Climate change could reduce beer quality

Hops, also known as Humulus lupulus, is a climbing plant in the Cannabaceae family. It has been used in beer production since the 17th century and is important in creating the bitterness and aroma of beer.

Experts at the Institute for Global Change Research of the Czech Academy of Sciences recently looked at the impact of climate change on the quality and quantity of hops.

According to this work, the quantity, quality, and alpha acid content of hops could decline significantly by 2050. This will lead to more expensive beer, or force breweries to change their brewing methods.

Hop yields could fall by 4 to 18 percent, and alpha-acid content (which gives hops their distinctive flavor and aroma) could fall by 20 to 31 percent over the next 27 years, due to hotter and drier climates.

Hops are vital to the beer industry. (Image source: Google)

To reach this conclusion, the researchers focused on data from 1970, projecting data to 2050 in 90% of the world's major hop-growing regions, mainly in Germany, the Czech Republic and Slovenia.

They found that climate change is causing hops to mature about 20 days earlier than the average ripening time before 1994. Hop production is down nearly 2 tons per year. The alpha acid content of hops has decreased by about 0.6% when comparing data before and after 1994. This shows that climate change has a definite impact on hop quality and yield.

“The behaviour and habits of beer drinkers will definitely be affected by climate change,” Miroslav Trnka, an expert at the Institute for Global Change Research at the Czech Academy of Sciences, told The Guardian. In addition, the study also suggested that a significant decrease in hop production and quality by 2050 would pose a threat to the global beer industry.

Climate-induced decline in hop quality and quantity requires immediate adaptation measures. (Image source: Google)

To address the problem, researchers recommend taking urgent measures to ensure the future of the brewing industry.

The study outlines a new approach, combining data from weather models to analyse how climate change will affect hops in Europe from 1970 to 2050. During this period, average temperatures could increase by 1.4 degrees Celsius and rainfall could decrease by 24 mm.

Andreas Auernhammer, a hop farmer in Spalt, southern Germany, says that the total rainfall on his hop fields varies very little, but the problem is that the rains don't come at the right time. So he came up with an innovative irrigation system to feed his hops, in case the rains don't come at the right time.

“ We would have a big problem if we couldn't water the hops enough,” says Andreas Auernhammer.

“In short, hop growers will have to work harder to ensure quality, consistent hop production, and high standards to supply the beer industry,” said Miroslav Trnka, an expert at the Global Change Research Institute.

HUYNH DUNG (Source: Interestingengineering/Nature)

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