Is it time for seasonal winter ales yet?!? I think yes, at least here at CF Tech. November brought us many days of SCCO2 hops extraction testing... which, as you can imagine, perfumes the lab and surrounding areas (shop & office), just like your favorite IPA. Hops are always interesting and fun to experiment with around here, as most everyone knows a thing or two about the end product: beer. But it's harder to imagine the small, flagrant, flowers becoming an extract to replace the very things we all see on brew tours, the hops themselves. Even if you are a home brewer, it's probably uncommon for you to be familiar with hops extract, as pelletized hops are abundant and available at your local craft brew supplier.
In this round of hops experiments, we fractionated the extract. We found that the extract starts off as a thick oil, and gets progressively thicker and stickier as the experiment continues. Towards the end of the test, the extract is so sticky and thick that we have to use high heat and a lab spatula to complete the draining of the separation vessel. The feedstock residue is left with no scent after the completion of the test cycle, the extract took it all!
This Thanksgiving, when you are lazing around after your too big meal, sipping on your favorite beer, maybe think to do a little research and find out if your favorite beer company uses hops or hops extract. Let me know in the comments section what you find out!
In this round of hops experiments, we fractionated the extract. We found that the extract starts off as a thick oil, and gets progressively thicker and stickier as the experiment continues. Towards the end of the test, the extract is so sticky and thick that we have to use high heat and a lab spatula to complete the draining of the separation vessel. The feedstock residue is left with no scent after the completion of the test cycle, the extract took it all!
This Thanksgiving, when you are lazing around after your too big meal, sipping on your favorite beer, maybe think to do a little research and find out if your favorite beer company uses hops or hops extract. Let me know in the comments section what you find out!
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