While new hops varieties and usage techniques are constantly evolving, most brewers have taken for granted the form those hops take. For most of craft beer’s history, the options were whole cone, pellet, plug, or extract, and that was that.
But today’s craft brewers are more open to experimentation than ever, and the financial rebound of the hops market has led to additional investment from major hops growing and packaging concerns, resulting in groundbreaking developments that may change the way brewers get their hops.
Yakima Chief−Hopunion (YCH HOPS) is leading the charge in the development of these new hops products, and the release they brought to market this spring, LupuLN2, promises to drastically reduce the amount of hops used by weight, enhance hops flavor and aroma, reduce vegetal off-flavors, save beer yield lost to hops matter, and recoup lost profit. While this might sound too good to be true, many brewers have already been using the product—LupuLN2 hops powder—for several months as part of a pilot program and have had outstanding results.