For many, hops are the most exciting ingredient in beer. When talking to anyone about hops the first thing you will probably hear as the fun fact of the day, they’re closely related to marijuana. Don’t get too excited though, hops contain no THC.

Hops provide a lot of the aromatic character and majority of the bittering character within beer. Traditional hop varieties were quite low in Alpha acids and require a larger quantity for to reach a higher level of bitterness. Today there are many new varieties of hops grown in regions all around the world which people have come to know and love. They’re higher in alpha acids and have incredibly punchy aromas of citrus, berries, pine, and stone fruits. Alpha acids are found in three different types and depending on the hop variety will depend on what exact acid compound is found. The compounds are Humulone, Adhumulone and Cohumulone. Hops with a higher concentration of Cohumulone tend to

Yeast is the magic ingredient in beer that transforms sugar into carbon dioxide (CO2) and Ethyl Alcohol.  There are an enormous variety of yeasts both on the market and in the wild ready to capture, however there is one key difference between yeast that helps us to identify what species it is and how it will behave through fermentation. Simply put, yeast breaks into two categories, Saccharomyces Cerevisiae, and Saccharomyces Pastorianus. The notable difference between these two and how we do differentiate them is that S.Cerevisiae is a top fermenting yeast used primarily for ales and S.Pastorianus is a bottom fermenting yeast, used for the production of lagers. Saccharomyces Cerevisiae can be found in two forms, diploid (two complete sets of chromosomes) and haploid (one complete set of chromosomes). Saccharomyces is a yeast which is a member of the fungus kingdom. It is more commonly found in the diploid form and is oval shaped and sized at less than .01 of a mm. Saccharomcyces Pastornianus

Unbelievably, sour beer is for the most part still the same as the beers you’re drinking on a day to day basis. The beer starts the same way, using the four main key ingredients that are used to make regular Lagers and Ales which are water, hops, malt, and yeast. The difference comes in the flavour profile which, as the name suggests is sour. This is achieved by a slightly alternative form of fermentation due to the adding of souring bacteria, namely Lactobacillus or Pediococcus, both of which are lactic acid producing bacteria. The pH level drops through the fermentation which is what causes the taste perception to be triggered and recognised as “sour”.

Basic styles of Sour Beer.

Over the centuries that soured beers have been produced a large variety have been developed. Most popular today are Lambic and Gueuze, traditionally produced in Belgium and the Flanders Red and Brown Ales which are also produced traditionally in Belgium. Moving