We’ve come a long way from the 19th century harvesting of hops by hand in the fields when the crop was an important agricultural revenue for the Northeast. It was so important, that the start of school was delayed for the harvest. Fast forward to the present. Enter the New England IPA or Brut IPA styles. The brewing industry continues to push the envelope of hop character and bitterness with hop hash and extract. These innovations are seen in delivery and in new production development. One new development in processing hops has taken the industry by storm. It’s known as Cryo Hops (formerly known as LupulN2 or lupulin powder).
A Brief History of Hop Processing
Before diving into what Cryo Hops are, let’s first review a brief history of hop processing. Through the 19th century, the value of the hop crop was so high that areas of New York and Vermont made significant profits on hops production. The hops were hand-harvested, but the process changed in the late 19th and early 20th century. The Pacific Northwest and California took over hop production, and hop farms adopted a trellis growth system akin to wine grape production. This assisted in the growth and health of the plants. Technological strides in mechanical hop harvesting increased the hop yields. The technology continued to change into the 20th century. Dedicated breeding programs at Oregon State University at Corvallis and other Northwest farms changed the hop landscape. But the real change would come with the development of pelletized hops.
Pelletized hops take the whole hop, cut it up and then extrude it to form pellets. The technology has continued to develop in the production of pelletized hops. The process is done at low temperatures with an oxygen-free environment, minimizing the deterioration of the hops. The benefit is that the bract/plant matter is broken up. This allows some of the compounds, tannins, turpenes and oils to be extracted into the finished beer. Hop hash, from a previous Yankee Brew News article, is derived from scraping the extruder plate to which the lupulin and resin bind.
Now Come Cryo Hops
Cryo Hops is a new development in processing of hops created and patented by Yakima Chief Hops. This company has developed a proprietary process in which whole-cone hops are processed at significantly lower temperatures than pelletized hops and the lupulin glands are separated from the intact bract of the flower. The resulting lupulin powder is then pressed into pellet form for easier use. Cryo Hops were previously known as LupulN2 or lupulin powder, but this marketing term has been discontinued by Yakima Chief Hops. The switch from powder to pellets was for easier handling by the brewers. The Cryo Hops process actually created two products from one. First are the super-concentrated pelletized hops. Alpha acids, the primary bittering compound in hops, can hit 30%. The whole cones that remain after the processing are “debittered.” This means the hop cones have a small percentage of their original alpha acid content. Most will ask why is that important in the age of big juicy IPAs. The varietals of “debittered” hops give brewers a larger range of options for aroma and flavor. An example is that a beer brewed with low-alpha German or French hops can now be brewed with Mosaic, Citra or Simcoe hop varieties and still maintain the same bitterness level. The question then arises: Why weren’t these used before, but in smaller amounts for the beer? The answer is that the hop flavor can now be intensified and diversified without increasing the bitterness.
Learning Curve
With all new tech innovations, there’s always a learning curve. There isn’t a one-size-fits-all answer on how to best use Cryo Hops. Brewmaster Will Gilson at Idletyme Brewing in Stowe, Vt., is still exploring what Cryo Hops can do for his beers. He’s also looking at how to use them. Gilson’s experience includes a wide range of markets in the U.S. and Germany. He’s seen different trends and technology come onto the market place.
“There is advantage to using and Cryo Hop pellets,” Gilson said, “but we haven’t totally dialed in the best way for our system. We currently use a number of pounds when we dry hop in our secondary tanks, reducing the substituted pounds of standard pellets by half.”
That said, one aspect in which h Cryo Hops have benefited the brewing industry is that they cut down on beer loss. Most craft beer drinkers don’t realize what goes into their IPAs. In the addition of traditional hop cones and pellets into those bitter IPAs, the finished beer volume is lost. The hops soak up the liquid in the production process. Cryo Hops have reduced the volume of vegetal matter in the brewing process, and this creates higher yields for brewers and a significant benefit in the ever tighter marketplace. Cryo Hops are also more potent than traditional pelletized hops. This means less to store at breweries, which can be helpful for brewers.
But there are some drawbacks to the product that brewers are learning to work around. In the case of Idletyme Brewing, Gilson explained: “The main issue we have is separation from this fine powder after secondary fermentation. Our dry hop tanks are dish bottomed with a installable stem, but I assume a standard conical tank would be more efficient in dropping this powder out . We’ve had good aroma, but also more challenging filter runs being clogged by fine hop particles.”
Sampling the Results
Sitting around the table sampling different Cryo Hops beers from the region, this was especially apparent in most of the beers. The bottom of the glass was covered in golden brown powder ranging from a light dusting to a noticeable line. Gilson noted that he “… will be looking at adding Cryo Hop pellets in our whirlpool to see how it settles, and how much of that aroma is blown out during fermentation. One concern is how clean our yeast will be for collecting yeast, because we top crop. I’m looking forward to researching this subject more and dialing in what is best for our system.”
Other brewers in the Yankee Brew News coverage area have said that they have never tried using Cryo Hops for various reasons.
In the marketplace, Cryo Hops are becoming a selling point for brewers. The IPA style has, without question, become the dominant style in the craft beer market. For the last decade, it has become harder for breweries to distinguish themselves. With New England Style Double IPAs and now Brut IPAs, anything that can add a descriptor to gain some positive attention is a welcome addition. Many brewers across the country, especially in New England, have added Cryo Hops into regular use, whether they state so or not.
Speaking with Peter Cowles, founder and brewer at Aspetuck Brew Lab in Bridgeport, Conn., Cryo Hops has an important place in his brewery. Cowles won many regional and national awards as a homebrewer for nearly two decades. In opening Aspetuck Brew Lab, he carried the tradition, winning medals at commercial competitions. When asked about the difference between using traditional pellet hops and Cryo Hops, Cowles pointed out that “… we’ve found several advantages to using Cryo Hops in several of our beers, namely our IPAs. We use a lot of hops in our dry hopping procedures, and the Cryo Hops contribute a really nice flavor and aroma profile when used in dry-hopping. We tend to get a bolder, richer flavor profile in our IPAs when using Cryo Hops. We use Citra, Cascade, Simcoe, Mosaic and Eukanot Cryo Hops in various beers, and we’re able to get very concentrated hop flavor and aroma in a shorter time frame when compared to using just pellets. Because we’re able to get results quicker with Cryo powder, we’re also able to turn our tanks a bit quicker, and that’s key in a capacity-constrained small brewery.”
Cowles noted that “…because Cryo powder is pure lupulin derived from the hop plant, we’re able to cut some of the vegetative matter in our hop bill. This pays dividends in the dry-hopping process, because we lose less beer due to absorption. Our yields have been higher since we started using Cryo Hops. The extra beer that we get out of these batches more than pays for our increased cost of ingredients. Cryo Hops often costs us twice what T-90 pellet hops cost.”
Here to Stay
Some technological trends have come and gone in the last decade. Cryo Hops are a newer advancement in hop technology that is here to stay. The pursuit remains of finding new spins on both style and hop delivery. Cryo Hops have created a new product (and by-product) that has filled a needed niche. The beer industry is at the early stages of exploring what’s possible with Cryo Hops. Sometimes mistakes are made. But rather than error, it’s exploring boundaries. These boundaries are pushed and broken to push the envelope of innovation. Cryo Hops have given brewers the material that allows them to push the boundaries of bitterness and flavors in ways we have not yet seen.
