University at forefront of beer study; rise of microbrews leads to new program

Larry Sidor poured himself a glass of beer from an experimental batch Wednesday at Wiegand Hall, on the Oregon State University campus.

"That's nice," he said after tasting the Czech-style pilsner.

Sidor's assessment shouldn't be taken lightly. He's the brewmaster for Deschutes Brewery of Bend, and the president of the Masters Brewers Association of the Americas.

And he's in Corvallis this week with 140 other brewers, scientists and industry players from 13 countries for the first international conference on the unique role of hops in making beer.

"Hops is the spice of beer," said Bill Ladish of Milwaukee, the technical chairman of the brewers association, who on Wednesday was visiting the U.S. Department of Agriculture hops lab on the OSU campus. "The aroma and the pungency and a lot of the flavor profile is determined by hops," he added.

Brew has been around for 8,000 years, "but it's only recently that people have started to understand the chemistry of it," Ladish said. "There's a lot left to be found out."

And OSU, with one of only two fermentation sciences programs in the country, is at the forefront of beer study.

Oregon is at the forefront of the hops industry, too, as the nation's second leading producer, and home to 6 percent of the planet's crop. Harvest happens in about a month.

About 30 percent of the world's hops come from the Pacific Northwest. When hops are certified for qualities such as bitterness or aroma, that happens at OSU, said Tom Shellhammer, holder of the Nor'Wester professorship of fermentation sciences.

"Ninety-five percent of the American varieties that brewers use now have been developed here," Shellhammer added. "This is the epicenter of the development of U.S. hops."

OSU looks at the genetic diversity of plants from throughout the world in hopes of creating new breeds that will be disease resistant, or create a better product.

One of the latest beer trends is robust drinks that are loaded with hops and higher in alcohol content.

The university also is looking at different types of barley for the industry, such as a winter variety that Anheuser-Busch is interested in. The parent company to Budweiser and other large brewers will be represented at the symposium, as will smaller breweries.

The USDA hops lab has been on campus for more than 50 years. But the fermentation science program started in 1996 as a direct result of the growth in Oregon's microbrewery industry, Shellhammer said. Some of the major players in the microbrewery industry, such as founders of the Widmer and McMenamin's breweries, are OSU alumni.

OSU has about 60 fermentation science students, though only half of them want to seek a career in brewing, Shellhammer said. Graduates go throughout the northwest and even to large brewers throughout the nation.

The program is part of food sciences, and now has about 100 total students, up from 40 just three years ago, he added.

Food sciences also includes wine making, which is a growing field.

OSU and the wine industry are teaming up on what could be a $2 million to $4 million institute to study economics, farming practices and fermentation regarding vino, Shellhammer said.

The hops symposium started Wednesday with campus tours and registration, and an opening reception. Today, there are lectures and discussions scheduled, and Friday, there will also be tours of local farms and growing sites.

Kyle Odegard covers the city of Corvallis and Benton County government. He can be contacted at kyle.odegard@lee.net or 758-9523.

By the Numbers

2 n number of fermentation science programs in the nation, including OSU

6 n percent of the world's hops crop grown in Oregon

13 n countries represented at a hops symposium at OSU this week

30 n percent of the world's hops grown in the Pacific Northwest

60 n approximate number of OSU students in fermentation sciences

95 n percent of American hops breeds used by brewers that were developed at OSU

140 n number of brewers, scientists and beer industry players in Corvallis this week

8,000 n years man has brewed beer, starting with the Sumerians