From Hop Blast:
The HopBlast Company is pleased to announce the release of a new product, the Hop Blast™, designed to put back into a beer glass what is diminished during the brewing process. Hop aroma.
“For the first time ever, you now have the ability to experience unique aroma hop profiles from citrus to pine, floral to spice and more, with maximum intensity that is not possible in even the most aromatic beers due to the loss from the brewing process,” said Steve Francis, co-owner of The HopBlast Co. “Hopboxing elevates aroma hop pellets above the beer in the glass and unleashes intense hop fragrances without being drowned in the liquid.”
As a homebrewer looking to create the ultimate IPA, Francis was continually disappointed with how little hop aroma makes it through the brewing process and into the finished beer. “I loved the way I’d open a fresh bag of hops before brewing and the room would start smelling amazing. It’s so much more intense than in a finished beer, where much of the essential oils responsible for hop aroma is lost after the boil, fermentation, and liquid absorption takes its toll,” said Francis.
Why enhance hop aroma in beer?
Aroma is an important component of flavor perception, which is the combination of taste and smell. According to Dr. Alan Hirsch of the Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago, up to 90% of what is perceived as taste is actually smell. If you’ve ever felt like food tasted bland when you had a stuffy nose from a cold, then you experienced this. Our sense of smell can detect and discriminate 10,000 to 40,000 different odor molecules compared to our ability to discriminate only 5 basic tastes.
Brewers have been adding aroma to certain styles of beer in a process called “dry hopping” for many years now. The technique places aroma hops into fully fermented beer for several weeks for the sole purpose of extracting aroma. The process adds no bitterness, and is not for adding flavor but is important enough for brewers to spend a significant amount on expensive aroma hops to impart uniquely hoppy smells such as floral, lemon, grapefruit among others.
Brewers use aroma to expand the uniqueness of their beers and affect its flavor. In some styles, it’s even expected that a beer has certain smells at judging competitions. Aroma is one of five categories that is separately judged in beer competitions all over the world.
Discover aroma hops
More and more craft breweries are highlighting the hops used in their beers on their beer labels. However, reading the hops on the label doesn’t mean much if you don’t understand the differences between the hops. With the Hop Blast you can pair your beer with the actual hops listed and compare each variety. You’ll discover the unique aroma hop profiles and the dominant hops will complement the beer
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In addition to learning about hop profiles, the Hop Blast allows you to:
Find favorite hops – Compare and discover favorite hop varieties.
Explore beers – Search for beers with aroma hops you like.
Pair hops with beer – Use the same hops in beer to enhance what the brewer intended.
Recharge poorly hopped or aging beers – Aroma is the first thing to fade as a beer ages.
Create interesting hop combinations – Add up to 3 Hop Blasts at once with different hops to blend scents.
Reuse hops – Since hops do not touch the liquid, put them back in the resealable pouch and use them again and again.
Products and Availability
The HopBlast Company currently sells 3 variety packs. Each Variety pack contains one Hop Blast and 4 varieties of aroma hop pellets in reusable pouches. The Hop Bomb Pack contains the classic “C” hops Cascade, Chinook, CTZ, and Centennial. The Hop Head Pack contains Sorachi Ace, Citra, Palisade, and Azacca hops. The Hoppiness Pack contains Simcoe, Amarillo, Summit, and Crystal hops.
The packs are available now online at www.hopblast.co and Amazon.com for $9.95.
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