I find that if I rely too heavily on late hop additions & forgo the 60-90 min bittering charge, the hop character fades much quicker.
Can you expound? Fades faster as in aging or on the palate?
I find that if I rely too heavily on late hop additions & forgo the 60-90 min bittering charge, the hop character fades much quicker.
As in aging. I know IPAs are meant to be consumed young, and I do my darndest to comply, but the 2 or 3 that I've FWH & 5 min countdown/whirlpool'd have seemed to only hold up weeks, while those that get a 30-50IBU (or more) @ 60 min last longer. I just finished a IIPA from late Jan that had 4 oz @ 60 (with a pound total) that was still everything it started out as.
[B said:Tip #5:[/B] Science! Yes, we are talking about mash pH and water profiles specifically. I think there really is a sweet spot for hoppy beers in terms of both of these subjects. For mash pH, I'd say its 5.4 to 5.6. For me personally, its 5.45. I watched the Brew & Chop episode on heady topper and a mash pH range of 5.1 - 5.3 was mentioned for the best environment for hoppy beers. I immediately brewed two beers under 5.2, a couple in the 5.2 range and one 5.35. They were a mess...muted, yeast forward. Someone later email and learned that this was not the correct temp for a pH reading and it translated to basically the standard range. Lesson learned.
Great article! Thanks for posting.
I'm confused here are you saying here about the pH. Were you using the incorrect temp range to check your pH? What are you really saying is the best pH in your experience?
#6 mentions mash temp, but I think you mean fermentation temp.
I like Pacman yeast for dry hoppy beers, it attenuates a little more and doesn't suffer from those peachy esters you can get under certain conditions with Chico.
Brett Trois or Conan are good choices if you do want some fruity esters that complement the hops.
My experiments have shown that dry hopping works much better at around 70F. I was previously hopping in the low 60s and wasn't happy with the aroma, now I can get awesome aroma from less hops.
Good write up, thanks.
As in aging. I know IPAs are meant to be consumed young, and I do my darndest to comply, but the 2 or 3 that I've FWH & 5 min countdown/whirlpool'd have seemed to only hold up weeks, while those that get a 30-50IBU (or more) @ 60 min last longer. I just finished a IIPA from late Jan that had 4 oz @ 60 (with a pound total) that was still everything it started out as.
My experiments have shown that dry hopping works much better at around 70F. I was previously hopping in the low 60s and wasn't happy with the aroma, now I can get awesome aroma from less hops.
Interesting. I bet there is something else going on there as well. I did a hoppy barleywine with my stated hop schedule (FWH, 20, 15, 10, 5, FO, DH) and it was...dare I say it...too hoppy for too long. I was closing in on three months before I could even get a sense of the malt profile.
I did the same thing with a hoppy saison. Granted, I used citra so I knew it would be potent. But I actually thought I didn't control the fermentation temps enough as their was almost no saison characteristics to it. Months later, the hops faded and its was decent, not strong, but decent. The final bottle tasted like a subtle-hopped saison. Lesson learned.
I did a series of batches where I deliberately took the mash pH higher 5.5-5.6 and out of the typical range (and KO was higher) I found that the hops faded FAST. But mash pH is only part of the equation. If you are not acidifying sparge you might want to try that. I acidify sparge to mash pH (5.4 for IPA) KO wort is 5.2ish. Not saying it's a cure, but it is well known if final beer pH is higher than 4.5 then shelf life (mostly hop character) is affected.
Let me know if you need some help with keeping the taps fresh...
You should buy from LabelPeelers.com. They sell all their hops in original packages from Hop Union, always under vacuum. I understand they make shipping overseas a breeze. I bought from them tons of times and almost always they've thrown in extra hops, sometimes a few ounces, but once or twice I got a random pound of last seasons hops for free! Sign up for their newsletter and it'll alert you of deals they have all the time. The last sale, ended last night unfortunately, was 20% off everything in the store and buy one get one free on pounds of Amarillo pellets! Needless to say they got $125 from me.
Here is the info on usage level.
I think they work great. I buy them in bulk, dose them into syringes and then use the amount I need. I used them in my Pliny clone and the bitterness level was awesome.
What about hop additions at the 20,15,10,5 min? Are they worth doing or would taking those hops and splitting them between a flame out and then a whirlpool addition be better for getting the most flavor? I also am struggling with getting that super hoppy beer and thus far all my batches have been the standard timing additions.
I think you need either a FWH or 60 minute addition & then a relatively large flame out & whirlpool addition of anywhere from 4-6 oz each per 5-6 gallon batch.
30 min hop stand @ flame out. Reheat to 180 & then add the whirlpool hops for an additional 30 minutes. All while continuously recirculating..
2-4 oz dry hop for 7-10 days @ ale pitching temps. I prefer a contrasting hop or hops in the dry hop. Cascade/Centennial types late followed by dry hops of Simcoe/Amarillo/Columbus, or vice versa.
And its not a hopstand if its got less than half a pound
theres someone here (aprichman?) that is planning something like 3lbs of more in a hopstand. Hes gonna need some serious straining method to squeeze out the wort
but yeah I typically do between 8 and 12 oz divided into 2 additions. One at flameout the other at ~180F. I figure the 180F addition gets more aroma, less taste so i place my hops accordingly
I apologize if I missed it in this thread, but what hoppy ipa or double ipa commercial brews would you rate the highest?
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