Soft Resin

Soft Resin. (sohft' reh'-zin)

One of the two fractions secreted by the lupulin gland during the development of the hop cones. Soft resins are composed mainly of about 45 percent alpha acids (humulones) and 25 percent beta acids (lupulones). Extracted from the hops during the boiling stage, they contribute most of the nine hundred bittering substances in beer. See also: hard resins, hop oils.