Peer Reviewed Publications

Our team has been humbled to be part of an amazing group of scientists working on expanding our knowledge of hops flavour, and how it impacts beer. We have been working to understand how hop flavour impacts the customer experience - when beer is consumed by you! (The beer drinker) This has lead us to writing some papers for publication, all finding their way into the Technical Quarterly (the official publication of the Master Brewers Association of the Americas - and THE spot to go for unbiased, not-for-profit brewing education) Interested in becoming a member? Click here!

Hop-Derived Beer Flavor Preferences in North America: A Starting Point for Success.

In this third collaboration with survey and research expert Dr Luke MacNeill of UNB and Dr Rob Sirrine of Michigan State University, We surveyed a healthy chunk of the beer consuming public all across North America. We were grateful to find some very interesting trends and commonalities in the flavours people preferred in their beer, as well as (and likely more importantly) in the flavours they didnt like. Important differences in preferences based on demographics was also found. A table was created giving brewers a list of hops w their corresponding flavour contributions to help brewers achieve flavour profiles we found that drinkers enjoyed. To read more click HERE.

Flavor First: A Study of North American Beer Drinkers’ Views Toward Proprietary Hops (2020)

In this article, we along with Dr. MacNeill (survey expert) and Dr. Rob Sirrine (hop expert guru) discuss how proprietary hops have had a significant increase in the share of produced hops, while the public clearly knows little about them. In addition to this, those surveyed demonstrated proprietary hops as a concept (this study wasnt a head to head comparison - just a high level assessment of consumer preferences of the flavours themselves - rather than the named public or proprietary hops that provide the flavours) had no impact on their purchasing behaviour (they didnt recognize them, and weren’t willing to pay a premium for them). The bottom line is, people want beer that tastes great. (and they dont care about what hops you used to achieve that) Remember: its flavour first, when people choose the beer they want to buy. Keep your eyes peeled for a third article in press that discusses that exact point. Click here for the abstract.

Moving Beyond Variety-by-Name to Flavor Contributions in the Hops Industry: A Preference Study of Beer Drinkers in North America (2019)

We teamed up with survey and psychology expert Dr. Luke MacNeill to survey beer drinkers to figure out which hop flavours people enjoyed the most. This one is definitley boring, but if youre a brewer and want to know which flavours to focus on in upcoming beers or want to boost sales of your flagship beers (looking for flavours maybe to sneak in there) - this paper may give you some useful info!! Click here to read the abstract!

Interacting with Small-Scale Hop Growers: Some Tips and Approaches to Brew High-Quality, Sustainable, Local Beer (2018)

Its hard being a brewer right now. How many pressures can society put on you? Your juggling so much already and society guilting you into ‘buying local’ is part of it…But at the same time, people are decreasingly able to pay a premium for local products. At the same time, not every one has been labeled a super taster, and can know when hops are of the best or worst quality. What’s a brewer to do? How do you support local farmers doing a great job (and LOTS are), while protecting your business from a bad investment. (hops that maybe arent of the quality, or as marketable as they should be)

In this article we discuss an approach to assessing your local small scale hop producers to ensure that you’re getting a safe, quality product that offers your marketing advantages - bringing direct and real value to your investment.

Its not exhaustive, but gives you a place to start! Click here for the abstract!!

Podcasts

We have appeared in a few featured podcasts speaking about hop-related topics aimed at informing brewers about our farm, our process, hops and flavour-related topics and research.

We were featured by the 902Brewcast (Atlantic Canadas Premier Brewing Podcast) discussing the farm, hop and flavour related research, and our amazing unique brewing scene here in Atlantic Canada. If you need something to help drift you off to sleep this may be the thing for you.

In 2018, we were humbled to speak with John Bryce of the MBAA about how brewers can assure quality in hops produced by small scale growers. This includes our ‘Know the Farmer, Know the Farm, Know the Hops’ Approach to assessing quality. He discusses a few tips and tricks to make the best beer with local hops (no matter where you call home)

https://www.masterbrewerspodcast.com/086

Invited Presentations

If you’re really bored and want to check out some presentations, below are some clickable links for presentations that we have done over the years on a few hop-and beer-related topics

Basic Approach to Bitterness in Beer

In this invited 2018 talk at the Fredericton Craft Beer Festival, we gave a quick primer on bitterness for commercial and home brewers alike! Click here for the talk

Getting Hops to Market Effectively - A Primer for Small and Medium Producers

In this invited presetation in Detroit, MI, we gave a short talk on how hops producers can interact w brewers to form a mutually beneficial relationship - to produce the best and most sustainable beer possible.