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Hop creep

Hop creep: causes, effects, and prevention

Hops Creep is not an outdoor children’s game, nor is it an annoying character lurking in a bar. Hop creep is a commonly used term that stands for excessive attenuation of dry hop beer. One might describe it as a sneaky, unwanted secondary fermentation. Hop creep can reduce gravity, trigger diacetyl peaks, and produce excess alcohol and carbon dioxide.
Hop creep can be subtle and develop slowly. If dry hop beer is not properly monitored or controlled, it may spread into the beer after it leaves the brewery. This means that unsuspecting drinkers may be the first to notice a change in the beer’s flavor (buttery, with a higher alcohol content than stated on the label), or the beer bottle may burst due to over-pressurization.
Hop creep
hop

What can cause hops creep?

The study on hop creep was first published in 1893. In the days that followed, scientists basically forgot about this phenomenon until mid-2010, when the popularity of dry hops (usually hazy) IPA brought hops creep back to the forefront. Modern science has confirmed the hypothesis of professionals in the 19th century: refermentation appears to occur when diastase enzymes in hops get introduced to unfermentable carbohydrates in the presence of active yeast.
“This may be particularly problematic for hazy/juicy styles of beer where yeast counts and hopping rates are both high,” write Oregon State University (OSU) hops researchers Arnbjørn Stokholm and Thomas Shellhammer in a technical brief published by the Brewers Association.
To study biochemistry more in-depth, there is evidence that hops contain starch decomposition (also known as starch explanation) enzymes, which can convert long-chain, non-fermentable dextrins into fermentable sugars. These enzymes may become inert when boiling. But, when they are added to unpasteurized beer, it is believed that any live yeast that remains suspended will act on these sugars, resulting in a gradual secondary fermentation.
dry hop

What are the effects of hop creep?

In simple terms, hop creep is the re-fermentation of dried hops left in the beer through other means. During the creep of dry hops, hop-related enzymes begin to decompose the non-fermentable dextrins left after the primary fermentation. Any residual yeast in the finished beer can metabolize these newly released sugars and produce alcohol and carbon dioxide. It’s a bit like bottling your beer, except that the brewer does not add the bottom sugar, but the dry hops.
Attributes The effect of hop creep Why it matters Importance
Alcohol Active yeast will metabolize new fermentable sugars and produce more alcohol. The flavor effect of extra alcohol. May throw away untimely beer. Low/Medium
Carbon dioxide Active yeast will metabolize new fermentable sugars and produce additional carbon dioxide. The extra carbon dioxide in the packaged beer can cause excessive carbonation. Also, the increase in pressure may cause the container to burst-this is a dangerous situation. High
Diacetyl Active yeast secretes acetolactate during fermentation, which is then oxidized to form diacetyl compounds. Perceived as butter or butterscotch in the taste of beer. Generally, diacetyl is considered a flaw in most beer styles, especially when the content is relatively high. High
Taste Enzymes related to hops decompose the primary fermentation, leaving behind non-fermentable dextrin. These dextrins are responsible for the body and taste of beer. Less dextrin will cause the beer to have less body and taste, and affect other beer attributes, such as bitterness and malt flavor. Medium
Finish Active yeast metabolizes new fermentable sugars, divides and reduces the final specific gravity of the beer. Beers with a lower final specific gravity are generally considered to have a drier, more refreshing flavor. Like taste, this may also affect the perceived level of other attributes in beer. Medium
Production time It takes longer to complete the brewing and clear the diacetyl test. Extend beer fermentation time, consume fermentation space and other resources. Low
hop-1

What are the factors that affect hop creep?

Before we jump directly to managing hop creep, let’s discuss some factors that affect hop creep. To reiterate the obvious fact, hop creeps only occur when the beer is subjected to dry hop processing. Many dry hop factors that affect flavor and aroma also affect hop creep:
  • Time: The longer the hops and beer are mixed, the more their enzymes can break down the dextrins left by the primary fermentation. In turn, active yeast converts these sugars into alcohol, carbon dioxide, and other chemical by-products, some of which are harmful (for example, the precursors that produce diacetyl).
  • Temperature: Generally, a higher temperature will result in a higher level of yeast fermentation activity. These warm temperatures may also induce unhealthy yeast cells to re-enter fermentation.
  • The number of hops: More hops equals more enzymes to break down dextrin.
  • Hop processing: Before hops are distributed to brewers, they go through a dehydration or “drying” process. This process prevents hops from spoiling during distribution and storage. Hop producers will heat the hops. If the heat is high enough and the correct time is applied, most of the enzymes responsible for hop creep will be denatured.
  • Hop varieties: Just like different hop varieties have different oil content and composition, the enzyme activity varies with hop varieties.
  • The beer itself: Dry hop processing on beer containing a lot of residual sugar in time will produce more fermentable sugars from hop creep. In other words, the IPA that completes the primary fermentation at a specific gravity of 1.010 has a lower hop creep probability than the IPA that is completed at a specific gravity of 1.020, and other conditions are the same.
hop-2

Will all hops cause hop creep?

Experiments have shown that although different hop varieties behave similarly insoluble starch solutions, they are not the same in real-life dry hop experiments. A 2018 article published in the Journal of the American Society of Brewing Chemists explains that, while the theory is unproven, hop genetics do appear to impact their activity, with Amarillo® and Cascade altering the alcohol and gravity levels more than Simcoe®, Centennial, and Citra®. That said, the maturity (but not age) of the plant or cone, farming conditions, and handling and processing during and after harvest heavily impacted the hop creep activity of each of these varieties.
hops

How to prevent hop creep?

There are various techniques to reduce the effects of hop creep, although they may not completely eliminate it. Some of them also have limited hard experimental data:
  • Filter or pasteurize finished beer. The only way to truly completely eliminate hop creep, filtration, or pasteurization will remove live yeast from the equation and stop further fermentation.
  • Reduce the level of dry hops. Transfer some dried hops to the whirlpool (before fermentation), where they are unlikely to cause enzymatic problems.
  • Refrigerate your beer. Hop creep depends on temperature. If you can ensure that the finished beer is stored in cold storage, it will significantly reduce the enzyme and fermentation activity.
  • Design “creep” in the formula/process. Some beer manufacturers deliberately reduce the dilution and carbonation of beer, assuming that hop creep will occur in the finished bottle/barrel. Although this will not solve the potential diacetyl problem, it can help over-carbonated/over-diluted beer. But, it may be difficult to determine how much “creep” there is.
  • Dry Hop Earlier. Although there is not much research on this, some brewers believe that dry hops that are closer to fermentation will give hop enzymes and yeast time to work before the beer is packaged, thereby reducing the scope of the hop creep problem.
  • Use sulfite/sulfate to reduce yeast activity. Although it is not suitable for bottles under natural conditions, you can consider adding potassium metabisulfite (and possibly potassium sorbate) to the small barrel to inhibit further fermentation. These additives are widely used in the wine/mead industry as preservatives and inhibit further fermentation.
Brewers who own dry hop brand beer must be aware of and monitor the excessive attenuation of dry hops. This is essential for consumer safety (because the increased carbon dioxide pressure in the closed system can cause the bottle to explode), the alcohol content stipulated on the label, and the maintenance of the flavor/aroma specifications of the beer brand. Hop creep can be controlled by using contact time, temperature, and wort specific gravity. Hope you enjoy this article on hop creep.
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