PURPOSE
The purpose of this experiment was to determine the effect of storage temperature on the deterioration of hop oil.
I became interested in this idea because I wondered if the temperature at which the hops were stored would have any effect on the amount of hop lupulin.
The information gained from this experiment could help the Yakima economy and the hop industry by showing what temperature you should store the hops to keep the alpha at the level that customers want it, so the hops are useful for their products.
My hypothesis was that the higher storage temperature would increase the deterioration of hop oil stored for 30 days.
I based my hypothesis on a statement by SS Steiner Hop Company employee Jeremy Leker who said, “The cooler temperature the hops are stored at the longer it takes them to deteriorate.”
The constants in this study were:
• Type of hops (Zeus)
• Amount of oil in each sample
• Storage temperature
• Extraction method
• Measurement method
The manipulated variable was the temperature in which the hops were stored.
The responding variable was the amount of hop oil in the hop after being stored in a warehouse for one month.
To measure the responding variable, I used a spectrophotometer.
|
QUANTITY ITEM
|
DESCRIPTION
|
|
|
1
|
70
degrees warehouse
|
|
|
1
|
20
degrees warehouse
|
|
|
3
|
Bags
of Hops
|
|
|
1
|
Spectrophotometer
|
|
|
1
|
Pair
of safety goggles
|
|
|
1
|
Meat
grinder
|
|
|
1
|
1 Shaker
|
|
|
8
|
227
gram bags of hops
|
|
|
1
|
Scale
|
|
|
1
|
Produce
bag
|
|
|
600
|
ml.
Toluene
|
|
1) Gather all materials.
2) Take 227 grams hops that have been stored in a 10 degree Celsius warehouse for one month and grind them in a meat grinder
3) Run them through the meat grinder again
4) Place the ground hops in a plastic produce bag
5) Measure out five grams (plus or minus 0.02 of a gram) of the ground hops
A. Using the metal
scoop, scoop up small amounts at a time and place them into the jar that is on
the scale until the weight reaches five grams
6) Measure 100 ml of toluene into the jar
with the ground hops
7) Place the jar of hops and toluene into a shaker and turn it on
8) Let the shaker run for 30 minutes
9) Using a pipette, measure out 100 ml of the mixed hop and toluene from the jar
10) Transfer into a vial
11) Transfer the vial mixture into the spectrophotometer to measure the wave-lank of the hops and toluene
12) Record the percentage of lupulin
13) Repeat steps 2-12 using hops that have been stored at 21 degree Celsius warehouse
14) Repeat steps 2-13 3 times more, testing once a month
The original purpose of this experiment was to determine the effect of storage temperature on the deterioration of hop oil.
The results of the experiment were that after being in the room temperature warehouse for 30 days the hop alpha (amount of lupulin) deteriorated faster than in the cooler warehouse. The average alpha in the hops after being stored in the 30 degree warehouse was 16.2% alpha. The average deterioration after being stored in the 30 degree warehouse was 10.8%. The average alpha in the hops after being stored in the 70 degree warehouse was 15.1% alpha. The average deterioration after being stored in the 70 degree warehouse was 14.5%.
My original hypothesis was that the higher storage temperature would increase the deterioration of hop oil stored for 30 days.
The results indicate that this
hypothesis should be accepted because after being in the room temperature
warehouse for 30 days the hop alpha deteriorated an average of 14.5%.
After being in the cold warehouse for 30 days the hop alpha deteriorated an
average of 14.5%.
After thinking about the results of
this experiment, I wonder if different varieties of hops would deteriorate
faster or slower than zeus, especially at these same temperatures.
If I were to conduct this project again
I would have more samples. I would also test the hops at more storage
temperatures. Another thing that I would do is continue the test for a
longer time period.
Researched by ----- Michelle U
0 comments:
Post a Comment