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Due to the multiple mechanisms for hop antimicrobial activity, multiple resistance mechanisms are necessary for a Gram-positive bacterial cell to successfully be hop-tolerant<ref name="Behr and Vogel, 2010"> [http://aem.asm.org/content/76/1/142.short Behr and Vogel, (2010)] </ref>. Hop resistance of bacteria will vary by species as well as within a species with individual strains. The environment in which strains are cultured and maintained may also influence their hop tolerance. It is possible for a small subpopulation of individual cells that have a higher tolerance to hops to eventually dominate the overall population <ref name="zhao_1027">[https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2017.00239/full#B28 Heterogeneity between and within Strains of Lactobacillus brevis Exposed to Beer Compounds. Yu Zhao, Susanne Knøchel and Henrik Siegumfeldt. 2017. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2017.00239.]</ref>. The hop tolerance of lactic acid bacteria strains decreases when they are cultured in hop-free environments and strains cultured in media with increasing concentrations of hop compounds show an increase in hop tolerance<ref name="Sakamoto and Konings, 2003"/>. The stability of hop resistance, or the rate at which it is lost when bacteria are cultured in unhopped wort, varies by strain. It can take up to 1 year for maximum loss of hop resistance, suggesting that in some strains have a relatively stable hop resistance<ref name="Sakamoto and Konings, 2003"/>. Because of this intra-species variability and dependence on how the strains were cultured, it is difficult to give specific advice about the hop-tolerance of a wide range of strains offered from different sources. As a general rule, some common lactic acid bacteria species used in sour beer and found as beer spoilage organisms like ''Lactobacillus brevis'', ''Lactobacillus lindneri'' and ''Pediococcus delbrueckii'' have some resistance to hops<ref name="Sakamoto and Konings, 2003"/>. Brewers seeking to make acidic beers with higher doses of hops may wish to seek out one of these species. Some hop-tolerant species benefit from pre-culturing in media with below-limiting concentrations of compounds before being used in more highly hopped wort or beer<ref name="Simpson and Fernandez, 1992"> [http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1472-765X.1992.tb00636.x/abstract Simpson and Fernandez, 1992]</ref>.