As part of our innovation efforts, Mill 95 has been refining a new hop product: a virgin hop oil.
Housed in a simple tincture bottle dropper, the concentrated hop contents pack a significant punch in an incredibly small package. 1mL is the equivalent of 1.4-1.8lbs of T-90 pellets.
We’ve found that other formats of hop extract or oil variants have a lower flavor impact, and drop off more quickly than their T-90 counterparts. Our goal is to save brewers time and money, while maintaining the integrity of flavor, aroma, and shelf life.
To make sure we’re achieving that, we’ve been running a series of real-world trials to make sure the product holds up in the production environment.
Trial Run with Yee-Haw Brewing
In March, we ran an oil trial with Yee-Haw Brewing in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Trevor Daniels, Yee-Haw’s R&D brewer, brewed a 20-barrel batch of their Hazy IPA to prepare forr a true side-by-side comparison between traditional T-90 pellets and our hop oils.
The Brew Process
To isolate the trial, he utilized the same recipe from the ground up. The only variable was how the beer got dry hopped.
To conduct the test, the beer was split across two tanks: one for T-90 dry hopping and the other for oil dosing.
Tank 1: T-90 Dry Hop Load
11 lbs El Dorado
11 lbs Nelson
11 lbs Amarillo
Time in tank: 5 days
Tank 2: Oil Dosage:
5 grams El Dorado
5 grams Nelson
5 grams Amarillo
Time in tank: 24 hours
The traditional dry hop included your usual SOPs (hop dump, port clogging, and hop matter in the tank), while the hop oil dosed tank required none of those processes.
About two and a half hours after dosing, we pulled the first samples. At that point the pellet batch had already been sitting on dry hops for days, so naturally we expected a noticeable gap.
There were differences, but honestly less than anybody expected. Then the beers got carbed up and the gap tightened even more.
The Results: More Yield, Nearly Identical Flavor
By Monday the results were clear: the beers drank incredibly close.
Trevor shared both versions internally during a Yee-Haw staff tasting and the feedback across the brewery was overwhelmingly positive, especially once the yield numbers came in.
Savings breakdown
- The oil-dosed batch delivered 7% more beer overall
- Cellaring time was reduced during dosing and cleaning
Available Now: Mill 95’s Virgin Hop Oil
After extensive brewery trials and side-by-side testing, Mill 95 Virgin Hop Oil is now available.
Designed to help brewers reduce hop losses, improve yield, and streamline cellar operations, our hop oil delivers the aroma and flavor impact brewers expect without the challenges that come with traditional dry hopping.
As breweries continue looking for ways to improve efficiency without sacrificing quality, we're excited to bring this new tool to market.
Interested in learning more? Contact a member of our sales team to discuss hop oil applications, dosage rates, and how it could fit into your brewing process.