Getting the most out of every purchase you make is usually a good idea — return on investment (ROI) as the nerds call it — especially when it is something you are investing a ton in, like hops. The ShockWave Xtractor from Hydro Dynamics is a piece of equipment designed to pull more hoppy goodness from those hops of yours and improve that ROI. We profiled the idea awhile back, and the company just sent word that Anchor Brewing in San Francisco installed a ShockWave to help produce its Blackberry Daze IPA, extracting more flavor during dry-hopping and from the fruit.
Anchor was one of the first American breweries to implement the now common technique of dry-hopping and is excited to enhance this process.
Quick recap of what ShockWave does
ShockWave uses the physical phenomenon of cavitation, normally known as destructive force, and harnesses it to solve critical industrial mixing, extraction and heating problems. The technology can now be found on four continents in applications ranging from biodiesel production to hops extraction for beer. The company says the technology can allow brewers to produce bitter beers with up to 50 percent less hops, both bittering and aroma hops for dry-hopping, as well as improve the extraction of fruits, spices and other flavors.
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