More Aroma Oil, Faster: The Dry Hopsters Holy Grail
OSU tests IH pellets vs Cones for aroma intensity and oil extraction rates
* A 10 member sensory panel evaluated the intensity of dry hop aroma from Cascade pellets and whole cones and concluded that the pellets provided more intense aroma.
* Beer samples dry hopped for one day had significantly more aroma than beer dry hopped for 7 days.
* Irrespective of form (pellet or whole cone), the concentrations of hydrocarbon terpenes (eg, myrcene, humulene and limonene) peaked between 3 and 6 hours in dry hopped beer and then declined, while the concentrations of terpene alcohols (e.g, linalool and geraniol) continued to increase throughout the 24 hour dry hop extraction.
A few caveats.
First, not all pellets are the same. The pellets used for this study were supplied by us, Indie Hops, and weve previously shown that our pellets are different in terms of the average particle size, the diameter and the bakedness (our grist is extruded at between 106F and 115F).
Were gratified to learn that our pellets produced about twice the intensity of aroma than whole cones. Thats huge! The conclusion reinforces what common sense told us: nature designed the hop flower to keep the oils in, not let them out, while IH pellets were designed by guys who wanted to get the oil out. We deliberately designed our mill to chop up the cone in bigger, coarser particles so that we could open up without pulverizing the oil-exuding lupulin glands.
Second, the rapid extraction rates were likely influenced by the temperature of the solution (23.3C, which may not be representative of real world conditions), and the hops were continually stirred. Although theres been ongoing anecdotes and discussion about methods for agitating or recirculating/re-entraining hop grist in the tanks, we dont have a reasonably available tried and true technology for re-suspending hops during dry hopping.
The research suggests, however, that the machinery needed wouldn't be too terribly difficult, and it only need to engage for a few days.
Third, the sensory panel consisted of 10 trained beer geeks who measured the aroma intensity on a scale of 0-15 based on the smell, not taste. To quantify the aroma compounds extracted (e.g., linalool, myrcene, etc), as well as the extraction rates, OSU used all the usual hi-tech stuff.
Link to the full article.
OSU tests IH pellets vs Cones for aroma intensity and oil extraction rates
* A 10 member sensory panel evaluated the intensity of dry hop aroma from Cascade pellets and whole cones and concluded that the pellets provided more intense aroma.
* Beer samples dry hopped for one day had significantly more aroma than beer dry hopped for 7 days.
* Irrespective of form (pellet or whole cone), the concentrations of hydrocarbon terpenes (eg, myrcene, humulene and limonene) peaked between 3 and 6 hours in dry hopped beer and then declined, while the concentrations of terpene alcohols (e.g, linalool and geraniol) continued to increase throughout the 24 hour dry hop extraction.
A few caveats.
First, not all pellets are the same. The pellets used for this study were supplied by us, Indie Hops, and weve previously shown that our pellets are different in terms of the average particle size, the diameter and the bakedness (our grist is extruded at between 106F and 115F).
Were gratified to learn that our pellets produced about twice the intensity of aroma than whole cones. Thats huge! The conclusion reinforces what common sense told us: nature designed the hop flower to keep the oils in, not let them out, while IH pellets were designed by guys who wanted to get the oil out. We deliberately designed our mill to chop up the cone in bigger, coarser particles so that we could open up without pulverizing the oil-exuding lupulin glands.
Second, the rapid extraction rates were likely influenced by the temperature of the solution (23.3C, which may not be representative of real world conditions), and the hops were continually stirred. Although theres been ongoing anecdotes and discussion about methods for agitating or recirculating/re-entraining hop grist in the tanks, we dont have a reasonably available tried and true technology for re-suspending hops during dry hopping.
The research suggests, however, that the machinery needed wouldn't be too terribly difficult, and it only need to engage for a few days.
Third, the sensory panel consisted of 10 trained beer geeks who measured the aroma intensity on a scale of 0-15 based on the smell, not taste. To quantify the aroma compounds extracted (e.g., linalool, myrcene, etc), as well as the extraction rates, OSU used all the usual hi-tech stuff.
Link to the full article.
