Abstrax Quantum: Better Control, Cleaner Hop Expression
At Hops Company, we spend a lot of time talking about hop quality, harvest timing, oil content, and lot selection. But modern brewing goes beyond raw materials alone. Today, brewers are also looking for tools that allow greater precision, consistency, and control over aroma expression.
That’s where products like the Abstrax Quantum Series come in.
One of the biggest challenges in hop-forward brewing is managing sulfur-derived compounds that can negatively impact flavor. Among them, DMTS (dimethyl trisulfide) is especially problematic because even very small amounts can introduce cooked vegetable, onion-like, or cabbage-style off-notes into beer.
This becomes even more relevant during cold-side additions, where traditional dry hopping or some advanced hop products can unintentionally increase sulfur compounds in finished beer. At that stage, those defects are extremely difficult to remove.
According to research shared by Abstrax, their proprietary extraction process used in the Quantum Series was specifically designed to reduce these unwanted sulfur compounds while preserving bright, hop-forward aromatics. In comparative testing against other commercial advanced hop products produced through steam distillation and CO₂ extraction, Quantum showed the lowest detectable DMTS levels.
Sensory results followed the same direction. While other extracts presented savory, onion-like, or cabbage-associated notes, Quantum maintained a cleaner profile described as citrus-forward, fruity, and expressive.
For brewers, this opens interesting possibilities:
- More precise aroma layering
- Reduced vegetal or sulfur off-notes
- Better consistency between batches
- Greater efficiency compared to heavy dry hopping loads
- Cleaner expression in styles like IPA, hop water, and non-alcoholic beer
At Hops Company, we see products like Quantum not as a replacement for hops, but as another tool for brewers looking to refine aroma, improve process control, and push hop expression further.
Because in the end, better beer comes from understanding not only which compounds you want in the glass, but also which ones you don’t.