Boiling Hops

[chookbilly]

Hi everyone,

I'm wanting to start using some hops in my next brew.
I've read instructions to boil the hops in water, then others say to boil in wort.

Is one way better than the other? is it ok to boil a 1.5 kit extract? (I thought you weren't supposed to boil the wort, just heat it)

Getting confused....

Although I am understanding when to add hops at differeing times to get different bittering, flavour and aroma qualities.

Also, If I was to do a dry hop, does this give more aroma than adding late to a boil? is there a good way to do a dry hop without having to use a secondary?

So many questions!

 

[wabster]

Hi CB,

>I'm wanting to start using some hops in my next brew.
>I've read instructions to boil the hops in water, then others say to boil in wort.

You don't usually boil the contents of the can.

To add hops, boil a few litres of water, add your dried malt, or liquid malt extract that you are adding as additional fermentables, add the hops and boil for 10 minutes or so. The exact process varies with the hops and kind of beer you are wanting to make.

But if you boil the can contents you'll lose the hops already in it, effectively going backwards

>Although I am understanding when to add hops at differeing times to get different bittering, flavour and >aroma qualities.

Yes I'll let others add more details here, but there are as many recipes as chefs if you get my drift hahaha.

>Also, If I was to do a dry hop, does this give more aroma than adding late to a boil? is there a good way to >do a dry hop without having to use a secondary?

I just add hops the wort in the carboy Again many views exist on this.

Sure there are lots of questions and zillions of answers, but my preferred process is to make subtle alterations to beers I already like till I hit the one I and Mswab enjoy. Currently that is a Little Creatures pale ale clone but I am wanting to move the flavour more towards the style used for the Pale Ale at Potters Brewery in the Hunter Valley, near Cessnock.

Happy brewing, Wabster.

 

[mfdes]

Hey chook,

I always boil the hops in wort. Are you using a kit that's lready hopped or unhopped malt extract? The amount of bitterness you get out of hops goes down a lot if you have a very concentrated wort.

It is fine (in fact I recommend) boiling the kits. I've always done so. None of them have hop aroma as a general rule, and you'll only increase their stability, especially if you have a big brew pot and boil the whole volume (another thing I'd recommend). If you can't, take a little malt extract in water (100g per liter will give you ~1.040 SG which is about ideal) and boil the hops in that.

As to dry hopping it will definetly give you more aroma than late boil hopping, but it's a different aroma, fresher and a bit more like the raw hops. You certainly don't need a secondary fermenter to dry hop. In fact most commercial microbreweries that dry hop add to the primary. The most efficient method if you only use a primary is to add the dry hops 24h or so before fermentation stops. So if you can easily take samples, like if you're using a plastic fermenter with a tap on the bottom, when your gravity reaches ~1.020 it would be a good time to add the dry hops. The little bit of fermentation time left will keep your pellet bits circulating up and down the beer (even if you can't see them, you would if you used a glass fermenter) for at least a day to give you really good mixing.

It's not recommended to add them at the beginning because supposedly all the CO2 given out can scrub out the aroma. If you want to wait until fermentation is done, you should really wait a couple of days for the yeast to settle out. If you don't, the finished beer will not keep your hops suspended for good contact, and they will sink to the bottom. If you had not waited for the yeast to settle out, it will then settle on top of the pellets and cover them up, giving you poor contact nd not much aroma.

If you use whole hops or plugs, just chuck them in at the end of the fermentation. They float and when you bottle you just take the beer from under them.

If you've never dry hopped before I'd be conservative. Some beer styles go much better with dry hops than others. I myself think lagers as a general rule don't come out too well when dry hopped, and pale ales are the best. Maybe start with 15g for 3-5 days. For a biggger beer like a high starting gravity American pale ale or IPA I often use 25g cascade at 15m, another 25g at flameout and another 25g dry hopped for a week. However it's not for everyone and some of my friends find it too hoppy.

When you know how much dry hop character you like it's easier. The character also changes over time and using more hops for less time gives you a nicer character (in my opinion) than using less hops for longer. This is just my opinion and others prefer the opposite.

MFS.

 

[chookbilly]

So it's okay to open the brew to add the hops during the fermentation?
Is there anything special that should be considered to avoid infection?

 

[Muggus]

So it's okay to open the brew to add the hops during the fermentation?
Is there anything special that should be considered to avoid infection?

Nothing wrong with adding them during fermentation, its often done when the beer is 'racked' into another fermenter. Make sure whatever utensils you use when putting your hops into your brew are sterile, avoid touching the inside of the fermenter, and try not to keep it open for too long. You should be fine besides that.

 

[redgums500]

Hi everyone,

I'm wanting to start using some hops in my next brew.
I've read instructions to boil the hops in water, then others say to boil in wort.

Is one way better than the other? is it ok to boil a 1.5 kit extract? (I thought you weren't supposed to boil the wort, just heat it)

Getting confused....

Although I am understanding when to add hops at differeing times to get different bittering, flavour and aroma qualities.

Also, If I was to do a dry hop, does this give more aroma than adding late to a boil? is there a good way to do a dry hop without having to use a secondary?

So many questions!

Chookbilly

Before we go any further, I need you to clarify a few things.

I take it that this is a partial or mini mash you are wondering about, not a hopped beer kit into the fermenter with dex etc. ( the 1.5kg of extract makes me think mini mash) please clarify.

cheers
Redgums