LAUSR

BACK GROUND Flavor hops (Humulus lupulus L.) are recognized as one of the key raw materials to impart unique flavor to beer, especially in the emerging craft beer industry. In this study the sensory evaluation of hop cone aromas using hop water extract by boiling (HWEB) was applied to search for candidates of new flavor hop varieties from tens of varieties and breeding lines. RESULTS The sensory scores of HWEB showed a significant correlation with the polyfunctional thiol content, such as 4-methyl-4-sulfunylpentan-2-one (4MSP) and 3-sulfunyl-4-methylpentan-1-ol (3S4MP), in hop cones, which were known to be difficult to analyze mechanically. As a result of the sensory evaluation of HWEBs, a breeding line, 'K906901060', was found to have a strong fruity note. Subsequent chemical analyses revealed that this variety had 80-136 μg kg-1 of 4MSP in its cones, which is similar to the concentration present in current, leading flavor hop varieties, such as Citra (37-114 μg kg-1 ) and Simcoe (2-112 μg kg-1 ). Beer late-hopped with K906901060 provoked greater tropical flavor impression than beer hopped using Nelson Sauvin hops. CONCLUSION The sensory evaluation of HWEB was indicated to be useful to search for hops containing polyfunctional thiols. The plant was registered, as 'Furano K906901060 Go', in Japan, in the European Union (E.U.), and in the U.S.A., and the variety was given the commercial name 'Furano Magical'. This variety was derived from a crossing performed in 1989 and had been kept as a mid-mother plant from 1997, until being selected in 2014, as described here. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.