Boiled instead of Hop Standing... oops

[land3r]

So, this is my 3rd batch of American Wheat. First (Northern Brewers) was a writeoff because of chlorine in local water. More hops early, less hops boiling for 15 minutes.
2nd (Northern Brewers), chlorine issue solved with Campden & beer came out nice.
3rd (this one, recipe from a local supply shopm, from here but I don't think it's public), beer came out nice, but was a bit hoppier than expected. Fewer hops early, more in hop stand....

I reviewed the recipe, and unlike the first two recipes, I realized I boiled the 2nd addition of hops in the last 15 minutes instead of boiling for 1 hour & hop standing for 15 minutes.

So: again, the beer was OK, but I wanted to ask if hop standing makes a huge difference in hoppiness/bitterness?

All cascade hops.

My goal is to modify the recipe to reduce the hoppiness/bitterness & increase the fruit. Being pretty new to this, I assume at least trying hop standing correctly but don't want to alter much else at once.

I'm also going to be reviewing other American Wheat recipes here.

Any help/insights/opinions etc. appreciated!

 

[CascadesBrewer]

Your post is a bit confusing but...

Boiling hops for 15 minutes will add a significant level of bitterness (maybe half of what you would get from a 60 minute boil of the same hops). You will get hop flavors from that addition, but many of the more delicate "fruity" characters are boiled off. A 15 minute hops stand (especially if done at a lower temp, say 170F to 180F) will impart much less bitterness and will retain many of the more delicate hop flavors and aromas.

American Wheat is not a style really known to be very hoppy. I suspect most recipes for this style might have a 1 oz addition in the 0-10 minute range (for a 5 gallon batch). If you want more hop character in your version, then a hop stand or dry hop addition will give that boost.

 

[lumpher]

Hop stands don't really contribute to ibu's. They're more for flavor and aroma.

 

[hotbeer]

It'll still be beer. Just maybe not quite what was intended. But you may like it. Keep notes on everything. Even your mistakes. And for certain add to them what the resulting beer was like after bottled or kegged and properly carbonated.

It's not quite like you can do much to undo what you did.

 

[land3r]

It'll still be beer. Just maybe not quite what was intended. But you may like it. Keep notes on everything. Even your mistakes. And for certain add to them what the resulting beer was like after bottled or kegged and properly carbonated.

It's not quite like you can do much to undo what you did.

Actually, it's sort of like I can undo it, by brewing properly the next time...

Your post is a bit confusing but...

Boiling hops for 15 minutes will add a significant level of bitterness (maybe half of what you would get from a 60 minute boil of the same hops). You will get hop flavors from that addition, but many of the more delicate "fruity" characters are boiled off. A 15 minute hops stand (especially if done at a lower temp, say 170F to 180F) will impart much less bitterness and will retain many of the more delicate hop flavors and aromas.

American Wheat is not a style really known to be very hoppy. I suspect most recipes for this style might have a 1 oz addition in the 0-10 minute range (for a 5 gallon batch). If you want more hop character in your version, then a hop stand or dry hop addition will give that boost.

Thanks - sorry, let me know what's confusing & I'll clarify. I think I accidentally made a "semi-ipa" by boiling instead of hop standing, and I'll be remaking it

 

[CascadesBrewer]

Thanks - sorry, let me know what's confusing & I'll clarify. I think I accidentally made a "semi-ipa" by boiling instead of hop standing, and I'll be remaking it

I cannot quite figure out what the recipe called for vs what you did. It sounds like the recipe called for a 60 minute addition plus a 15 minute hop stand, but you did a 60 minute addition and a 15 minute addition, right? Did the recipe call to lower the wort temperature before the hop stand? Or were you to add the hops at flameout and let it sit for 15 minutes at near boiling temps? A hop stand for 15 minutes at near boiling temps is likely not much different than 15 minutes of boiling.

When you say "hoppiness", what do you mean? Hops can add bitterness, hop flavors and aromas. You can get different hop character from 60 min, 10 min, 0 min, whirlpool, and dry hop additions.

You say "increase the fruit". Is this fruity characters from the hops? Cascade hops are know for Citrus/Grapefruit character (with some floral and spice notes). If you want a more fruity character from hops, I might look at a more fruity hop (say Mosaic or Citra). Or maybe look at a German Wheat yeast, which will bring Banana and Clove characters. Serving an American Wheat with a slice of orange is also common.

 

[BongoYodeler]

I came up with an American Wheat recipe that I've added apricot flavoring to as somewhat of a clone of Ithaca Beer Company's Apricot Wheat. I try to brew it every summer. Theirs is a nice, warm summer day beer that I enjoyed drinking when I lived in New York. On a trip back there a few years ago I grabbed some to bring back, and then brewed a batch to compare. Mine is actually pretty close. When I designed the recipe I just used hops that I had on hand, Centennial at 60mins (~25ibu's), and a small Hall-Mitt addition late boil, which honestly can probably be omitted without affecting the recipe too much, if any. I plan to brew this again this summer, but this time add both apricot flavoring and apricot puree.

Here's a pic of mine from a couple years ago....

 

[ncbrewer]

If the instructions were for cooling the wort a little before doing the hop stand, that could result in getting some bitterness and some flavor/aroma from the hop stand, depending on the temperature. This article quantifies the bitterness: https://alchemyoverlord.wordpress.com/2016/03/06/an-analysis-of-sub-boiling-hop-utilization/
I've done hop stands many times, and the formulas in the article seem to match my perception of bitterness.