Loopy For Lupulin With James Squires

May 08, 2018

That’s why James Squires have used it for their brand new Hop Thief 9, to give our annual special release an extra hoppy hit.

WHAT IS LUPULIN?

Lupulin (pronounced loop-you-lin) is the yellow gland of a hop plant in which the hop acids and the essential oils can be found. It’s a fine yellow powder that can be separated out from the green leaves of the hop itself, sort of like pollen from a flower. Lupulin powder is a purified concentration of all the resin compounds and essential oils that create hop flavours and aromas in a beer. You can get Lupulin from all different kinds of hops – for Hop Thief No. 9 they’ve gone with Citra Lupulin.

HOW IS IT MADE?

Here comes the science! They let their head brewer Haydo explain: “The supplier uses a cryogenic (cold) separation process that removes most of the unwanted vegetative matter of the hop and keeps all the resins and aromatic oils (Lupulin). The lupulin pellet has double the concetration of resins, aromatic oils and alpha acids…yum.”

WHAT MAKES IT SO GREAT?

Essentially, Lupulin is the essence of hops at their purest form – and it makes for seriously good beer. It means brewers can add in heaps of hop flavours without risking any astringency or vegetative material you would get from the hop plants themselves. It’s catching on fast around the world (especially in the US) because you can get a really intense aroma from just a small amount.

“In Australia, this is really the first year that Citra Lupulin has been available in quantities for us to experiment and use in Hop Thief 9,” says Haydo. “At James Squire and with the Hop Thief series we have been at the forefront of innovation and we wanted to use a hop product that will deliver a cracking beer.”

 

If you’re interested in having James Squire beers in your venue head to www.maltshovel.com.au