Boiling Hops?

[Noxious]

Hi people,
Thanks for all the advice recently..
Just curious as to how much water you guys boil your hops in?

I just boiled up 15g cascade hops in 500ml of water, then took down to a low heat setting (but still enough to lightly boil)...checking constantly which was fine, until i went outside after about 40mins to mix up malts etc and when i came back in it had boiled dry.
My question - If the water the hops were boiling in dries up does that mean the Alpha Acids accumilated have been boiled off too??
I assumed you didnt want much water in the mix as to not dilute the acid for bittering.
I added another 500ml and then boiled for another ten minutes but am worried i wasted my time because the acid had been boiled off??
Any help....
Thanks people

 

[Noxious]

SHIT!
Wrong forum again....i gotta stop doin this!!!
Sorry

 

[crozdog]

Just curious as to how much water you guys boil your hops in?

Depends on how big a batch I do. Sorry that's a bit cheeky but I couldn't resist FYI, I only do AG now & hops are added to the whole volume.

Are you doing K&K or extract? If K&K you can get away with steeping your hops in a coffee plunger for 15 mins or dry hop by chucking em straight into the fermetner. If you're doing an extract brew & boiling the malt, chuck your hops in with the malt while it boils. Note add em at different times for bittering/flavour/aroma. Boil longer for bitterness & shorter for flavour, shorter still/if any for aroma.

My question - If the water the hops were boiling in dries up does that mean the Alpha Acids accumilated have been boiled off too??

I reckon you will have dramatically changed the characteristics/profile of the oils by boiling em dry. Ever noticed the difference in the smell/taste/colour of cooking oil if you leave it in the pan too long on high?

I assumed you didnt want much water in the mix as to not dilute the acid for bittering.

There is a relationship between volume & the amount of bittering you obtain. Likewise, the longer you boil the more bitterness is extracted.

I added another 500ml and then boiled for another ten minutes but am worried i wasted my time because the acid had been boiled off??

I think it was a waste of time cause the oils would have been damaged. Easier/better to clean the pot & start again with fresh hops instead of potentially ruining a batch due to the use of cooked hops.

You can't change what's done, so suck it & see - some of the best beers are the results of crap brewdays/ & bizarre mistakes. If it turns out crap, put it down to experience & don't repeat .