hops

[jeremyallen]

I have a recipe that calls for 6 AAU's 1st Gold hops. I'm new to homebrewing so how many oz is that? And is that Kent Golding hops?

 

[Rugrad02]

First Gold are a hop variety. They tend to be in the 6.5-8.5%aa as far as bitterness is concerned. In order to calculate AAUs you can use the formula:

AAU= weight (oz) x Alpha Acid of the hops.

So lets say you pick up some First Gold hops and you look on the package and it reads 7%.

Using the formula above, .86 oz. x 7= 6.02 AAU. Close enough!!! So almost an ounce of 7% hops will get you 6AAUs.

If you can't find First Gold, opt for Willamette or any of the other Goldings variety. Keep in mind though that the alpha acids in Kent or Styrian Goldings will be lower, therefore you will need more hops to get up to 6 AAUs.

Hope this helps.

 

[jeremyallen]

Thanks a lot. I ordered 1 oz of the Kent Goldings just on a hunch. I'm gonna brew a Scottish strong ale. I've been brewing Belgian Tripels for the past 3 weeks and those kits all came with the appropriate hops. I'm just now starting to try recipes that I find online.

 

[Rugrad02]

Good call. You may fall shy of your 6AAUs with the Kent Goldings but I doubt it will be noticeable. I find Scottish Ales to be very malt-forward beers. For this reason, I would definitely limit the hop amount.

 

[jeremyallen]

I'm still learning how to decipher some of the recipes I find. I feel like a complete dumb ass sometimes but its cool. Trial and error.

 

[Hang Glider]

ahh - but you found this forum, and we'll answer most all your questions. Of course if you ask whether plastic is better than glass, or aluminum is better than stainless, you'll find plenty of folks on both sides of that debate!!

WELCOME to HBT!