2018 ASHS Annual Conference

Hops are considered a key essential ingredient in brewing beers. They are added to beer to impart bittering flavors and aroma compounds, and are known to vary in their chemical composition of each component. Major production areas of the United States are in the Pacific Northwestern areas of Washington, Oregon and Idaho. Growers and processors of hops in this region have set quality standards, which growers in newer regions (i.e. the Northeastern U.S.) must meet to ensure brewers will purchase their crop. The purpose of this study was to determine the variation in hop quality characteristics due to age of planting, growing location in New Jersey (NJ), and cultivar. Quality was measured by results of alpha and beta acids and aromatic compound testing. Over 50 samples of hops were collected from 10 farms throughout NJ over a 3 year period, representing over 10 cultivars. Alpha and beta acids were analyzed using the ASBC published (International) method (Hops-14), and compounds were separated and identified by HPLC-UV. Aromatic profiles were determined according to the ASBC method (Hops-17), and the total volatiles were separated and quantified using a Shimadzu TQ8040 gas chromatograph MS. Interestingly, a number of cultivars (i.e. Nugget) showed differences in quality when grown at different locations throughout NJ. In addition, data indicated that several cultivars included in the study showed improvement in chemical composition as a planting aged. Two noteworthy cultivars, Cascade (alpha acid=5.6% and beta acid=6.3%) and Ultra (alpha acid=9.5% and beta acid=3.9%) reached optimum quality levels by 2017 (3 years after planting at that site). This preliminary data indicates that NJ grown hops have the potential to meet hop quality industry standards, but growing location, and age of planting have an effect on the quality of NJ grown hops.