Examines volatile organic compounds in hop cultivars, indicating their role in beer aroma and flavor.
As a main ingredient in beer production, hop ( Humulus lupulus L. ) and its essential oils, resins and polyphenols, significantly influence the aroma and bitter taste of beer. This study investigates the volatile organic compound (VOC) profile of ten previously uncharacterised hop cultivars (Super Pride, Centennial, Pacific Jade™, Superdelic™, Nectaron™, Rakau™, Pacifica™, Motueka™, Nelson Sauvin™ and Simcoe®) using headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME), combined with comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography (GC × GC) and mass spectrometry (MS). After SPME conditions were carefully selected the developed method enabled the tentative identification of 136 VOCs across ten hop cultivars, providing insights into their complex chemical composition. Major aspects of this work include the development of a recommended HS-SPME sampling method, and an investigation of the precision of the GC × GC–MS methodology. A detailed analysis of the identified VOCs and compound classes is performed. Consequently, key compounds, classes and markers are determined. This contributes to our understanding of hop VOC profile and offers opportunities for the development of methods for hop characterisation and quality control.
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Hillebrand et al. (2026) studied this question.
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