Analytical Laboratories, Inc. is offering some spring specials on their analytical services. You can now get the following analysis on your beer at discount prices:

Beer Bitterness (IBU’s) List Price $25.00 Special Price $18.00

Alcohol Levels List Price $35.00 Special Price $25.00

These prices are valid until May 31, 1999. Jim would need a sample size of 2/12 ounce bottles or 2 airtight 350 ml. containers. Ship them to

Murphy Analytical Laboratories, Inc.,
7 West Mead Ave
Yakima,WA 98902
Attn: Jim Murphey.
Phone: (509) 577-8969
Fax: (509)577-8963

He can also assist you with ISO 9000 consulting and auditing as well as QA/QC monitoring/consulting.

The use of downstream aroma products offers greatly increased consistency and repeatability in the provision of hop character to beer. These products are pure, highly concentrated, and are easy to evaluate on a trial brew basis.

The three main categories of aroma products are Whole Hop Oils, Dry Hop Essences and Late Hop Essences (fractionated hop oils). Whole Hop Oils may be added late in the boil or in the whirlpool to duplicate a late kettle-hop effect; addition of whole oil post-fermentation imparts a dry-hop effect. Dry Hop Essence, as its name suggests, is designed for post-fermentation addition and consists of whole hop oil from which the insoluble hydrocarbons have been removed. Late Hop Essences are fractions of whole hop oil with known aroma and/or flavor impact. Late Hop Essences therefore emphasize one or more particular attributes of the source hop oil, and are intended to duplicate late kettle hopping.

Whole Hop Oils and Essences are obtained via purely physical fractionation methods with no chemical processing whatsoever. These aroma products may be used singly or in any combination to impart some or all of the desired hop character to beer, allowing the brewer independent control of hop bitterness and hop aroma/flavor.

We are pleased to announce that Hopunion USA Inc. has once again completed and passed the annual ISO 9002 certification audit. This audit consists of a close inspection of our quality systems relating to processing and sales. The audit is conducted by an outside certification organization. We are now in our fifth year of certification

Be sure to keep checking back at our web-site, as we are in the process of completely re-vamping it. This should make it easier for the user to navigate, as well as, allowing us the opportunity to update the current information, and add new information as it becomes available. Some of the new features we are adding are, an 'Ask Ralph' section for those frequently asked questions, some fun stuff focusing on our staff and events we attend, and a section on hop statistics. We will also be updating the MicroGlobe section so you can browse through back issues. If you are interested in linking to, or having a link to your page on the HUSA page, please email the details to webmaster@hopunion.com.

We had lots of fun hearing from people regarding our image insert. While it was done for the fun of seeing an optical illusion, some clientele were sensitive to the subject matter. We wish to apologize for any miscommunication. Our only intent was for the illusion itself.

These statistics provide some good insight into the state of our industry and how it is ever-changing. We have seen an oversupply of hops the past few years and the low poundage shown for 1998 reflects a significant decrease in acreage for the US industry. We should see even lower numbers for the coming year as hop growers around the world have been struggling. Two years ago we had 43,302 acres compared to last year at only 36,643. This year we expect to see an additional 4,000-6000 acre reduction in the United States. You will also notice many popular craft brewing varieties not shown like Hallertauer, Centennial and Crystal. They are located in "Other Varieties" since these hops are used exclusively by the Craft Brewing industry and there is limited but stable acreage. Many of the variations in production are the result of worldwide demand and how hops are reported for the statistics. At Hopunion we both grow our own acreage and buy hops from independent hop growers to get you the very best hops available.