It’s not typically I evaluation different software program primarily based brewing instruments, however I used to be not too long ago contacted by Enrico Mollica a few internet primarily based program known as Hop Management that features a giant nicely thought out hop database in addition to some modern evaluation instruments that can enchantment to hop heads. I’m at present working with them to convey a few of these options right into a future model of BeerSmith, however I needed to focus on their system for these considering doing extra detailed hop evaluation at present.
Hop Management Overview
Hop Management is a web-based software program is the results of over 10 years of analysis carried out by Italian engineers Enrico and Giulio Mollica. The algorithms behind this software program was validated utilizing experimental actions carried out in collaboration with associate Italian brewery Birrificio Dada.
Hop Management is split into two main items. The primary is a database of at present over 300 hop varieties compiled from trade averages. This consists of detailed aroma oil content material in addition to sensory information for every selection. The second piece helps you to enter fundamental recipe information and do a examine of the hop profile for the completed beer. I’ll focus on each in a little bit of element beneath:
Hop Management Database and Comparability Software
Hop Management at present has some 300 hop varieties within the database however plan to extend that to over 400 in 2025. The info is compiled from trade averages however consists of not solely the standard alpha/beta acids but additionally full aroma oil content material and sensory information which may be displayed in a shade spider chart. Whereas a few of this information is offered from particular person suppliers, having it multi function place at your fingertips is a big plus.
The hop finder helps you to discover hops by alpha, beta, and co-humulone share, and you can even filter by fragrant profile which may actually make it easier to discover a fascinating hop aroma rapidly. Clicking on any selection brings up the sensory spider chart, description and technical information together with complete oils.
A hop comparability instrument helps you to examine as much as six hop varieties within the database and show their sensory information on an overlayed spider chart together with essential hop information facet by facet. This will help you reply questions like “What’s the distinction between utilizing Fuggles or East Kent Goldings in my brew” or “How do these three hop varieties stack up.”
Hop Research
Along with the hop database, you may create a “hop examine” which is a mini hop recipe to research the essential hop character and content material for a given hopping schedule. Organising the examine entails coming into fundamental quantity, BJCP fashion, boil density and gravity information alongside along with your hop schedule. Ths hop schedule consists of selection, boil time, hop kind in addition to dry or whirlpool hops.
When you enter your recipe and hop information, the instrument calculates and shows the next for the general recipe:
- A Spider Chart: for the calculated hop aroma in addition to the BJCP fashion hop aroma. To create this diagram, the algorithm performs a mix of the contents of a number of important oils (the impact of thiols, when relevant, is included) contained within the hop additions chosen by the person, considering the impact of time, temperature and hop kind.
- Bitterness in Worldwide Bitterness Untis (IBU earlier than fermentation).
- General Bitterness Ratio: (BU/OG ratio) for the beer.
- General Humulene/Caryophillene (H/C ratio)
- Whole Hoppy Stage (THL): which is a macroscopic indicator of the general hoppy degree of the beer (in line with the definition offered in Machado’s technical paper)
- Beta to Alpha Ratio: (BA/AA %)
- Bitter High quality Index: this a model new hop metric created by the developer of HOP CONTROL that gives an estimation of the standard of the bittering (primarily associated, as literature suggests, to the general co-humulone content material).
- Essential important oil contents: reported by way of “normalized diagrams”, i.e. for every important oil the ratio between its quanity and its notion threshold is graphed. The reported major important oils are myrcene, humulene, caryophyllene, farnesene, linalool and geraniol
Whereas a few of these, like IBUs and bitterness ratio can be found in most beer recipe packages, the overal aroma oil content material, mixed calculated spider chart, high quality index and complete hoppy degree will not be broadly obtainable in different instruments and may be fairly helpful in case you are attempting to tweak an IPA to have a specific aroma or bitterness profile.
In line with Enrico and Giulio: “The revolutionary methodology of HOP CONTROL permits to optimize the brewing course of by beginning with a base recipe and instantly figuring out the route for hopping enchancment, lowering trial batches and prices. Outcomes from breweries and homebrewers present extremely improved hop aroma, elevated bitter high quality in addition to price discount.”
After registration on the official web site you may take a look at the software program with all its functionalities and the entire 300+ hop database, for a free trial interval of seven days. The worth for the annual license is lower than $20 and consists of a vast variety of saved recipes plus all the brand new upgrades and hop database extension as new varieties are added. The builders have a low cost code BeerSmith_2024 which you should use till 31 December 2024 to get 30% off a professional license.
From my perspective this specific instrument would make addition for critical brewers in search of extra detailed hop choice standards in addition to those that want to do in-depth evaluation on hoppy beers like IPAs. I hope to combine a few of these instruments into BeerSmith over time, however Enrico and Giulio have a really good instrument obtainable now for dwelling and professional brewers.
