The Brewers Congress, London 2021 part two

The second session started with Fellow Worker Charlotte Cook talking about The Economies of Modern Hop Usage. 

There is an optimum time for hop harvests. 

Very high levels of dry hopping have diminishing returns. Over 8g/l (80kg/100hl) is the maximum it's worth adding. Higher levels just add more vegetal flavours. 

Two additions are better than one. 

Synergy and hop blending adds more sensory impact. 

Terroir has a big impact on hops so synergistic layering of different dry hops can be used.

Spend dry hops can be reused but there are problems as you don't know what's in them. Hops left over from CO2 extraction can also be used. 

High hopping levels can lead to excess levels of nitrates and other unwanted compounds. 

The next speaker Charlie Johnson of the Ronin Fermentation Project talked about using koji, the Aspergillus oryzae using in sake, in brewing. 

Koji produces citric acid and can give nice esters. He ferments with it at 7°C and ages in barrels for nine months. Koji makes alpha amylase so will super attenuate. There is more on this on Milk The Funk, but one tip I got down was use yellow or black koji not white. 

Then there was someone talking about Yakima Chiefs hop company before The Chemical Sisters, Belinda Jennings and Moyra Williams talked about Hygiene in the brewing environment. Remember cleaning action depends on Style, Control, Damage and Aggression. OK, mechanical action, chemical concentration, time and temperature. 

The afternoon lectures interested me less, and poor old malty got a hammering again, though Twinings did put it back on their tea packets. I wish I'd taken notes on Garrett Oliver's talk though as he was good. 

If you want to see more diversity in the industry your have to actively encourage it.