Whole hops are generally more heterogeneous than hop products, which are homogenized in a special refining step during processing. In hop processing facilities, different batches of whole hops are mixed in an effort to compensate for quality differences brought about by growth under varied conditions. Despite this, significant deviations are often observed not only among bales of hops in a bulk lot but also within a single bale [1]. For this reason, analysis of an individual sample is generally insufficient for evaluating the quality of a bulk lot. The probability that the analysis results from a single sample will correctly reflect the true mean for the entire lot is extremely low.
Hops and hop products intended for use in beer brewing or elsewhere in the food industry
A reliable sampling method for whole hops and hop products is a prerequisite for obtaining suitable material for analysis. The effort involved in collecting the sample depends upon how uniform the hop product is.