Carlsberg has unveiled what it claims is the most detailed genetic map of hops ever produced, in a move aimed at helping brewers and growers tackle the growing impact of climate change on beer production.
Scientists at the Carlsberg Research Laboratory said the breakthrough could support the development of more climate-resilient hop varieties while also opening up opportunities for new flavours and faster breeding innovation. The findings have been published in the scientific journal Nature Communications.
The brewer said rising temperatures, drought and increasingly unpredictable weather were already affecting hop yields and quality in key growing regions, putting pressure on the supply of one of beer’s essential ingredients.
Researchers created a high-resolution genetic map of a commercially important hop variety, providing what the company described as an unprecedented insight into the crop’s genetic complexity and inheritance patterns.
Birgitte Skadhauge, vice president and head of the Carlsberg Research Laboratory, said the research was being openly shared to support the wider brewing and agricultural sectors.
“Challenges like climate change are bigger than any one company,” she said. “By sharing our hop genome research in Nature Communications, we are giving scientists and breeders everywhere tools to protect crops, to innovate, and to help secure the future of beer.”
The company said the research could help accelerate the development of hop varieties better able to tolerate heat and drought, while reducing the time needed for crossbreeding and testing. It also highlighted the potential for discovering new flavour and aroma profiles.
Ilka Braumann, head of hop development at the laboratory, said the new mapping techniques would allow scientists to better understand how brewing traits are inherited.
“By separating the European and North American lineages in the genome, we can now see how different traits come together, giving us a much clearer path to developing better, more resilient hop varieties,” she said.
Carlsberg said the project marked another milestone in the laboratory’s brewing research, following previous work on barley and yeast genomes. The company added that the research aligned with its long-standing philosophy that “like beer, science should be shared”.