Lesson 6 - Hop Products

In addition to the hop products that provide bitterness and aroma, some other hop products use components other than the α-acids and essential oils, which can also provide a benefit.

These products are developed from the base extract that we mentioned when we discussed iso-extract.

Antimicrobial hop products

These are usually derived from the β-acids; they are especially effective against Gram-positive bacteria (such as Lactobacillus and Pediococcus).  Due to their poor solubility, the β-acids are dissolved in an alkaline solution (or with propylene glycol).

These products can be added in the wort kettle and are especially useful if bitterness is solely provided by late addition of isomerised extracts – thus the β-acids can provide microbiological stability in the early stages of the brewing process. The β-acids also help prevent foam formation in the kettle.

Antifoam products

The lipids and waxes extracted and separated from the hops can be used as an antifoam agent, in both the kettle and fermentation vessel.

Tannin extract

The water soluble fraction from the ethanol extraction process contains the polyphenols that can be added back if required.

That concludes our overview of hop products. Let us update the hop products overview diagram one last time:

Figure: Overview of hop products and how they are typically derived