Hear brief presentations from researchers doing work relevant to the craft beer industry. Presentations will include:

Image Analysis of Hop Cones to Enable Selection for Cone Morphology in Hop Breeding Programs – Dr. Kayla Altendorf

Hop cone morphology and color play an important role in consumer preference and perception, quality, and picking ability. In plant breeding programs, it is difficult to quantify and therefore select on these traits due to the variability within and among different genotypes. We developed a simple and low-cost imaging box and an analysis pipeline to quantify cone length, width, area, openness, weight, and color. We tested this tool on cones from experimental lines in a replicated, randomized experiment in one environment. We identified the optimal number of cones needed to accurately represent a genotype for each of the traits mentioned. These results will inform the implementation of this data collection tool for hop breeding programs.

Insights into Injuries among Craft Brewery Workers – Dr. Colleen Brents

Craft brewery workers are exposed to numerous occupational hazards, including awkward body postures, lifting or carrying heavy loads, sharp edges, hot surfaces, and high levels of noise, as they produce beer through manufacturing processes. By understanding the nature and burden of injuries among craft brewery workers, industry leaders and practitioners can better direct specific interventions to decrease injuries and improve wellbeing in the industry. In this presentation, learn how researchers used workers compensation data to characterize and quantify injuries among craft brewery workers.

Innovative Brewing through Innovative Research – Dr. Glen Fox

Historically, the brewing industry has lead the science world in so many discoveries and innovative technologies. But as the craft brewing industry continues to innovate, we need innovative research to ask new questions and address issues on sustainability and efficiency. The University of California, Davis brewing program is equipped to conduct high level research on raw materials, processing, sensory, and other new challenges. This researcher presentation will highlight specific research activities addressing aspects in these areas.

Biofilms and Beer – Dr. Darla Goeres

Beer quality becomes compromised when draught lines become contaminated with undesired bacteria or yeast that produce off-flavors, aromas, and haze. Bacteria and yeast prefer to live as part of a biofilm, a self-organized, cooperative community of microorganisms embedded in a slime matrix most often associated with surfaces. Research has shown that biofilm is more tolerant to disinfectants, and the slime matrix is challenging to remove from a surface. This presentation will provide an overview of biofilms and their impact on clean-in-place (CIP) procedures for beer draught lines.

The Romp of Otters: Continued Exploration of the Contribution of Barley Variety to Beer Flavor and the Potential for Developing “Updated Heirlooms” – Campbell Morrissy

Research in the last decade has shown that barley variety contributes to malt and beer flavor, however the magnitude of this contribution remains unclear. This current work uses the heirloom variety, Maris Otter®, crossed with elite malting lines to create “updated heirlooms” to determine the possibility of developing lines that meet contemporary agronomic and malt quality expectations while bringing forth flavors attributed to the heirloom parent. An initial study on four selections that advanced through the breeding pipeline were used to produce pale malts and single-malt research type beers for malt hot steep, beer sensory, and volatile chemical profiling. To continue this exploration, a second study was performed using a novel mini-scale floor malting system to evaluate the effect of traditional malting techniques. The top line from the initial study and the industry partner’s control variety were used to produce commercial style malts and beers and were compared using malt hot steep and beer sensory.

Terroir and Variety: Differences in Malt Ionic Composition – Hannah Turner

Brewers often add salts to water to achieve certain beer styles. Learn how variety and barley growing environment could also be adding salts that impact beer style and flavor.