Craft brewers may not like the idea of hop extracts, but the global hop shortage may mean they are forced to embrace them, according to Hopco managing director Sandy Ross.

Ross told Radio Brews News that the shortage of hop varieties such as Citra will only persist with huge numbers of breweries continuing to open in the USA, UK and Australia.

He said some brewers seem to “fear” hop extracts but they can be very effective when used in combination with hop pellets.

“We use a company in the UK called Totally Natural Solutions for our hop oils,” said Ross.

“There’s a reason they call themselves Totally Natural Solutions. They are very natural products, there’s no chemical addition, the way they make them is a very natural process.

“Their products combine very well with the hop bill just to add a little more flavour or a little more aroma in the final product,” he said.

Ross said he had tasted “some really, really nice beers” produced using extracts.

“I think the fear surrounding them is unnecessary. I would prefer not to see hops disappear, because that’s what we’re about – selling hops,” he said.

“But as a combination, if you are short of a certain variety, these products work very well.

“I think that some brewers may not have a choice in the end, if they can only get half the amount of a certain variety,” said Ross.

Episode 84 of Radio Brews News is available to download here.

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