Advances in dry hopping for industrial brewing: a review

Abstract

Highly hopped and dry hopped beer production and consumption has increased steadily for the last twenty years, following the rise of craft breweries in the United States of America and the trend they set over the world. This overuse of hops offers some environmental, technological, and economic challenges for the beer industry. Researchers have been studying several ways to make beer more ecofriendly by promoting reuse of spent hops and increasing extraction yields. Dry hopping is a size-dependent process, making it feasible for craft breweries with their small scale production, but quite a challenge for larger tanks and breweries. Based on the literature and industrial experience from brewers, the aim of this research was to analyze and discuss different dry hopping methodologies for the brewing industry and how the parameters affect the final product. In order to shed light on this trending topic and to better aid brewers in choosing the most suitable, efficient, and environmental-friendly dry hopping process for their brewery, this work approaches the main variables that promote aroma transfer from hops into beer and how to optimize it.