Advanced Hop Products

With today’s advanced hop products, there are no silver bullets. Yet they can be powerful tools in the brewery—if used carefully, intentionally, and while heeding the advice of fellow brewers.

Whether it’s selecting very different lots of Nelson Sauvin or trialing new hop products to see what they can contribute, North Park founder and head brewer Kelsey McNair says he’s always looking for ways to squeeze in more hop flavor—but without leaving the realm of the familiar.

Paul Schneider, cofounder and head brewer of Cinderlands Beer in Pittsburgh, delves into how they decided to include HyperBoost into one of the brewery’s most popular hazy IPAs.

In today’s hop-forward beers, whirlpool additions contribute many of the IBUs—yet the results are less clear-cut than adding to the boil. Research—some new, some not-so-new—may provide direction.

Concentrated, aromatic hop extracts such as HyperBoost can help elevate non-beer beverages, including hop water and hard tea. Paul Schneider, cofounder and head brewer of Cinderlands Beer in Pittsburgh, explains what it brings to the table.

While the aromas aren't qualitatively the same, a relatively tiny amount of HyperBoost can effectively replace a large amount of hop pellets—with none of the wort loss. Paul Schneider, cofounder and head brewer of Cinderlands Beer in Pittsburgh, explains.

Pro brewers these days are learning about how best to take advantage of cold-side aroma extracts and other advanced hop products. Why shouldn’t you?

The West Coast IPA gang is back with a pal from the East Coast—and while IPA is still the focus, this time it’s hazy and soft rather than lean, clear, and bitter. Evan Price of Green Cheek, Steve Parker of Fidens, Kelsey McNair of North Park, and special guest host Vinnie Cilurzo of Russian River dive into the creative and technical mechanics of juicy, hazy, New England–style IPA.