alpha acid aging

[a1149913]

Hey guys, i was just wondering if people adjust their hop aa% when using older hop stocks.

I've got some galaxy from the 2011 crop (http://shop.beerbelly.com.au/galaxy-hops-pellets-500gm.html)
Will it still be close to 12.8% or should i try calculate what the aa% would be after aging?

thanks, J

 

[wereprawn]

This may help.

http://brewerslog.appspot.com/HopAlphaCalc

 

[manticle]

I never worry because there are so many factors (temp, light, oxygen, etc) and software calcs are only ever theoretical anyway. However there most definitely will be a difference between 2011 hops in 2011 and 2011 hops now.

 

[Spiesy]

Yeah, I'll often just throw a few extra pellets in depending on the age of the hops and the amount needed.

 

[Black Devil Dog]

I usually adjust mine and definitely would if they were 2011.

 

[manticle]

I should add a caveat to mine that I would consider replacing 2011 hops if i were making anything other than a keg filler. I don't adjust but i also try and use fresh ingredients as a rule. Adjust aa for age, adjust bittering for no-chill, estimate non measured IBU in software - too many variables.

I brew mostly to taste with software stats as a simple guide to let me know if i'm in the ballpark. There are other factors relating to aged hops that go way beyond bittering potential. You'd need spectroscopy or chromatography to really understand what the numbers were and even then, you still need your palate to interpret what those numbers mean.

 

[Mr. No-Tip]

I used software calcs on 2010 PPT in 2011. Ended up with a very bitter beer.

 

[danestead]

Hey guys, i was just wondering if people adjust their hop aa% when using older hop stocks.

I've got some galaxy from the 2011 crop (http://shop.beerbelly.com.au/galaxy-hops-pellets-500gm.html)
Will it still be close to 12.8% or should i try calculate what the aa% would be after aging?

thanks, J

In a word, yes.

Ive done about 20 brews with age adjusted AA% now and have had no bittering issues related to adjusting the AAs.

As manticle said, there are many variables however I take the opposite approach to him by actually adjusting the AA% because my thoughts are that an adjusted AA% is going to be closer than a non-adjusted one.

 

[menoetes]

I'm in a similar situation, wanting to use 2 year old Riwaka hops in a Special Bitter. despite good storage the calculator seems to indicate that it's lost about half of it's AA content.

I was just going to hedge on the safe side and add 12g Magnum at 60min (adding 14 IBUs) to make up for the estimated bitterness lost to the hops over time.