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Researchers have shown in a mouse model and lab cultures that a compound derived from hops reduces the abundance of a gut bacterium associated with metabolic syndrome. Patients are considered to have metabolic syndrome if they have at least two of the following: abdominal obesity, high blood pressure, high blood sugar, low levels of "good" cholesterol, and high levels of triglycerides. Researchers for years have been studying the potential health benefits of xanthohumol, a chemical found in hops, and its derivatives including tetrahydroxanthohumol. The latter is commonly abbreviated to TXN, the former to XN. XN is a polyphenol, a type...

MADISON, Wis. — Over the last 50 years, the average temperature on St. Patrick’s Day in Madison has increased by more than 3 degrees. Madison isn’t alone; close to 97% of weather stations in the United States have seen an increase in average spring temperatures since 1970 (data collected from the Applied Climate Information System). Climate change may have a big impact on the unofficial drink of St. Patrick’s Day: beer. Three of the key ingredients are quite fragile when it comes to rising temperatures and prolonged drought. Large qualities of water are required to brew beer; water makes up...

For years, an increasing number of scientists have warned about the side effects of climate change like rising oceans and unpredictable changes in weather patterns.But this may be the most serious repercussion of climate change identified to date: Beer may taste different. That's according to the research of Colleen Doherty, an associate professor of molecular and structural biochemistry at N.C. State University.Doherty studies the connections between time and stress in plants, according to the university. In a recent post on the university's website, she explained how changing temperatures will affect hops and other beer ingredients. Growers have cultivated different varieties...

A more sustainable pint of craft beer possibly coming to a pub near you +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Hoppy beer is all the rage among craft brewers and beer lovers, and now UC Berkeley biologists have come up with a way to create these unique flavors and aromas without using hops. The researchers created strains of brewer's yeast that not only ferment the beer but also provide two of the prominent flavor notes provided by hops. In double-blind taste tests, employees of Lagunitas Brewing Company in Petaluma, California, characterized beer made from the engineered strains as more hoppy than a control beer...

...Every hip craft brewery today peddling expensive hoppy beers owes a debt of gratitude to Luther and his followers for promoting the use of hops as an act of rebellion against the Catholic Church. But why did Protestants decide to embrace this pretty flower, and what did it have to do with religious rebellion?... The fact that hops were tax-free constituted only part of the draw. Hops had other qualities that appealed to the new movement; chiefly, their excellent preservative qualities. "All herbs and spices have preservative qualities, but with hops, beer could travel really well, so it became a...

Cool website about beer.

Brewers cleverly conquer shortage of hops just in time to get the season's beers on the shelves Early this year, brewers and beer drinkers (and beer writers) fretted about a worldwide shortage of hops, a key ingredient in beer. Prices went up $1 per six-pack – and higher. Brewers talked of experimenting with alternative flavoring products. Some wondered if they would need to eliminate hoppy beers altogether. But now, shelves are filled with aggressive fall seasonals – ales and marzens and pilsners boasting impressive hoppiness. What happened? Community. Craft brewers are trading hops, letting smaller brewers piggyback on large hops...

Northerners sip it from steaming mugs, whereas Southerners prefer it super-sweet in ice-cold glasses. However it's prepared, tea is a popular beverage in the United States. Now, scientists from the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) are offering a new twist on this old favorite—with assistance from a surprising source. Hops are best known as ingredients in another popular beverage, but the qualities that recommend them to beer production have a variety of additional applications. A growing appreciation for their natural antimicrobial benefits has led to an expansion of their use in products such as processed sugar, animal feed and tea. 'Teamaker'...

Small brewers from Australia to Oregon face the daunting prospect of tweaking their recipes or experimenting less with new brews thanks to a worldwide shortage of one key beer ingredient and rising prices for others.

According to John Lane of PETH: People for the Ethical Treatment of Hops, hop plants form communities and emotional attachments, so harvesting living hops is an act of cruelty. I'd like to think this is a joke, but if green nutjobs think animals have rights, is thinking the same about plants too much of a stretch? Put down that beer... the plant police are coming! Expect a "protected" species bill from Barbara Bonkers any day now... and millions of starving greenies around the world as they exercise their "compassion."

Beer is a perishable product than can suffer from negligence at the brewery or abuse by distributors, retailers, and even beer drinkers. With the almost limitless choices of beers on store shelves afforded by the availability of American brews and the importation of beers from Algeria to Zaire, beer drinkers now experience more variety—but face more pitfalls—in their beer purchases today. Below are some common flavor problems in beer that every beer drinker should be aware of:

YAKIMA, Washington (AP) -- Federal investigators were set Tuesday to begin an investigation into a fire that ruined about 4 percent of America's yield of hops, used as flavoring in the brewing of beer and ale. The fire started shortly before noon Monday in a 40,000-square-foot (3,600-square-meter) warehouse operated by S.S. Steiner Inc., one of the four largest hop buyers in the Yakima Valley of central Washington. By mid-afternoon flames engulfed most of the building, sending up plumes of smoke and a pungent aroma.

Beer ingredient may fight prostate cancerMon Jun 12, 7:50 AM ET Two pints of beer are seen in a London pub. A report drawn up for the European Commission suggested slapping health warnings on alcoholic drinks along the lines of those now common on tobacco products.(AFP/File/Carl De Souza) CORVALLIS, Ore. - A main ingredient in beer may help prevent prostate cancer and enlargement, according to a new study. But researchers say don't rush out to stock the refrigerator because the ingredient is present in such small amounts that a person would have to drink more than 17 beers to benefit....

Rep. Patrick Kennedy (news, bio, voting record) crashed his car near the Capitol early Thursday, and a police official said he appeared intoxicated. Kennedy said he had taken sleep medication and a prescription anti-nausea drug that can cause drowsiness. Kennedy, D-R.I., addressed the issue after a spate of news reports. His initial statement said: "I consumed no alcohol prior to the incident."'Later, however, he issued a longer statement saying the attending physician for Congress had prescribed Phenergan on Tuesday to treat Kennedy's gastroenteritis.Kennedy said he returned to his Capitol Hill home on Wednesday evening after a final series of votes...

A trade organization that represents hop growers in Washington, Oregon and Idaho is downsizing. Hop Growers of America will close its Yakima, Wash., office and switch from full-time salaried staff to contract employees utilizing a virtual office after Jan. 1. The HGA’s website and many of its activities will continue, but its newsletter will be discontinued. Board membership will be reduced and the number of meetings cut back. Industry consolidation has been kicked around for several years, in the wake of continuing low hop prices driven by world oversupply, said Doug MacKinnon, HGA manager in Yakima. The HGA cutbacks will...

Just thought I'd voice in that today I was perusing the adult beverages at a local grocery and I ran across Monty Python's Holy Grail Ale (Tempered Over Burning Witches). This is official MP product (penguin not included). Another fine addition to the Black Sheep Brewery range of premium bottled ales, our Holy Grail Bitter was specially commissioned to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Monty Python. It has a distinctive taste with plenty of fruity hops, and is full flavoured with a dry and refreshing bitterness. ABV 4.7% 500ml bottle

AN ARCHAEOLOGIST recently recreated a neolithic brew based on ingredients excavated in Perthshire. The resulting ale tasted unpleasant, but clearly those who drank it originally were not put off. Ever since, the production and consumption of alcohol has been central to Scotland?s culture. It wasn?t just home-produced brew for which Scots developed a taste. Scotland did brisk international trade exporting a wide range of goods in exchange for claret, imported from France to Leith as early as the 12th century. Subsequently, wines from Spain were landed in Dumbarton, bound for Glasgow. In the other direction, export ales were developed from...