Hops, Hops, Hops

[Nashmandu]

Hey Ya'll,

Im just lying in bed thinking about hops. I decided to ask you all to share your learnings/truths/theories (sounds alittle like marraige councelling sorry) about everything to do with hops. Im talking about; hopping schedules, high alpha vs non high alpha, noble or new world, dry hopping, clean bitterness etc

How do you use hops and why? Not too technical, just insight.

Ill get it started

I find that noble hops are easier too manage and produce more reliable results. I find high alpha hops to be hit and miss, depending on skill of brewer, transport and age of beer. I also find high alpha can give a harsh 'pellety' taste (however mikkeller doesnt seem too suffer from this problem!)

Cheers and hop driven beers

Nashmandu

 

[Nick JD]

I'm cheap and this attracts me to high AA hops. The difference between Citra (14%) and Saaz (3%) is a big pile of hops.

Nearly always now if I want heaps of flavour I don't add any hops until 15 minutes to go in the boil. It means using much more hops - but getting the required bitterness by using shedloads of a high AA hop for only 15 minutes not only crams the beer with flavour (the good stuff that works on both the tongue and nose) but it stops that high alpha harshness of which you speak.

The amount of Citra needed to bitter an APA to 35 IBUs, added solely at 15 minutes is really very small.

 

[Steve]

Nash

Have a look in the flavour of the week thread. Lots of hops are listed and discussed, recipes etc. E.g. I had 250gms of Northdown and didnt know what to do with them. Now I do....they are currently 30 mins into the boil.

Cheers
Steve

 

[Bribie G]

I did same as Nick with my last brew - A Kiwi blonde. I had a heap of hop remnants to use up so I whacked in 100g of mixed BSaaz, Hallertau Aroma etc at 20 mins. However I had put in 10g of Northern Brewer at the beginning to encourage break formation. The hop aroma in the fermenter was divine.

The megabreweries do this, AFAIK they use a very small amount of hops in the boil for break formation then the main hops (such as they are) get added as an extract on the way to the packing line. And not just isohop, the extract also contains some flavour and aroma - Thirsty Boy would know.

 

[Tony]

I started boiling bittering additions of high alpha hops for 60 to 90 min and trying to cram lots of late hops in the brew in the last 10 min to get lots of hop flavour and aroma, but it never really worked for me.

I have gone to a standard 40 to 45 min bittering addition of nothing over 10% AA usually.

Exceptions can be dark beers like porters and stouts where i will use target, or challenger at 60 min and no other hops but in most others i like the effect of lots more low alpha hops in a 40 min boil. EKG at 40 minutes in a bitter, and then just a bit at 10 min is great.

Where this really works is in lagers!

German Pils, Boh Pils, Dort....... bitter with your favorite noble hop at 40 min and add 1/2g per liter at flame out. This method really does give that sweet floral hoppiness with ballanced flavour and aroma that you find in good quality Euro lagers.

Yeah sure it uses more hops but if 3 cartons of imported becks was $2 a carton more than VB, you'd spend the $6 wouldnt you

There are really no rules that can be followed with hops. Its an "each to their own" thing and everyone is going to like different things, different combos, different ways of hopping their beer. I personaly dont like American hops much at all. I get a taste for then now and then but generally if i make highly hopped beers, they will be packed with NZ hops. I really like NZ hops i will say. They are so different and available in flower form which is great.

cheers

 

[Bribie G]

Lyall (the winner of the Nats with his Boh Pils) had a Pils at the last Pine Rivers PUBS meeting and it was great, made with BSaaz and Czech Saaz - he's a Kiwi anyway so likes to fly the old flag

 

[Nashmandu]

Nash

Have a look in the flavour of the week thread. Lots of hops are listed and discussed, recipes etc. E.g. I had 250gms of Northdown and didnt know what to do with them. Now I do....they are currently 30 mins into the boil.

Cheers
Steve

I know what to do with northdown...I wasnt asking how to use each hop.....The reason there are so many arguments on this site is because ppl like you answer questions nobody asked you, just cause it makes you feel good...

Brewers generally have experiences/theories re everything, thats what i was asking for , not ..'can i use cascade instead of amarillo, or will it ruin my american blonde golden belgian dark ale'

 

[Steve]

The reason there are so many arguments on this site is because ppl like you answer questions nobody asked you, just cause it makes you feel good...

what are you on about you twat?.......it was only a suggestion in case you werent aware of the flavour of the week threads that had hops in it....pull your head in ! My example was exactly that. This morning I wanted to know what to do with my Northdown hops, had a look in those threads and found an answer. You will find lots of discussion about experiences/theories..........

Edit....hey, I challenge you to find one post of mine in the past 6 years that has caused an argument, has been nothing to do with what someone has asked....go on twat go searching, you'll never find one, !

 

[Tony]

I know what to do with northdown...I wasnt asking how to use each hop.....The reason there are so many arguments on this site is because ppl like you answer questions nobody asked you, just cause it makes you feel good...

Brewers generally have experiences/theories re everything, thats what i was asking for , not ..'can i use cascade instead of amarillo, or will it ruin my american blonde golden belgian dark ale'

Wow back there...... nice shootin' Tex.

