Hop additions in a starter?

[skeaterbait]

Probably an odd question since I couldn't really find any threads on it (granted, my search skills are lacking).

When making a starter, can hops be added to that for flavor and aroma in the beer?

I will be entering a contest where the wort will be supplied, boiled and hopped. As near as I can tell it will be pretty simple beer and we are to add our flair to it and the return a few bottles for judging, I would like to get a bit more bitterness and more hop flavor than what the profile states it will be and other than dry hopping, I was wondering if adding hops to the starter would be an option.

 

[libeerty]

Nah, you will want to decant the starter. The beer in a starter should be oxidized and not great, you don't want it in your batch. Not worth any hops.

 

[duboman]

Nah, you will want to decant the starter. The beer in a starter should be oxidized and not great, you don't want it in your batch. Not worth any hops.

Agreed! There would really be no benefit at all by doing this. The hop utilization you are looking for will come from your first boil addition so if you need a more bitter beer up your IBu contribution with your 60 minute addition.

 

[peterj]

It's not ideal to hop starters because hop molecules adhere to the cell walls of yeast and make them less healthy and with a starter you're trying to get the healthiest yeast possible. But I think you could do it for this competion if you approached it more as brewing a very small batch of beer and blending it with the supplied wort. Just don't use a stir plate or expose the starter to too much oxygen and you should be fine. Also make a little bigger starter than you would normally to account for the loss in viability from the hops.

 

[bleme]

I think a better way to get what you want is to make a hop tea.

 

[peterj]

I think a better way to get what you want is to make a hop tea.

+1, great idea.

 

[skeaterbait]

All great ideas but I like the hop tea, sounds the simplest and quickest.

Thanks all for the info and education. I didn't think about the starter being oxidized.