Hop (Humulus lupulus L.) is a plant widely used as raw material in global beer production, valued for its aroma, flavor and bittering components. Despite Brazil’s third-place position in global beer production, the country still relies on imported hops. Thus, this study describes the chemical composition and volatile oil content of Cascade and Chinook hop cultivars grown in a tropical area in São Paulo state during 2020 and 2021, as well as imported commercial pellets. Hydrodistillation was employed to extract the oils, which were analyzed using GC-FID and GC-MS techniques. Approximately 40% of the cultivated hop plants exhibited volatile oil content within the expected range. Among the 55 identified compounds, β-myrcene, β-caryophyllene, and α-humulene were the major constituents, and several key compounds contributing to hop aroma were detected. Principal component analysis revealed distinct clustering patterns based on cultivar and harvest year. This study reports the first comparative analysis of hops harvested in different years and the volatile oil composition and content of Chinook hops cultivated in Brazil, making a significant contribution to the fields of agronomy and national beer market. These findings highlight Brazil’s potential to become a major hop producer by implementing proper management practices and suitable technologies.
Keywords:
Humulus lupulus; volatile oil; gas chromatography; tropicalization.
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