the library

Hops

Herbs & floral· herb

Hops

What it is

Hops are the flower cones of Humulus lupulus, a climbing plant used in brewing beer.

What it tastes like

On the nose: spicy; the house adds piney, resinous, citrus pith ✳. Among its measured molecules: methyl 4-decenoate, beta-cubebene, α-Cadinene, α-selinene, beta-selinene.

What goes with it

158 more go with it. See them all in the full library →

Salt and acid

Salt

Salt not measured yet.

Acid

Acid not measured yet.

Unusual pairings

Pairs the library can cite that almost nobody makes.

Every one of its 15 compounds carries a paper the library can cite.

  • linaloolaromaalcoholreads as spicy, citrus taste (PubChem)Measured in 91 of 338 ingredients.cite
    detected in all fifteen varieties, varietal means from 0.17% to 0.94% with a median of 0.42% — the only oxygenated monoterpene present in every variety, and the compound most often named as a hop aroma marker that survives into beer, so its small share of the cone's oil is worth seeing next to myrcene's 41%Mozzon et al. 2020, Foods (Table 4, row V23; identity from Table 3, peak V23, RI 1102, CAS 78-70-6, category oxygenated monoterpene)
  • 2-undecanonearomaketonereads as strong odor (PubChem)Measured in 9 of 338 ingredients.cite
    detected in all fifteen varieties, varietal means from 0.01% to 1.22% with a median of 0.32% — a 122-fold varietal range, the widest of any universally present compound in the dataset, so it is the least category-typical member of this set and the most promising varietal discriminator among themMozzon et al. 2020, Foods (Table 4, row V32; identity from Table 3, peak V32, RI 1295, CAS 112-12-9, category ketone)
  • β-phellandrenearomaterpenoidreads as burning taste (PubChem)Measured in 18 of 338 ingredients.cite
    detected in all fifteen varieties, varietal means from 0.30% to 1.46% with a median of 0.87%Mozzon et al. 2020, Foods (Table 4, row V15; identity from Table 3, peak V15, RI 1035, CAS 555-10-2)
  • beta-pinenearomaterpenoidreads as terpene odor (PubChem)Measured in 55 of 338 ingredients.cite
    detected in all fifteen varieties, varietal means from 0.44% to 2.49% with a median of 1.03% — the second-largest monoterpene after myrcene, but a fortieth of its sizeMozzon et al. 2020, Foods (Table 4, row V6; identity from Table 3, peak V6, RI 983, CAS 127-91-3)
  • myrcenearomaterpenoidreads as pleasant (PubChem)Measured in 68 of 338 ingredients.cite
    detected in all fifteen varieties, varietal means from 14.08% to 67.10% of chromatographic area with a median of 41.44% — the largest single component of hop cone headspace in every variety measured, and on its own roughly two fifths of the totalMozzon et al. 2020, Foods (Table 4 (Aroma composition, chromatographic area %, of hop cones harvested from 15 varieties cultivated in the Marche region), row V8; identity from Table 3, peak V8, RI 996, CAS 123-35-3, category monoterpene hydrocarbon)
  • beta-cubebenearomaterpenoidMeasured in 3 of 338 ingredients.cite
    detected in all fifteen varieties, varietal means from 0.44% to 1.91% with a median of 0.79%Mozzon et al. 2020, Foods (Table 4, row V41; identity from Table 3, peak V41, RI 1440, CAS 13744-15-5)
  • beta-selinenearomaterpenoidMeasured in 8 of 338 ingredients.cite
    detected in all fifteen varieties, varietal means from 0.36% to 5.69% with a median of 0.93%Mozzon et al. 2020, Foods (Table 4, row V46; identity from Table 3, peak V46, RI 1497, CAS 17066-67-0)
  • caryophyllenearomaterpenoidMeasured in 50 of 338 ingredients.cite
    detected in all fifteen varieties, varietal means from 7.44% to 25.54% of chromatographic area with a median of 14.20%. Its ratio to humulene is the classic hop-oil descriptor and both are measured here on the same fifteen samples, so that ratio is computable from this table without leaving the paper.Mozzon et al. 2020, Foods (Table 4, row V40; identity from Table 3, peak V40, RI 1432, CAS 87-44-5, category sesquiterpene hydrocarbon)
  • β-farnesenearomaterpenoidMeasured in 12 of 338 ingredients.cite
    detected in all fifteen varieties, varietal means from 0.47% to 2.92% with a median of 1.32%. Farnesene content is the traditional marker separating the Saaz/noble group from other hops, and its presence in all fifteen here at a six-fold range shows the difference is quantitative rather than presence-or-absence.Mozzon et al. 2020, Foods (Table 4, row V44; identity from Table 3, peak V44, RI 1486, CAS 18794-84-8)
  • humulenearomaterpenoidMeasured in 26 of 338 ingredients.cite
    detected in all fifteen varieties, varietal means from 11.58% to 46.10% of chromatographic area with a median of 22.35% — the second-largest component overall and the largest sesquiterpeneMozzon et al. 2020, Foods (Table 4, row V42; identity from Table 3, peak V42, RI 1468, CAS 6753-98-6, category sesquiterpene hydrocarbon)
  • methyl 4-decenoatearomaMeasured in 1 of 338 ingredients.cite
    detected in all fifteen varieties, varietal means from 0.07% to 1.00% with a median of 0.35% — the largest of the hop esters present in every variety, and part of the small non-terpene fraction that gives hop oil its fruity edgeMozzon et al. 2020, Foods (Table 4, row V34; identity from Table 3, peak V34, RI 1311, CAS 1191-02-2, category ester)
  • α-selinenearomaterpenoidMeasured in 5 of 338 ingredients.cite
    detected in all fifteen varieties, varietal means from 0.74% to 8.41% with a median of 1.55% — an eleven-fold varietal range, so one variety carries far more of it than the restMozzon et al. 2020, Foods (Table 4, row V48; identity from Table 3, peak V48, RI 1506, CAS 473-13-2)
  • α-CadinenearomaterpenoidMeasured in 4 of 338 ingredients.cite
    detected in all fifteen varieties, varietal means from 0.56% to 3.03% with a median of 1.81% — the largest of the minor sesquiterpenes and a five-fold varietal range, narrow by this dataset's standardsMozzon et al. 2020, Foods (Table 4, row V50; identity from Table 3, peak V50, RI 1532, CAS 11044-40-9)
  • gamma-muurolenearomaterpenoidMeasured in 8 of 338 ingredients.cite
    detected in all fifteen varieties, varietal means from 0.31% to 1.55% with a median of 0.85%Mozzon et al. 2020, Foods (Table 4, row V49; identity from Table 3, peak V49, RI 1524, CAS 30021-74-0)
  • α-copaenearomaterpenoidMeasured in 18 of 338 ingredients.cite
    detected in all fifteen varieties, varietal means from 0.36% to 1.71% with a median of 0.90% — under a five-fold range across fifteen varieties, one of the most uniform compounds in the datasetMozzon et al. 2020, Foods (Table 4, row V39; identity from Table 3, peak V39, RI 1384, CAS 3856-25-5)

Sources

  • Mozzon et al. 2020, Foods