Season 1, Episode 8

Light or dark?  Which kind of beer do you prefer?  Do you like hoppy IPAs?
Me?  I like to explore all kinds of flavors.  I'm a food scientist after all!

Today's episode builds upon our previous conversation with Dr. Noelle Phillips about the history of beer.  This episode is Part 2 of our beer sequence.  Our guest today is John Forte, who is the President of Betatec Hop Products, which is part of John I. Haas, the world's oldest and largest hops producer.   John joins us today to discuss all things hops and hops acids.  Not only do they provide flavors to beer, but they have some amazing antimicrobial properties which are effective against contaminating bacterial for all kinds of industrial fermentations.  John has an extensive background, including a Masters degree in International Food Marketing from Saint Joseph's University, an MBA from Rosemont College, a BS from Roosevelt University, and an Advanced Culinary Arts Certificate from the Culinary Institute of America.  He can be contacted at starchman321@gmail.com or on Twitter @Hopsman321.

And if you are interested in the latest scientific research on hops, I suggest checking out a new journal paper that examines the characteristics and effectiveness of various hops acids against bacterial contaminants:
Kolenc, Zala, Tomaž Langerholc, Gregor Hostnik, Miha Ocvirk, Sara Štumpf, Maša Pintarič, Iztok Jože Košir, Andreja Čerenak, Alenka Garmut, and Urban Bren. 2023. "Antimicrobial Properties of Different Hop (Humulus lupulus) Genotypes" Plants 12, no. 1: 120. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12010120

MDPI has also published a special issue which focuses on hops acids for brewing and beyond:
Special Issue "Humulus lupulus: From Field to Glass and Beyond"

I suggest listening to today's episode with a rich IPA.  Enjoy the hoppy notes while you listen to our conversation!

Our music is Inspiring Cinematic Asia by Lexin Music, which is available at Pixabay.