study's results suggest that LAT-delivered sound stimulation can increase brewery efficiency by reducing fermentation time without significantly altering the beer's flavor profile. Using audible sound via LATs to accelerate beer fermentation could be a viable method for improving the efficiency of the brewing industry and other industrial fermentation processes. I'm sure the hops will enjoy the music, too.
Parise Adadi, Alastair Harris, Phil Bremer, Patrick Silcock, Austen R.D. Ganley, Tim Jowett, Andrew G. Jeffs, Graham T. Eyres,: Audible sound decreased beer fermentation time with minimal effects on the abundance of volatile organic compound production, Food Research International, Volume 212, 2025, 116427, ISSN 0963-9969, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodres.2025.116427.
Unravelling the secrets of the hop harvest record
In 1891, The New York Times reported on an enormous hop harvest in Kent, Washington that set a new record. From 1870 to 1900, Washington's Puget Sound eco-district was the leading hop producer in the United States. The average dry hop yield during this period was an impressive 1,793 kilograms per hectare (kg/ha), far surpassing the yields of major competitors such as New York, England, and Germany, which averaged just 729 kg/ha at that time. Remarkably, the Puyallup Hop Company recorded an exceptional yield of 6,268 kg/ha in 1891. By comparison, the average yield in Germany today is 2,300 kg/ha.
This author investigated how this could be explained. The factors behind this historical anomaly have remained elusive for over a century. However, reports from 2021 to 2024 offer a potential explanation. By synthesizing these reports, a unique confluence of events that may have contributed to this production anomaly was discovered. Possible factors, such as supplemental CO2, gibberellic acid application, cool temperatures, and high light conditions in a controlled environment, were combined in a trial. The trial yielded a figure remarkably close to 6,097 kg of dry hops per hectare. These recent research findings support the idea that a combination of factors—including optimal climate and growing conditions, elevated carbon dioxide levels, and the application of bio stimulants—came together to produce the record-breaking hop yield that still stands today.
Bauerle WL. Untapped: the 1891 hop yield record. Front Plant Sci. 2025 Apr 3;16:1539239. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2025.1539239. PMID: 40247942; PMCID: PMC12003274.
How to extract xanthohumol with nanoparticles
This research team investigated a novel method for the purification of xanthohumol, a potent anti-oxidant compound from hops, using mesoporous superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs).
The extract from the spent hops remaining after CO2 extraction was prepared by ultrasonic extraction using various solvents including ethyl acetate, propanol, acetone, 80% methanol, ethyl acetate-methanol and propanol-methanol. The study found that the use of 80% methanol extract incubated with IONPs at room temperature for 48 hours resulted in 74.61% extraction of xanthohumol. The proposed method of magnetic dispersive extraction using IONPs enables the extraction of xanthohumol from spent hop pellets at a very high purity level. This pure extract could have a broad application potential in medicine, pharmacy, cosmetics and agriculture. The method has been registered as a Polish patent (P.450206, November 5, 2024): “Method for isolating xanthohumol from spent hop extracts (Humulus lupulus L.)”.
Żuk, N., Pasieczna-Patkowska, S., Grabias-Blicharz, E., Pizoń, M., & Flieger, J. (2025). Purification of Spent Hop Cone (Humulus lupulus L.) Extract with Xanthohumol Using Mesoporous Superparamagnetic Iron Oxide Nanoparticles. Antioxidants, 14(3), 314. https://doi.org/10.3390/antiox14030314
