Posted on 02/04/2008 11:07:57 AM PST by anonsquared
Northerners sip it from steaming mugs, whereas Southerners prefer it super-sweet in ice-cold glasses. However it's prepared, tea is a popular beverage in the United States. Now, scientists from the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) are offering a new twist on this old favorite—with assistance from a surprising source.
Hops are best known as ingredients in another popular beverage, but the qualities that recommend them to beer production have a variety of additional applications. A growing appreciation for their natural antimicrobial benefits has led to an expansion of their use in products such as processed sugar, animal feed and tea.
'Teamaker' is a new hop variety released by scientists in the ARS Forage, Seed and Cereal Research Unit (FSCRU) in Corvallis, Ore. It has an alpha acid content of 0.6 to 1.8 percent, giving it the lowest alpha acid concentration of any commercially available hop variety. In addition, its beta acid levels (5.4 to 13.2 percent) are significantly higher than those found in most varieties.
Bitter alpha acids, which give beer its distinct flavor, promote the yeast-brewing process and hinder bacterial growth. Betas, which also inhibit bacteria, have little effect on flavor.
An extremely high beta-to-alpha ratio gives Teamaker all the health benefits of traditional hops cultivars without their characteristic bitterness, creating opportunities for nontraditional uses. In addition to herbal teas, beta acids from hops can substitute for formalin in sugar processing. And new research suggests that they may have agricultural benefits as well—for example, as an alternative to antibiotics in animal feeds.
During the past decade, FSCRU researchers have bred several new varieties of hops to improve their current uses and create new ones. They have developed and released hop cultivars with traits like disease resistance, climate tolerance and aesthetic appeal.
In future news: Teamaker Hops found to cause cancer.
Problem is, that there’s a huge shortage of hops this year. Prices of hops for homebrewers is booming upwards.
My local brew supply store has said that due to the worldwide hop shortage they will not fill mail order request for hops solely, you gotta get all the other ingredients for a batch of beer.
When I got all that stuff the other day the hops were from 2006. The owner says it's because that is all they have left, and if he honored requests for hops alone he'd have to shut down his business in a few months.
The good news is that hops, a cousin to the cannabis plant, grows like a weed, and can be propagated by homebrewers pretty easily.
This article is referring to a specific hop variety that wouldn’t be used in beer because it does not have the ‘bite’ that makes beer distinctive.
If you’re in Northern California, take a drive over to Sloughhouse on Highway 16 later in the summer and check out the last family owned hops farm in the state. You can see the hop vines from the road.
Or catch this show on California’s Gold when it replays or buy the DVD. Quite interesting as it shows the growing, harvesting, drying, and bagging. George still uses the same methods and tools handed down from his family. And it still is a family affair with multiple generations (including little ones) pitching in to bring in the harvest.
Actually, excessive government causes cancer. Hops are the cure!
I moved from NorCal to Texas; I was gonna attempt to grow my own, but the climate is oppresive here.
My condolences!
I agree, but right now, there’s no shortage of tea! I need the high beta hops for my IPA. I wish they’d work on a fast-growing, high-yield beta hops, instead.
What happens if someone smokes it?
I dug some hops from a road cut 10 years or so ago. They were escapees from hop farms before prohibition. All the hops had to be destroyed...but a few survived on the sides of steep road banks. They are very mild and made very good beer. They are still over an arbor. I might try them for tea this summer. Interesting research information....
As an aside, there is a beer recipe that calls for the flowering tops of the cannabis plant. I have no interest in it, as I do not combine my vices, but it would result in very, very expensive beer!
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