BREWING TRIALS OF SEEDED AND SEEDLESS HOPS FROM THE 1969 CROP

This report describes the large scale trial of seeded versus seedless hops which was arranged on behalf of the Hops Liaison Committee. The objective of the trial was to detect whether there is a consistent difference between lagers brewed with hops containing seeds and lagers brewed with seedless hops. Two breweries each made three brews with the two types of experimental hops (both of the variety Northern Brewer) and with control hops. The lagers were tasted and/or drunk at eleven different centres, using the preference pair-comparison method, as it is the most sensitive method for detection of differences. In the principal comparison, of seeded versus seedless Northern Brewer, the preference results of both tasting and drinking panels indicate a significant and quite consistent difference between the two types of lager. This preference, expressed for the lager brewed with seedless hops, though statistically straightforward, was not so great that it can be concluded that any of the experimental lagers with either seeded or seedless hops was unacceptable to tasters or drinkers taking part in the trial. The difference may be partly accounted for by differences of bitterness. In the comparison of seedless Northern Brewer and the control there were inconsistencies in the direction of the differences detected, either between tasting and drinking panels or between the same comparisons made at different ages.