Zero Minute Hop Additions With Hopsock

[brando]

I did an AG brew today, and I fear that I might have got the 0 min hops bit wrong (still learning the basics).

I boil in a 40L Birko urn using a hop sock for the hops and no chill into a cube.

Normally when I turn off the urn at the end of the boil I remove the hop sock, whirlpool, and then put the lid back on to retain the heat in the wort so as to get a good pasteurisation in the cube when I fill it about 15 mins later.

I did this method again today, and realised that the 0 mins hops were only in contact with the wort for less than 5 mins in total.

I'm thinking that this may have been a waste of hops and that I should have either left the hop sock in for the 15 min duration post-flameout, or added the 0 min hops not via the hop sock.

 

[raven19]

Of late I have been adding the zero minute hop additions into the cube prior to filling.

You should still get a reasonable amount of aroma from the zero minute hops imo.

 

[bradsbrew]

I leave the hopsock in until the kettle is drained. I take it that the hops arent being boiled so the bitterness should not be extracted, just the aroma. maybe I am wrong but it works for me.

Brad

 

[brando]

Of late I have been adding the zero minute hop additions into the cube prior to filling.

You should still get a reasonable amount of aroma from the zero minute hops imo.

Raven, do you mean that I will still get good aroma from just the 4 mins of contact?

I have only done cube hopping in the past, but I've been keen to test whether I could get better result with a different approach. My cube hopped hops are in contact with the wort for up to two weeks in the cube, then another two weeks in the fermenter, and I wonder it that could cause off flavours.

 

[joecast]

hey brando, i do basically the same as you with the hop sopck, except the zero minute hops go straight into the kettle. that settles for 10-15 minutes before going into the cube. (initial tasting of this method was very positive)-edit
tried cube hopping with my last brew so will be interested to see any differences. they were different hops and different beers though so might be hard to get much out of it.
joe

 

[razz]

Hey brando. Ive traded my 0 min additions for dry hopping after primary.

 

[winkle]

Hey brando. Ive traded my 0 min additions for dry hopping after primary.

+1, works well.

 

[raven19]

Hey brando. Ive traded my 0 min additions for dry hopping after primary.

I have been meaning to do some side by side comparons with the no chill. So many variants at play, so much testing (and drinking!) required here! :icon_cheers:

4 minutes contact will be better than none, dropping them into the kettle would be better still as per a previous post.

Not sure on time lengths vs aroma transfer from hop to wort though... could be an interesting discussion point though for sure.

 

[brando]

Never dry hopped myself, but have heard that it can impart resinous flavours. Not real sure what resinous flavours are like exactly, but I assume it's an off flavour smelling like epoxy (but maybe I'm way off).

 

[razz]

That really depends on a few things brando. Hop type, temp and exposure time to mention just three. The big C American hops are great for dry hopping.

 

[Mr.Moonshine]

Brando,

The resinous flavour/aroma you can get from dry hopping is closer to pine than epoxy. You also get a certain fullness of palate from dry hopping, which is a great touch in certain styles (IPA in particular).

Cheers,

Mr.Moonshine

 

[Phoney]

I dry hopped into the secondary with flowers for my last batch....NEVER AGAIN! It blocked the tap, and bits of flowers ended up in the bottles. Disaster.

Im not sure what the best method for 0 min additions with flowers is, im thinking next time I will add them to the no-chill cube, let it sit for 24 hours and then pour the wort through a hop sock into the fermenter to filter out the flowers.

 

[Bribie G]

I dry hopped into the secondary with flowers for my last batch....NEVER AGAIN! It blocked the tap, and bits of flowers ended up in the bottles. Disaster.

Im not sure what the best method for 0 min additions with flowers is, im thinking next time I will add them to the no-chill cube, let it sit for 24 hours and then pour the wort through a hop sock into the fermenter to filter out the flowers.

flowers are a no-no straight into the fermenter. I use flowers quite often as hop tea, a few days before bottling or kegging. Also if you keg you can use a - the small ones are commonly sold in kitchen shops but you really need a bigger one for flowers and might need to look around asian stores. I've just used one to give a Styrian Goldings hit to a keg of my Landlord.

 

[Luka]

I was listening to The Brewing Network the other day and John Palmer and Jamil and those guys were discussing dry hopping in this podcast. What they were saying is to dry hop into the primary but after the bulk of the fermentation is done, ie 3-4 days. There is lots of discussion about O2 scrubbing and lots of technical stuff but some really good advice. The resiny flavour issue is also discussed with one of the guys reccomending that 5 days dry hopping is usually enough and that if you want more hop aroma and flavour to do a second dry hop for another five days. A great show anyway, always entertaining too.

 

[jonocarroll]

flowers are a no-no straight into the fermenter.

Not necessarily... ?

Unless you have a reason other than the above blocking of the tap that is. If I'm using either hop flowers in the fermenter, or end up with an overly large yeast cake, I just prop the front of the fermenter up with a block of wood so that the tap is a bit higher, then crash chill - the yeast cake settles to the lowest point, and the tap is generally clear and free. Just got to be careful when/if lifting the fermenter high enough to get the beer out.