Gas chromatographic retention indices of monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes on methyl silicon and Carbowax 20M phases

Although hop technology has been a substantial part of brewing science for the last 130 years, we are still far from claiming to know everything about hops. As hops are considered primarily as a flavour ingredient for beer, with the added benefit of having anti-microbial effects, hop research is focused on hops as a bittering agent, as an aroma contributor and as a preservative. Newer fields in hop research are directed toward the relevance of hops in flavour stability, brewing process utilisation, the technological benefits of hops in brewing as well as hops as a source of various substances with many health benefits. However the more we find out about the so-called “spirit of beer” the more questions emerge that demand answers. While hop research was only an ancillary research field for decades, during the last ten years more universities and breweries have determined that hops must play a meaningful role in their research efforts. This article gives an overview of the up-to-date knowledge on hop aroma, hop derived bitterness, and the role of hops in flavour stability as well as light stability. Hop research is a wide field, therefore in this review only selected topics are reviewed. Other research areas such as hops utilisation, the antifoam potential of hops, or the advances in knowledge pertaining to the physiological valuable substances of hops go beyond the scope of this article.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/j.2050-0416.2011.tb00471.x

125th Anniversary Review: The Role of Hops in Brewing

Of all the herbs that have been used to flavor and preserve beer over the ages, only the hop (Humulus lupulus L.) is now regarded as an essential raw material in brewing throughout the world. Altho...

Hops—A Millennium Review

Trichoderma species are present in many ecosystems and some strains have the ability to reduce the severity of plant diseases by activating various defence pathways via specific biologically active signaling molecules. Hence we investigated the effects of low molecular weight volatile compounds of Trichoderma asperellum IsmT5 on Arabidopsis thaliana. During co-cultivation of T. asperellum IsmT5 without physical contact to A. thaliana we observed smaller but vital and robust plants. The exposed plants exhibit increased trichome numbers, accumulation of defence-related compounds such as H2O2, anthocyanin, camalexin, and increased expression of defence related genes. We conclude that A. thaliana perceives the Trichoderma volatiles as stress compounds and subsequently initiates multilayered adaptations including activation of signaling cascades to withstand this environmental influence. The prominent headspace volatile of T. asperellum IsmT5 was identified to be 6-pentyl-α-pyrone, which was solely applied to A. thaliana to verify the growth and defence reactions. Most noticeable is that A. thaliana preexposed to 6PP showed significantly reduced symptoms when challenged with Botrytis cinerea and Alternaria brassicicola, indicating that defence-activated plants subsequently became more resistant to pathogen attack. Together, these results support that products that are based on Trichoderma volatiles have the potential being a useful biocontrol agent in agriculture.

Friedrich Fendesack

Papers

Gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric investigation of hop aroma constituents in beer

Studies of the volatile composition of hops during storage

Changes of aroma components during storage and processing of hops and their contribution to beer flavor