Applied Science for the Canadian Hop Industry

精酿啤酒行业是加拿大增长最快的经济部门之一。精酿啤酒的销售额几乎翻了一番，从2014年的10亿美元增至2018年的19亿美元。精酿啤酒需求的增加也带来了啤酒花行业的繁荣。然而，加拿大啤酒花生产商一直在努力与从更成熟的种植地区（即美国）进口的啤酒花竞争，美国的啤酒花产量约占世界的三分之一。迄今为止，加拿大的啤酒厂仍然严重依赖从美国进口的啤酒花，尽管在全国范围内已经证明了国内的生产能力。仅在2019年，加拿大就进口了6300万加元的啤酒花，比2015年增长了152%。加拿大种植者继续面临竞争压力，因为他们被禁止种植由国际啤酒花公司拥有和分销的精酿啤酒厂（例如Citra品牌HBC 394）最喜欢的专有啤酒花品种。加拿大啤酒花产业需要加拿大科学界的支持资源来开发独特的加拿大啤酒花品种，这些品种具有精酿啤酒商所追求的特点。新啤酒花的潜在来源可能来自野生，特别是农场种植的传家宝啤酒花，这些啤酒花已经逃脱并播种了野生种群（即野生）。该行业还将受益于为加拿大种植的啤酒花建立一个集中的啤酒花萜烯数据库。该数据库将增加宝贵的科学可信度，并为加拿大啤酒花产业的成熟和发展奠定基础。Langara学院的科学团队与三家加拿大啤酒花公司合作，将进行以下研究，以支持加拿大啤酒花产业：1)确定（化学和基因）有希望商业化的新型野生啤酒花；2)培育和测试精选的野生啤酒花，用于酿造试验，以生产新的标志性精酿啤酒；3)开发啤酒花萜烯概况的集中数据库（HopNet），以展示加拿大种植的啤酒花。这些研究将直接使加拿大啤酒花行业、参与该项目的工业合作伙伴受益，并在加拿大啤酒花种植者和精酿啤酒花酿造商之间建立更密切的关系。

The craft beer industry is one of the fastest growing economic sectors in Canada. The craft beer sales almost doubled from $1 billion in 2014 to 1.9 billion in 2018. The increase in demand for craft beers has created a boom in the hop industry as well. However, Canadian hop producers have struggled to compete with hops imported from more established growing regions, namely the United States, where approximately one third of the world's hops are produced. To date, Canadian breweries continue to rely heavily on imported hops from the United States despite having proven domestic capabilities for production across the country. Canada imported CAD $63 million in hops in 2019 alone, an increase of 152% from 2015. Canadian growers continue to face competition pressures because they are prohibited from growing proprietary hop varieties most favoured by craft breweries (e.g., Citra brand HBC 394) which are owned and distributed by international hop companies. The Canadian hop industry requires supportive resources from the Canadian scientific community to develop unique Canadian hop varieties with characteristics sought after by craft brewers. A potential source of novel hops could come from the wild, especially farm-grown heirloom hops that have escaped and seeded wild populations (i.e. feral). The industry will also benefit from having a centralized hop terpene database for Canadian-grown hops. The database will add valuable scientific credibility and act as the foundation for the maturation and development of the Canadian hop industry. The scientific team at Langara College in collaboration with three Canadian hop companies will undertake the following studies to support the Canadian hop industry: i) to identify (chemically and genetically) promising novel feral hops for commercialization, ii) to cultivate and test selected feral hops for brewing trials to produce a new signature craft beer, and iii) to develop a centralized database of hop terpene profiles (the HopNet) to showcase Canadian-grown hops. These studies will directly benefit the Canadian hop industry, the industrial partners involved in the project, and build a closer relationship between the hop farmers and craft brewers in Canada.