Newby Questions

[Bonenose]

Hi guys, couple of questions on hops. Complete newby to brewing of any kind so be gentle. Going straight into all grain for better or worse, have done a lot of reading over the last week or so but still a hell of a lot to learn.

Anyway question one, to start will probably stick to pellet hops to keep things simple (and because it is all I can buy locally) so when using recipes with hops flowers can I simply substitute the same amount of pellets. I assume results may not be as good but can live with that for the present, and having never brewed them before will not know the difference anyway.

Second question, for hops that are 0 minutes boil in the recipe should I be adding these right at flame out or when cooling and if so at what sort of temp?

Cheers

 

[Curly79]

Welcome Bonenose. When I use my homegrown flowers I normally at least double the amount I use, so if the recipe says 50g I throw in 100-125g. You might get the AA% from the seller then you have more of an idea. And yeah 0 minutes is at flameout.

 

[Droopy Brew]

Mate add hop pellets at the same rate as flowers. Fresh or wet flowers are a different story but all the recipes you see will be for pellets or dry flowers. Dont worry, while there is a little bit of difference, the great majority of brews are with pellets- nothing wrong at all with them.

Good on you going all grain straight up. There is a lot more worki nvolved but the results are worth it. Ensure that extra work isn't undone at ferment. Be meticulous with sanitation and ferment under temp control- these are the 2 main factors that will ruin a beer regardless of the quality of the wort if not done properly.

 

[Bonenose]

Cool thanks guys.

 

[Bonenose]

Couple more questions on dry hopping, bit confused as to how one goes about dry hopping.

Do I add hops directly to the fermenter at the same time as the yeast or allow a few days fermentation then add hops to the fermenter. If adding hops to the fermenter at a later stage is there any danger of infection etc. and any precautions I can take to minimise this risk.

Or should I be adding hops just before bottling, I say bottling as whilst I plan on kegging some brews a lot will be bottled.

Finally should I use a hop sock or similar and be removing after a period of time or just throw them in.

Thanks in advance

Cheers

 

[JDW81]

Couple more questions on dry hopping, bit confused as to how one goes about dry hopping.

Do I add hops directly to the fermenter at the same time as the yeast or allow a few days fermentation then add hops to the fermenter. If adding hops to the fermenter at a later stage is there any danger of infection etc. and any precautions I can take to minimise this risk.

Or should I be adding hops just before bottling, I say bottling as whilst I plan on kegging some brews a lot will be bottled.

Finally should I use a hop sock or similar and be removing after a period of time or just throw them in.

Thanks in advance

Cheers

Add your dry hops when your fermentation is nearly done.

I usually add when I've got 2-4 points of gravity to go. If you add while you've got vigorous fermentation then the CO2 that is produced will drive off all the hop aroma.

I usually give my dry hops 3-5 days depending on how busy I am/how much flavour I'm after. If you leave them too long you can extract some grassy flavours from them.

Before you package, you want to make sure you don't agitate the fermenter too much, as you'll stir up all the hops that are at the bottom of the vessel. If you end up with too much hop matter in the bottle you can get gushers, or you can clog your beer post in you kegs.

JD

 

[Barry]

Hop pellets can add 10+% more bitterness than hop flowers all things being equal. Very hard to buy hop flowers in Australia because of the quarantine laws.
(unless they are home grown or you have some contacts). I usually add bittering hops at the beginning of the boil ( or first wort hop) and all the aroma/flavour hops at knockout (end of boil) and let sit for 5 to 15 minutes before I cool the wort (depends on the style).
Dry hopping can be done at the end of the fermentation or when fermentation is finished for 3 to 5 days as stated above. Again it depends on style and result required.
However, this are only one approach and many brewers have many different approaches for many different styles and reasons. So don't be afraid to experiment and enjoy brewing.

 

[Bonenose]

Thanks guys, just to clarify with the three to five days do I put the hops in three to five days before bottling and just leave them or do I place them in the fermenter in a hop sock or something and then remove after three to five days?

Cheers

 

[Barry]

Either way. You can remove the hop sock and let the beer clear for a few days if you want to.

 

[mstrelan]

If adding hops to the fermenter at a later stage is there any danger of infection etc. and any precautions I can take to minimise this risk.

Nope, hops have antibacterial properties that inhibit bacterial growth. Try to avoid splashing as it can introduce oxygen.

 

[Bonenose]

Awesome thanks everyone