Tröegs Brewing’s HopCyclone puts a new spin on dry hopping

Tröegs Brewing Co. uses some unique equipment and techniques in the brewing process — especially when it comes to hops. We discussed the company’s hopback vessel in an article last month. The original hopback vessel was essentially a large strainer that crews could fill with about 40 lbs of whole flower hops and let the hot wort pass through the vessel, which gave the beer a “green nose” or hoppy aroma and a burst of hop bitterness in the front of the beer. Over time, the hopback vessel came to play an integral role in all of Tröegs’ beers and flavors. At the company’s Hershey, Pa., facility today, the hopback vessel is integrated into the brewhouse, holding up to 140 lbs of whole flower hops and has a lot more engineering involved to make sure the beers have a distinctive hop forward note.

Similarly cool, Tröegs just announced its patented-pending HopCyclone. The brewery recently installed several of these “specially designed dispersion tools” for dry hopping, to be used in conjunction with it large fermentation vessels. What’s dry hopping exactly? Aroma hops are typically added to the wort later in the brewing process to prevent the evaporation of the essential oils and to impart hop taste or hop aroma. Aroma hops are often added after the wort has cooled and while the beer ferments, a technique known as “dry hopping,” which contributes to the all-around hoppiness. Tröegs says its HopCyclone device creates an inward spiral effect to better disperse the hops into the beer, intensifying hop aroma and flavor. Learn more by watching the video above.