Dry‐hopping is a technique that has been used by brewers to increase the hop aroma and flavour of beer for centuries. Throughout the twenty first century, dry‐hopping has become an increasingly popular method among craft brewers to impart intense hoppy aroma and flavour to beer. Many US craft brewers use extremely high dry‐hop dosing rates of up to 2200 g/hL and this is both unsustainable and potentially wasteful. This study examines the impact of dry‐hopping rate on the sensorial and analytical characteristics of dry‐hopped beers. An unhopped pale beer was statically dry‐hopped with whole cone Cascade from the 2015 harvest over a broad range of dry‐hopping rates (200–1600 g/hL) in replicated, pilot scale (80 L) aliquots. Trained panellists using descriptive analysis scaled the overall and qualitative hop aroma intensity of these beers, as well as the unhopped base beer. Instrumental analysis was used to measure the levels of hop volatile and non‐volatile extraction between the treatments. The relationship between dry‐hopping rate and the sensorial and analytical characteristics of the finished beer was not linear and, based on the extraction efficiencies of select hop volatiles, had an ideal range between 400 and 800 g/hL. © 2018 The Institute of Brewing & Distilling

The relative influences of trans-Pacific and regional atmospheric transport on measured concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), PAH derivatives (nitro- (NPAH) and oxy-(OPAH)), organic carbon (OC), and particulate matter (PM) less than 2.5 μm in diameter (PM_2.5) were investigated in the Pacific Northwest, U.S. in 2010–2011. Ambient high volume PM_2.5 air samples were collected at two sites in the Pacific Northwest: (1.) Mount Bachelor Observatory (MBO) in the Oregon Cascade Range (2763 m above sea level (asl)) and 2.) Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) in the Columbia River Gorge (CRG) (954 m asl). At MBO, the 1,8-dinitropyrene concentration was significantly positively correlated with the time a sampled air mass spent over Asia, suggesting that this NPAH may be a good marker for trans-Pacific atmospheric transport. At CTUIR, NO_x, CO₂, and SO₂ emissions from a 585 MW coal fired power plant, in Boardman OR, were found to be significantly positively correlated with PAH, OPAH, NPAH, OC, and PM_2.5 concentrations. By comparing the Boardman Plant operational time frames when the plant was operating to when it was shut down, the plant was found to contribute a large percentage of the measured PAH (67%), NPAH (91%), OPAH (54%), PM_2.5 (39%), and OC (38%) concentrations at CTUIR and the CRG prior to Spring 2011 and likely masked trans-Pacific atmospheric transport events to the CRG. Upgrades installed to the Boardman Plant in the spring of 2011 dramatically reduced the plant’s contribution to PAH and OPAH concentrations (by ∼72% and ∼40%, respectively) at CTUIR and the CRG, but not NPAH, PM_2.5 or OC concentrations.

In this study, the chemical and sensory profiles of 42 different nonalcoholic beer (NAB) brands/styles already on the global market and produced through several different brewing techniques were evaluated. A trained panel (i.e., 11 panelists) performed standard-driven descriptive and check-all-that-apply analyses in triplicate to sensorially characterize the aroma and taste/mouthfeel profiles of 42 commercial NABs, a commercial soda, and a commercial seltzer water (n = 44). These beers were also chemically deconstructed using several different analytical techniques targeting volatile and nonvolatile compounds. Consumer analysis (n = 129) was then performed to evaluate the Northern Californian consumer hedonic liking of a selection (n = 12) of these NAB brands. These results provide direction to brewers and/or beverage producers on which techniques they should explore to develop desirable NAB offerings and suggest chemical targets that are indicators of specific flavor qualities and/or preference for American consumers.

The sensory, volatile, and physiochemical profiles of nineteen commercial non-alcoholic pilsner-style beers produced by different production techniques were analyzed and compared with a dry-hopped non-alcoholic IPA. NABs made only with either physical dealcoholization or restricted fermentations differed significantly in chemistry and flavor. Generally, NABs produced by restricted fermentations were the most worty, thick, and sweet, whereas NABs that were physically dealcoholized had the lowest taste/aroma intensities and were the sourest, most thin, and least sweet. Interestingly, the method of dealcoholization had a minor impact on the flavor profile. The use of maltose intolerant yeast as well as the implementation of combined treatments, such as blending dealcoholized beer with beer containing alcohol, were the techniques found to produce NABs with more harmonious and multifaceted chemical and flavor profiles. NABs with increased hop aroma volatiles were the most harmonious, particularly highlighted by the NA IPA reference. Even though dry-hopped character might be atypical for pilsner-style beer, dry-hopping appears as a simple application to produce NABs with more harmonious flavor.