Jean Zeid 06:52, April 2, 2024

Every morning, Jean Zeid delivers the best in terms of innovation. This Tuesday, he is interested in the desire of the startup Ekonoke to preserve the characteristics of hops due to rising temperatures and droughts caused by global warming.

This Tuesday morning, Spaniards want to save their beer from global warming.


Everyone has their own priorities Alexandre. The priority of the Ekonoke start-up based in Galicia, in the north of Spain, is to preserve the characteristics of hops due to rising temperatures and droughts caused by global warming. They have the effect of making hop harvests unpredictable in Europe and reducing yields and the concentration of the famous alpha acids which give hops their virtues. And the company's goal is clear: to preserve the taste and aromas of beer, closely linked to the aromas of aromatic hops, an essential ingredient in the production of this drink - along with malt, water and yeast and these are its famous alpha acids which create bitterness and also help in its preservation.


And this is a trend that will continue.


Studies confirm a drop in yield of almost 20% and a drop in alpha acid content of 30% by 2050. Enough to not only worry the sector, but also change the taste of beers.


How is this young company going about saving hops?


They literally apply the adage “there’s no more season, my poor lady”. They built a high-tech warehouse. Inside, whether it's windy or snowing, they cover the hop plants with LED lights, 360, exactly hop plants which have already started flowering thanks to this heat. However, normally, the hop flowering season is at the end of August. It's indoor agriculture, there are cables and wires everywhere to create an alternative mode of production where summer can fall into spring or winter in order to save our hops from climate change. It is grown without soil, in a closed circuit with constant reuse of water enriched with nutrients and without pesticides.


A brewing group has also invested more than 4 million euros in this pilot farm.


For what reasons ?


Two essentially: first the guarantee of a quantity supply and unchanged quality. And it requires fewer resources too. To this end, the Ekonoke start-up started its trials in 2019 in a laboratory in Madrid with four plants before reaching Galicia. Little by little, it reduced the hops' growing time, and its water needs.


Ekonoke plans to produce hops on a large scale on a 12,000 square meter farm by the end of 2025. All this saves the taste of a good mousse, to be consumed in moderation of course.