Development of Tuscan hop cultivation for the production of beers made in Tuscany (HopS Tuscany)
Introducing and developing the cultivation of some hops cultivars chosen from local spontaneous germplasm and cultivars available in the European varietal panorama for the production of cones of higher quality compared to the import one to be used for the artisanal brewing process. Hops are the most characteristic ingredient in the aroma, taste, preservability and stability of beer foam. Its use in brewing is today a cutting-edge technology, effective for controlling and producing beers with a superior and constant quality.
The project will be organized as follows:
- hop plantation using some commercial varieties as well as some selected ecotypes among the autochthonous germplasm;
- evaluation of the effect of the genotype, the environment, their interaction and the time of collection on the cones content of bittering and flavouring substances, and polyphenols;
- qualitative and organoleptic evaluation of the beers obtained with local hop;
- test of post-harvest and drying treatment of hop cones;
- evaluation of the environmental sustainability of hops cultivation compared to those already present in the territory;
- dissemination of results and training.
The hops is a very widespread species in the spontaneous state in central and northern Italy but it is almost absent as cultivation and the aromatic varieties are the ones most suited to the national environments as well as being the most sought after on the market. Their development, using already established varieties and spontaneous germplasm (already being evaluated for the content of aromatic and functional substances able to "tipicize" the beer product and for greater adaptability to our
environments), would be an interesting opportunity both for farms, which would have available a new crop to be included in the crop system, which for the brewery interested in characterizing craft beers with local raw materials. Furthermore, one of the main problems in the coming years for organic craft breweries will be to have hops obtained from organic farming. The increase in recent years in the number of craft breweries in Tuscany, Italy and Europe has greatly increased the demand for this raw material. The development of hops cultivation in Tuscany would allow to face anticipated shortcomings in advance, favoring the affirmation of craft breweries with products increasingly closely
linked to the territory such as for example the wine world, where the influence of the vines and terroir on quality is well established.
This project intends to rely on the image of Tuscany, characterized by environmental diversity and wealth of spontaneous germplasm, to promote craft brewery productions.
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