Exploring Aroma Diversity in Hop Varieties

Dr. Ron Beatson is the retired hop breeder who built a storied career at Plant & Food Research developing some of the most popular New Zealand hop varieties today, and Dr. Tom Shellhammer is the Oregon State University professor whose research into hop oils, hop terroir, hop-growing techniques, and more have made an indelible impact on the Pacific Northwest hop industry. Shellhammer is currently on a four-month sabbatical in New Zealand, studying the similarities and differences between U.S. and New Zealand hop practices, and presented at both the NZ Hops Harfest event (with Dr. Ron Beatson) and on his own at the Freestyle Hops Hāpi Symposium.

In this episode, we brought the two together to discuss:

• the hierarchy of impacts from genetics through terroir and agronomics
• differences in hops within a farm or area versus differences between areas
• the genesis of onion and garlic notes in hop aromas and flavors
• sources of inconsistency in a hop variety
• harvesting dynamics of Nelson Sauvin
• cover crops in hop fields to promote soil health
• multiple archetypes for hop varieties
• the source of “diesel” and “dank” notes in hops and the crossovers with cannabis
• thiol and terpene interactions in aroma formation over individual oil content
• impact from lack of disease in New Zealand hop fields
• soil and localized environmental impacts on New Zealand hop cultivation

And more.

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