His recent published study on hop terroir backs up what brewers have known anecdotally—that where a hop is grown can have significant impact in flavor and aroma. But just how much impact is possible, and what causes it?
Brewers today are used to choosing punchy hops for their IPAs. However, great lagers require a different approach and a different kind of bitterness—yet, they need not copy the classics. Here’s how some new varieties are pointing the way toward lagers that still taste like lagers, “but with a twist.”
For De Ranke, looking back was looking forward. When the Belgian beer industry was minimizing bitterness, De Ranke embraced it instead, carving out a hop-forward niche that’s been influencing fellow brewers for nearly three decades.
For Denver’s Our Mutual Friend, subtle tweaks and improvements over years of brewing have brought their hoppy beers into medal-winning form, but the big and brash flavors in their smoked beers showcase their penchant for dramatic statements.
Alvarado Street cofounder and brewing director J.C. Hill explains some sensory and technical differences between dry hopping and using knockout hops boosted by exogenous enzymes.
It’s hard enough to win a GABF medal in an IPA category. In 2021, North Park Beer won two—one hazy, one West Coast. Founder Kelsey McNair discusses their dogged approach to improvement and new techniques to maximize the flavor and impact of hops.
Alvarado Street cofounder and brewing director J.C. Hill explains how an exogenous enzyme combined with ample knockout hops is boosting biotransformation for more vibrant hop aroma in their West Coast IPAs.
The idea is simple: an IPA that relies on German ingredients—especially the country’s distinctive aroma hops. Does it exist? Yes. Is it rare? Also, yes. Josh Weikert digs into the German and U.S. beer scenes to find out why—and to get the blueprints.
The brewmaster of Firestone Walker in Paso Robles, California, lays out the brewery’s methodical approach to blending hops for elevated flavors and aromas in distinctive IPAs.
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The innovations that changed hop-growing in New Zealand and the flavors possible in craft beer have today become a Revolution.