Presenter: Thomas Becker, Technische Universität München,
Freising, Germany
Dry hopping, the addition of hops in the fermenting or lager
cellar, in the United Kingdom is, and for about 25 years in the
United States, widely used and enjoys increasing popularity
in Germany as well. Until now dry-hopping has barely been
investigated scientifically. For dry-hopping, many different
methods are used that differ mainly in terms of their technical
complexity, the raw material (pellets or cones) used, contact
time, and temperature. Each method has its own characteristic
and raises a plethora of issues and problems and often brings
classic beer analytics to their limits. The focus of our study
was to compare in a first step different hopping techniques
regarding their ability to dissolve hop components like hop
oils, polyphenols, and bitter substances. In a second step we
systematically investigated how dry-hopping effects beer haze.
In addition, the investigation of aging and flavor stability of
dry-hopped beer was part of the focus of our work. The aim
was to get answers about the stability of hop aroma and the
masking effects of hop aroma in beer aging.
Thomas Becker is currently a full professor and the head of
the Institute of Brewing and Beverage Technology (Lehrstuhl
für Brau- und Getränketechnologie) at the Technische
Universität München, Weihenstephan. From 1986 until 1991
Thomas performed academic studies on the “Technology
and Biotechnology of Food” at the Technische Universität
München. He finished his Ph.D. there on “Development
of a Computerized Enzyme Integrated Flow Line Injection
System and Its Application in Biotechnological Process
Control Engineering and Quality Control.” From 1996 until
2004 he worked as an assistant professor at the Chair of
Fluid Mechanics and Process Automation at the Technische
Universität München, Weihenstephan. With the topic
“Management of Bioprocesses by Means of Modeling and
Cognitive Tools” he completed his habilitation in 2002 and
graduated with “Venia Legendi” in the field of bioprocess
engineering. In 2005 he was appointed to a full professorship
at the Chair of Process Analysis and Cereal Technology at the
Universität of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, where he worked in the
field of process analysis. In 2009 the Technische Universität
München appointed him to a full professorship of the Institute
of Brewing and Beverage Technology in Weihenstephan. He is a
member of several scientific boards and committees, as well as
government organizations for food and beverage issues.
