IPA Hop Timing Methods

[bobbrews]

Since my first day of homebrewing, I have been experimenting with achieving maximum hop flavor and aroma in IPAs. Over time, I noticed that some of the delicate, aromatic hop oils might be boiling off if the hops were added to the boil, or even if added to very hot, non-boiling wort. I also noticed that when using boil hops, I was left with more of a harsh, acrid bitterness on the tongue. I came to the conclusion that my entire approach to hop timing had to change.

Earlier on, my pellet hop timing was all over the place in the boil. Lately, liquid hop extract is the only form of hop I use in the boil; it is simply for bittering. For flavor and aroma, I have been adding pellet hops to colder and colder post-boil temps (presently, 140F for the first addition and I'm thinking of going even cooler), plus another addition nearing the end of fermentation, and finally two or three multi-stage dryhop additions.

The goal is to completely infuse the beer with as much fragrant hop oils and aromas as possible. This will increase perceived flavor and you will also have a much smoother IPA without any sharp bitter edge. This method seems to produce the most potent hop flavor and aroma for me. The reasoning is that heat + time held at hot temps will slowly destroy hop flavor & aroma in IPAs. Much of what you're getting when you add hops (plant material) to boiling or >180F wort is harsh bitterness.

I know the basic idea of timing hops post-boil and dryhop is not that new, but I've changed it up a bit and combined multiple techniques to form a single, complex method, which reduces heat exposure to the hops while maximizing flavor/aroma. Has anyone tried a similar approach before, and if so, what were your results?

 

[Mikejp1987]

I am a relatively new brewer and I started wondering about this also. I guess a lot of people whirlpool for this? Yesterday I waited a few minutes to add my aroma hops in after the boil.

 

[day_trippr]

if you want to maximize the more delicate hop characters and avoid adding much bittering you do indeed want to pitch them well below 180°F. For boosting "flavor" notes I do my whirlpool additions (as opposed to flame-out additions) after cooling to 170°F and hold that temperature for 20 minutes. For "aroma" notes I rely on dry hopping at room temperature.

On that last part, for the really hop-forward recipes (eg: Heady Topper and Focal Banger clones) there are dry hop additions after 4-5 days of primary fermentation and then another addition a few days later, all to build up the aroma notes.

All that offered, if you're not basically OC about oxygen take-up through the entire brewing process, hop aroma will be in jeopardy from the jump, followed by attenuation of "flavor" characters. You can use a lot of hops and still lose a metric crap ton of payoff if there's O2 in the mix...

Cheers!

 

[Morrey]

I am kegging/carbing a NE IPA that is outstanding! A couple of changes in my brewing techniques have gotten me to a new level:

I am using Yakima Valley Hop extracts for bittering. The can I bought to make hop shots was at 61.1 AA %. CTZ

I added a whirlpool arm in my kettle with a new Chugger pump.

My first late hop addition was a whirlpool at flameout, followed by a second whirlpool at 160. I think I may try my first WP at 170F next brew day, followed by the second WP addition at 150F. Don't know if this will impact the bitterness (or lack of it) but worth a try.