steep hops after flameout

[psymonkey]

I'm brewing a recipe today that calls for steeping a couple of oz for 30 to 45 minutes after flameout. Ive always rushed to cool the wort as quickly as possible on flameout as it's been driven home in every book or article I've ever read as imperative.

Should i throw the hops in and start to chill with them in the kettle, or start chilling after 30 minutes? This technique seems to contradict conventional wisdom.

 

[Yooper]

I like to do my hopstands at about 175 degrees, so I'll chill a bit and then add the hops and recirculate. It depends on how you're chilling and your equipment.

 

[Heineken]

I came online for almost the exact question. here is what i found by John Palmer:

"Finishing
When hops are added during the final minutes of the boil, less of the aromatic oils are lost to evaporation and more hop aroma is retained. One or more varieties of hop may be used, in amounts varying from 1/4 - 4 oz, depending on the character desired. A total of 1-2 oz. is typical. Finishing hop additions are typically 15 minutes or less before the end of the boil, or are added "at knockout" (when the heat is turned off) and allowed to steep ten minutes before the wort is cooled. In some setups, a "hopback" is used - the hot wort is run through a small chamber full of fresh hops before the wort enters a heat exchanger or chiller.

A word of caution when adding hops at knockout or using a hopback - depending on several factors, e.g. amount, variety, freshness, etc., the beer may take on a grassy taste due to tannins and other compounds which are usually neutralized by the boil. If short boil times are not yielding the desired hop aroma or a grassy flavor is evident, then I would suggest using FWH or Dry Hopping."

 

[stpug]

I've done several hop stands between 145F and 185F, and have found my preference to be around 165-175F for 20-30 minutes. Generally speaking, the lower the temp the longer the steep but there's no hardset rule about this. My feeling was that the 145F steeps did not "activate" some fragrant oils, while the 185F steeps volatilized them too quickly. For me, for most purposes, the 165-175F range is the sweet spot. There are definitely reasons for using a lower temp steep (e.g. not volatilizing myrcene oils) but so far I have not found those alone to be satisfactory for what I hope to achieve with a hop stand. By the way, I use an immersion chiller and it only takes about 1-2 minutes to reach my hop stand temp at which point I stop chilling for half an hour before finally finishing the chill to pitching temps.

 

[psymonkey]

Thanks! The recirculationmethod sounds cool, though I'm not sure I'm setup for that in a way that wouldn't greatly increase the possibility of infection. I'll go the Palmer route, slightly increased. im also to dry hop a whopping three oz for 10 days.. ill make a hophead out of me yet...

 

[psymonkey]

i think ill try your method stpug, thanks!