Cultivar identification in dry hop cones and pellets using microsatellite loci

Chemical composition of hop cones has a great impact on aroma and taste of beer. Individual hop cultivars have a characteristic flavour profile; therefore, their identity and purity in raw material (hop cones and pellets) are crucial for brewers. Here, we described a simple method of cultivar identification in hop based on six microsatellite loci amplified in two multiplex PCRs. The selected set of markers is sufficient to distinguish nine major hop cultivars grown in Poland. We successfully identified cultivar origin of commercially produced samples of hop cones and pellets. One of the five cone samples, labelled by a grower as pure Lubelski, appeared to be a mixture of two Polish cultivars: Lubelski and Marynka. Genotyping of experimentally prepared cone mixtures of these two cultivars showed that even small admixtures of 3–5 % can be detected if a few loci are used for analysis.