Hop Experiment

[donothebogan]

I need some advice on an experiment I am going to try with a variety of different hops with the aim to develop my taste and palette.

I have done some reading online and was thinking of adding around 10 grams of a single hop types to 12 x 750ml tallies - re-cap and ferment for around 7 days.


After fermenting for 7 days at 18C I'd be able to taste and distinguish the different aromas and flavours of each different hop type.

Has anyone got any advice for doing this? I was thinking of using XXXX Gold Tallies or Coopers Pale Ale as the base.

Also we generally brew pale ales so I am thinking of using the following hops:

• Amarillo
• Cascade
• Citra
• Centennial
• Chinook
• El Dorado
• Mosaic
• Simcoe
• Galaxy
• ?????
• ?????
• ?????

Any advice would beer appreciated,

Cheers.

 

[Leyther]

Nelson sauvin if you can find any

 

[Brownsworthy]

I don't think xxxx has any yeast in it for fermenting again coopers would be a better option.
You could also steep some or use one of those tea ball things and add to the beer.
An even better option would be a small batch single hop brew.

 

[nosco]

If your essentially just dry hopping in the bottle then Im not sure how much hop flavour you would get but then 10g per bottle would be alot. Like Brownworthy said you would (maybe) have to at least steep the hops in boiling/hot water to get some flavour out of them. Taste and smell go together. You cant have one without the other.

Only one way to find out though. Get a long neck of Coopers pale and dry hop it as a test for a bit and see what it tastes like. I guess you would lose a bit of carbonation but if you are quick to recap it might not be that much.

 

[fdsaasdf]

Depending where you're located in BNE I can offer a candidate case of XXXX summer bright that isn't going to be consumed in my house...

 

[wereprawn]

You don't actually mean "ferment" in the bottle do you? Recipe for disaster .

And the the 10 g of hops is going to be spread out over the 12 largies?

 

[damoninja]

You don't actually mean "ferment" in the bottle do you? Recipe for disaster .

Bottle carbonation is a fermentation, albeit small

 

[Lozbrewer]

Great Idea Dono the bogan.

I love the garage science approach to working out which are the hops you like.

My hop additions are always a bit random. 20l later I work out if I like them or not.

I might try to copy your experiment with some pilsner from my keezer then make some hop tea additions from a french press. Will take some tasting notes.

Let us know how it goes!

 

[Matplat]

Depending where you're located in BNE I can offer a candidate case of XXXX summer bright that isn't going to be consumed in my house...

Wouldn't want to be anywhere near that ****...... Beers like that continue to amaze me. I just can't understand how they sell any of it.... :icon_offtopic:

 

[Danscraftbeer]

Let us know how it goes. I'd be sceptical it would work very well but you never know until you try. Expect flat beer with floaties of hop particles but it may help you decide on the hops. I think the experts mostly rub hop flowers in their hands and judge by the aroma's.
Hop shots for experimenting in the glass are probably the best way but harder to get a broad range of.

 

[sp0rk]

In the past, I've put a couple of pellets into a cut up (sanitised) stocking and let that float around in the beer for 10 minutes before drinking
Might be another way of experimenting without faffing about with the recapping bottles

 

[Coodgee]

technically the hops won't add any fermentables to the beer so you will just be dry hopping. (sorry)

 

[peteru]

But all the bacterial contamination you introduce in the process will do the fermenting and give you nice gushers if you leave it long enough.

 

[peteru]

I suppose I should follow up with a constructive post...

I test hops by crushing a pellet into a glass and pouring a few ml of beer on top to rehydrate the hops. A couple of minutes later, I add a bit more beer and pour the hopped beer through a tea strainer into another glass. I then top up this hopped glass with more fresh beer. Works well and you can easily see how various amounts of extra hops change the character just by changing the ratio of hopped to unhopped beer in the drinking glass.

 

[EalingDrop]

I use a French press, prepared like tea. Boiling hot water for bitterness. 50c water for aroma/flavour. Heat in both cases help to release the oils quickly.

There's debate on beer chemistry affecting hop utilisation (ph to name one). But for what I need to know, I find it gives me a purer analysis of the hops and a more accurate impression of what I have in hand.

 

[manticle]

Adding hop pellets to carbonated beer will likely gush.

 

[Benn]

Do you keg your beer? If so you could try keg hopping to get an idea of what your after.
Perhaps you could also make a hop tea by steeping some hops in hot water, chilling it down then draw off a measured amount with a syringe and add that to your base beer.
Some other beers you could potentially use as a base are Fat Yak & Furphie, both pretty bland but probably a better representation than XXXX etc. if you can improve any of these beers you've had a win.

 

[Dae Tripper]

I have done this before, in the beginning. A very good way to mix hops to give guidance. Must do it again soon, after a LHBs trip.

I use a French press, prepared like tea. Boiling hot water for bitterness. 50c water for aroma/flavour. Heat in both cases help to release the oils quickly.
There's debate on beer chemistry affecting hop utilisation (ph to name one). But for what I need to know, I find it gives me a purer analysis of the hops and a more accurate impression of what I have in hand.