## 1 Introduction  
Many crops display differential geographic phenotypes and sensorial signatures, encapsulated by the concept of _terroir_. This has been primarily used to link wine production to specific places. The term _terroir_ increasingly refers to ecological and cultural conditions that create a sense of group identity by engaging in and consuming particular products, mainly food and beverages, leading in recent years to a growing demand for local artisanal food products worldwide [1]. The enhancement of the concept of _terroir_ in some sectors of the agrifood industry, first of all that of wine, has led over the years to the creation of protection and/or regional brands that have boosted rural development and the rural economy, have helped to create a recognizable system of a territory's unique characteristics through the development of its product specialization and the expansion of potential markets for regional products and services [2]. All of this can easily be reflected in territory branding, which can be used as a stimulus for rural survival and to increase the potential of sustainable development of the internal rural areas. According to the American Marketing Association (AMA), a \"brand\" is \"a word, sign, symbol or design solution, or a combination thereof, created for the purpose of designating the goods and services of a particular seller or group of sellers to distinguish them from competitors\" [2]. In this sense, emerging agrifood sectors, such as the craft beer one, can benefit greatly by linking their production to the concept of _terrori_, establishing trusting relationships with the consumer, communicating diversity, quality, authenticity, links with the landscape and cultural identities of the product to increase competitiveness and uniqueness with respect to industrial brands [2]. Craft beer, in fact, much more than other products, reflects local styles or ingredients. The movement of Italian craft beer was born in 1996, drawing from the concepts of territoriality, nature and authenticity in its marketing, but, currently, most of the raw materials used in the production of these beers are imported [3]. However, in the last few years, trying to follow the path already well traced by the national wine sector from which the concepts of terrori and branding of the agri-product as an added value were generated, small agricultural realities have started to flourish, capable of producing malted barley and especially hops, destined to the production of 100% local beers [4]. Several studies have been published about the influence of _terroir_ on hops [5; 6; 7]. However, to the best of our knowledge, only two studies are actually present in literature about the application of the _terroir_ concept to the brewing value of hops as reflected in the chemical and sensory features of the related craft beer produced from it [5; 8]. Literature studies have highlighted a significant influence of the growing region on the quality traits of Cascade hops cultivated in Italy [6; 9]. However, none of them reported any data on brewing applications with these hops. In light of these considerations, the main purpose of the present study was to evaluate the influence of _terroir_ in craft peers produced with Cascade hops from two different Italian regions. The hop samples were analyzed for their molecular fingerprinting by Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), bitter acids, cohumulone and oil content as well as for their olfactometric profile by gas chromatography-olfactometry (GC-O) of the hop hydrodistillates, previously characterized by GC-MS. Then, to evaluate the quality characteristics imparted by the addition of hops, the characterizations of olfactometric, analytical and sensory profiles of the experimental beers were carried out.