I think steve was simply offering another good existing source of hop information, which is actually quite a good one, and sharing with us what hops he currently has boiling in his brew, after getting the info from that said source.

This is a great thread, and you will get some good info from it, but to add to it the flavour of the week threads are great as well!

cheers

Edit: Steve beat me with a more colourful reply

 

[mwd]

Oh Steve Steve wash your mouth out with Simcoe sorry Soap. :lol:

Kiss your Grandmother with that mouth ? ( quote stolen from Waynes World )

slightly O.T.T>

 

[Brewer_010]

Anyway, ignoring the gits who woke up with a potty mouth and/or bad attitudes...get over yourselves ladies.

I am tending towards more of the 45 minute bittering as it gets more flavour into the beer with most of my late additions at around 10 or 5 minutes. I brew lots of ales and tend to do 45 / 10 / 2 minute additions. In stouts and porters I use a 60 / 5 minute addition (about 1g/L at 5 mins).

Often I try for as few additions as possible as it's simpler. On the odd occassion I've done 10 hop additions and while yummy, what a PITA
Cheers

 

[Nashmandu]

Mate i realise i took what u said the wrong way, it was 5 in the morning and i had to go to work at the brewery , i mean factory.. but what you said...seriously mate

But anyway, some interesting things being offered, keep it up!

 

[brando]

This is an interesting thread (apart from the nonsense).

I've always had problems with hops harshness and lingering bitterness in my beers. Always thought it must have been due to pH problems, or something like that. Now I realise that high alpha use could be the culprit.

Like many, I use high alpha hops for around 60 mins, then add late hops for flavour and aroma.

It seems I should try bittering with lower AA bittering hops, and add them later in the boil.

p.s. might be time to buy some bulk hops from the US, because if this solves my problems then I'll be using far more hops.

 

[beerdrinkingbob]

Mate i realise i took what u said the wrong way, it was 5 in the morning and i had to go to work at the brewery , i mean factory.. but what you said...seriously mate

Really it says 11 AM.

The easiest way to say sorry is to do exactly that, you were pretty harsh!!

 

[Lord Raja Goomba I]

I'll put all the cards on the table, see if it helps. ALmost didn't reply to this thread, because of the stupidity and foul mouthed carry-on.

No brew fridge, no keg - if this was the case, I'd alter my brewing behaviour, if I had the two items in question.

So Pilsner and Lager beers are out of the question. And noble hops are too expensive to use to bitter in any beer that I'm able to brew with the temp control I can manage.

As a result of all this, I tend towards APA, along with dark beers (brown, dark ale, stout etc) when summer is around. I have the air con in my bed room and store brews in there to avoid a 30 degree ester bomb (incidentally the name and nature of my youngest anklebiter).

I use noble hops pretty well exclusively from 15 minutes boil down to dry hop. They will jump the cost of any brew, but they do turn out to be special brews.

With the new world hops, I'll use them for bitterness, as a means to reduce the per litre cost of a brew. However, I will do a calc on qbrew, and when I get to the bitterness I want, then proceed to reduce the bittering hop quantity by 5 or ten grams (down about 5 IBU), just to allow for errors. I don't no-chill - as I did once and ended up with really bitter beer.

However, I do flood my APA with lots of new world hops at 0 min or dry hop, because they have such fantastic flavour. Noble provides smoothness. I'll tend to use the correct hops for british style beers (and correct malts too).

The other reason for new world in APA, especially at this temp, is that they hide esters better. Just a thought.

Finally - fave hops are Citra and Nelson Sauvin. But you need to use them correctly. I used them right first time (accidental), and it worked out some great brews.

Cheers,

Goomba

 

[brettprevans]

Sorry but I agree with steve. The hop threads are there for exactly that... For people to write their experiances and how to use them.

The information is there if u want to use it

 

[Nashmandu]

Really it says 11 AM.

The easiest way to say sorry is to do exactly that, you were pretty harsh!!

Well it wasnt 11am! but anyway

 

[haysie]

How do you use hops and why? Not too technical, just insight.

I just stand back and chuck em in the boiling beer stuff, not too technical at all. Some packets say Hallertau, Cascade, Galaxy, they all have a AA measurement. Geez, for once I agree with the hop forum..... is there one <_<
Without taking the piss, how tech do you wanna get?.. no chills.. yes chills..late additions...first additions...dry hopping..storing. Mate, its all out on the forum and no need for a shitfight, thats just called lame hopping!
before editing> bedtime storytelling..goodnight B)

 

[Nashmandu]

what are you on about you twat?.......it was only a suggestion in case you werent aware of the flavour of the week threads that had hops in it....pull your head in ! My example was exactly that. This morning I wanted to know what to do with my Northdown hops, had a look in those threads and found an answer. You will find lots of discussion about experiences/theories..........

Edit....hey, I challenge you to find one post of mine in the past 6 years that has caused an argument, has been nothing to do with what someone has asked....go on twat go searching, you'll never find one, !

Just to let everyone know, steve's original post was littered with the c word. a tyrade of abuse....but he's changed it.

 

[haysie]

Just to let everyone know, steve's original post was littered with the c word. a tyrade of abuse....but he's changed it.

or Batz did, c##t twat, same hole different hour