Effect of Czech Hop Varieties on Aroma of Dry-Hopped Lager Beer

Abstract

The hoppy aroma in beer is characterized by an overall pleasant profile. The impacts of five Czech hop cultivars, Rubin, Saaz, Vital, Harmonie, and Kazbek, were tested on the hop aroma of the resulting beers, compared with a control beer sample, which was hopped with a commercial hop extract during wort boiling. GC-MS analysis was used for the identification and quantification of aroma-active compounds in the hops and beer. Dry hopping was successful in terms of improving the hoppy aroma in beer. Odorants such as β-myrcene, linalool, geraniol, β-citronellol, humulene epoxide I, and 2-methylbutyl-2-methylpropanoate were found at higher concentrations than the control in all dry-hopped beers. To quantify the success of dry hopping, the transfer rates of hop odorants were calculated. Those of linalool, geraniol and humulene epoxide I were adequate, whereas the transfer rates of polar compounds, e.g., β-myrcene, were relatively low, mostly due to their polarity. Changes in hop oil constituents were clearly notable, with the generation of β-citronellol, the release of other terpene alcohols from their glycosides or oxidation of α-humulene. Yeast metabolism also played an important role in these changes.