Getting the most out of your hops: vodka hop extract?

[invivoSaccharomyces]

I was thinking about hops the other day, and I was curious what compounds impart the many flavors we can get from our hops. I came across this nice convenient list:

http://realbeer.com/hops/FAQ.html#aroma

I looked up the structures to all of these compounds, using my (limited) understanding of organic chemistry, and I noticed something striking. An organic chemist would say that these compounds are hydrophobic - they don't like being dissolved in water.

And as brewers, we know this: it takes up to a week or longer to get decent flavor from dry-hopping, and once the flavor and aroma is added, it can escape from the beer or the wort very easily. That's why bittering hops don't add aroma.

But an organic chemist would also notice that these flavor and aroma compounds would be highly soluble in ethanol. And that got me thinking. Has anyone tried making a "homebrewed" hops extract, either using a liquor or some other solvent? I suspect you could get more flavor using less hops by doing so.

I could only find one reference online to someone doing a hops-and-vodka mix, and they didn't report their results. I don't have the equipment or space to do a properly controlled experiment myself, but I think it would be so cool to see someone else here give it a go! So if you're curious and up to the challenge, here's what I'd do:

Experimental protocol
1. Brew a beer that you intend to dry hop.
2. When it comes time to rack, split it into two separate carboys.
3. Split your dry hopping hops in half. Place one half in a jar or small bowl, and cover with vodka (or everclear, or whatever you have that won't impart much flavor on its own). Seal and store overnight at room temperature, swirling it on occasion to maximize extraction.
4. Dry hop as normal. For the vodka extraction method, dump the vodka into the carboy and dry hop with the (now wet with alcohol) hops.
5. Enjoy a nice homebrew with tasty hops aroma!

I hope someone with a little curiosity tries this! I'd love to hear about the results!

 

[Wynne-R]

I use a combination of beer and hot water in a French Press with leaf hops. It seems to work better than vodka and hot water. Maybe it’s the pH.

The utilization is way better than dry hop and the flavor is similar.

 

[Hobanon]

I've never tried any sort of hop extract but everything I've read in these forums seems to advocate dry hopping over hop teas. Something about grassy flavors. I'm probably going to try this vodka method on my next IPA though

 

[daksin]

"And as brewers, we know this: it takes up to a week or longer to get decent flavor from dry-hopping."

Actually, we don't know that. Recent research has shown that short dry hops are actually better for aroma, and that max aroma drops off rapidly after the first day or two. My own experiences back this up and I don't dry hop much more than 3 days anymore. Hop oil is fairly soluble in water/alcohol mixtures and most beers we dry-hop are higher in alcohol (more solubility of oil).

The problem with making alcohol extracts before adding to your beer is that you're way upping the amount of alcohol the hops get exposed to (by percentage) and that helps to solublize all sorts of other compounds in the hop plant material we don't want- you're not just getting oil. Supercritical CO2 extraction (like the pros use) avoids that problem. I'm a dry hop guy, myself.

As an aside, research has also found diminishing returns (in aroma, measured by sensory panel) of dry hop once you get above 0.5lb/bbl, or about 1.25oz per 5 gallon batch. That may explain why crazy hoppy beers like Pliny, Heady Topper, and Kern Citra IPA use multi-stage dry hops, although they do tend to go over 0.5lb/bbl in their additions.

 

[IslandLizard]

Here's a recent study on a (continuous) recirculating dry hopping method:
Recirculating dry hops

And the thesis:
Wolfe's thesis.pdf

 

[ArcLight]

In terms of stirring, I wonder how effective it would be to dump a packet of pellet hops (loose, not in a bag) in a better bottle (the secondary) and every few hours spin it and rock it?

Would that be good enough?

Would the pellet hops sink to the bottom within 24 hours, so I could rack off them into the bottling bucket?

 

[Hobanon]

In terms of stirring, I wonder how effective it would be to dump a packet of pellet hops (loose, not in a bag) in a better bottle (the secondary) and every few hours spin it and rock it?

Would that be good enough?

Would the pellet hops sink to the bottom within 24 hours, so I could rack off them into the bottling bucket?

That was how I dry hopped my first IPA attempt and let me tell you racking was a challenge to say te least. The pellets didnt drop even after a week and the hop particles kept clogging up my auto siphon and several bottles ended up pouring with the remaining "greenery." Definitely not the best way. Maybe if you cool crashed and used some gelatin to knock them down...?

 

[JoeyChopps]

I tried the loose pellets also in a black ipa and I tried cold crashing it. It was still a nightmare for me to rack it. I've heard people say they've had good luck with that method. Now I put my hops in a muslin bag and put about 20 sanitized marbles in the bag to weight it down.

 

[AnthonyCB]

I dry hop with loose pellet hops in fermentation buckets and use a repurposed BIAB bag in the fermenter at racking time. It works very well.

 

[njale]

what if after a few days of soaking in vodka, you heat the mixture up in the microwave to help with heat extraction also