# Hop utilisation temperature



## searly333 (5/2/13)

If I'm chilling to 36 degrees is this a low enough temperature to stop imparting hop bitterness/taste/aroma or am I wasting my time chilling?


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## hoppy2B (5/2/13)

Googling alpha acid isomerization will give you answers regarding bitterness but I'm unsure about the others.


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## peas_and_corn (5/2/13)

If hops are in contact with your wort they will impart flavour to your beer.


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## searly333 (5/2/13)

I'm talking about after the hops themselves have been removed and all that remains in the wort is the alpha acids etc. whether a temp of 36 degrees will still be acting on those acids to change the profile of the beer


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## QldKev (5/2/13)

Virgin Brewer said:


> I'm talking about after the hops themselves have been removed and all that remains in the wort is the alpha acids etc. whether a temp of 36 degrees will still be acting on those acids to change the profile of the beer



At higher temps you are more concerned with the alpha acids increasing in bitterness, measured in IBU. You are only concerned about how aroma becomes flavour and then into bitterness, yes 36 is plenty cool enough. I actually rate the critical temp as 80c in the cooling cycle.

If you are chilling to 36c, then what are you doing with the wort at that stage. That's too hot for yeast, and too cold to be cubing it.


QldKev


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## bum (5/2/13)

QldKev said:


> I actually rate the critical temp as 80c in the cooling cycle.


I've made AIPAs that _only_ see hops in the cube and they still end up really bitter. I generally cube at ~80C. My experience is that this critical temp is lower than that.


QldKev said:


> If you are chilling to 36c, then what are you doing with the wort at that stage. That's too hot for yeast, and too cold to be cubing it.


Yep, probably much more important than heat changing flavour/aroma additions.


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## searly333 (5/2/13)

Thanks. At that temp it goes into fermenting fridge to come down to yeast pitching temperature of 19 degrees. Not sure why thats too cold to cube, doesn't the wort have to come down past that temp to get to pitching temp?


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## hoppy2B (5/2/13)

Hot wort is put into cubes and the cubes sealed. This effectively sterilizes the cube which can then be stored for a period of time, (days, weeks or months), until required, at which time yeast is pitched into the cube creating beer.


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## Yob (5/2/13)

hoppy2B said:


> Hot wort is put into cubes and the cubes sealed. This effectively sterilizes the cube which can then be stored for a period of time, (days, weeks or months), until required, at which time yeast is pitched into the cube creating beer.


hmmm, and WTF does this have to do with what was asked... mate... you *GOTTA *stop drinking your bathwater


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## bum (5/2/13)

It does bear some relevance to the comment immediately preceding it though.

Having said that, going straight into the fridge (and assuming a cube ferment), OP will probably be okay. It is worth pointing out that cubing at 35C is not no-chilling - some more detail might have made his post useful, is what I'm saying.

Man, defending him twice in the one day. These Torpedoes must be going to my head!


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## slash22000 (5/2/13)

Surely if you properly used some kind of chemical sanitiser ala Starsan in the cube/fermentor/whatever before adding the wort at ~30ºC before chilling it to pitching temperature there would be little room for infection in the <24 hour time span?


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## Nick JD (5/2/13)

I've had an increase in "bitterness" (inverted commas because IDK if the bitterness was real or percieved) from dry hopping the bajeezus out of a keg with Citra.


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## bum (5/2/13)

slash22000 said:


> Surely if you properly used some kind of chemical sanitiser ala Starsan in the cube/fermentor/whatever before adding the wort at ~30ºC before chilling it to pitching temperature there would be little room for infection in the <24 hour time span?


Remove the word "surely" and replace "little room" with "reduced chance" and this post is sound enough. Not great advice but factually correctish.


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## Nick JD (5/2/13)

There's little point in chilling in the kettle and then cubing. Just leave it in the kettle (which has had the shit nuked out of it for an hour or more) and transfer it at room temp into your fermenter ... within 12 hours, no more than 18.

24 and you're gonna want it to have been hopped to hell.


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## Parks (5/2/13)

Nick JD said:


> I've had an increase in "bitterness" (inverted commas because IDK if the bitterness was real or percieved) from dry hopping the bajeezus out of a keg with Citra.


I have found the same with a few hops (and I assume all hops given a high enough rate). I think the resins extracted are also bitter, even if they don't actually impart IBUs.


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## manticle (5/2/13)

There are compounds in hops other than isomerised alpha acids that contribute to bittering. IBU is solely a quantification of solubilised alpha acids - it does not represent everything hops provide.


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## felten (6/2/13)

Eat a pellet, its bitter.


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