From gene-editing technology to cryogenic freezing, scientific innovations in hops are helping brewers improve efficiency and deliver new, intense IPA aromas.

IPAs have grown stronger and hazier over the past few years, with larger doses of the latest fruity and tropical hops. America’s approach to IPA production over the last decade has seen hop quantities delivered bigger flavors and fragrances.

“You get more intensity by adding more hops, but at a certain point it’s really not efficient,” says Stan Hieronymus, the author of For the Love of Hops.

As the price of raw materials, labor, and utilities increase, breweries are rethinking their more-is-better approach. “We’re way past the heyday of craft where you can hop with 10 pounds per barrel and lose 50 percent of your beer,” says Phillip Chou, the director of brewing solutions for John I. Haas, a hop products supplier in Yakima, Washington.

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SOURCE: SevenFifty Daily

PHOTO CREDIT: John I. Haas