Does anybody first wort hop (ie add bittering hops to the kettle as sparge runoff is collected). Just wondering if you have to adjust the bittering hop BUs with this technique?
Chris
First wort hopping
Moderator: slothrob
boil times
I always bring the wort to boil before adding the first hop quota, mainly because i boil for 90mins,(it all slots nice and easy in my head that way, 90min mash and 90min boil, my insurance policy i guess you could call it.If you boil bittering hops for over 60mins you start to diminish the ibu rate rather than increase it. i also found that i no longer got a "woody" taste to my beer by not over extracting the hops. If you only boil for 60mins then theoretically you maximise hop extraction and stabilise your beer, anything over and you may need to compensate for loss of ibu level.The Brewsupplies website has a good graph to print off that demonstrates bitterness, flavour and aroma rates vey well. See how you go but as i said i found better results by minimising to 1hr.
fraoch
fraoch
Related to mash hoping
I kinda wanted to continue the mash hopping thread, but this seems related.
I add the hops to the wort before boiling because it helps with boil overs and if I'm using pellets, it gives the hops time to "reconstitute".
I don't think that it adds anything due to the fact that boiling is what isomerizes the hop acids and it would be boiling time you would adjust.
As for hop flavor, I think pellets would be the last choice for mashing due to flavors being compacted in the pellet and therefore hidden from the enzymes.
Thats my thought.
Steve
I add the hops to the wort before boiling because it helps with boil overs and if I'm using pellets, it gives the hops time to "reconstitute".
I don't think that it adds anything due to the fact that boiling is what isomerizes the hop acids and it would be boiling time you would adjust.
As for hop flavor, I think pellets would be the last choice for mashing due to flavors being compacted in the pellet and therefore hidden from the enzymes.
Thats my thought.
Steve
Pellets/mash hopping cont'd
We can't go wrong with more discussion on mash hopping. I do usually use whole hops if availible for my regular, non mash hopping, batches. However, I felt the processing of the pellets, plus the fact they break up and provide greater surface for the enzymes to react with, would be benefitial for mash hopping. I think that the hop lupulin glands (I am going out on a limb here, correct me if I'm wrong about this) have been broken in the pellet forming process, thus making the active compounds easier to extract during all steps of the brewing process, whether it is mash hopping, boiling, dry hopping...etc. The pellets I use break up quite quickly once they hit the strike water. To make sure they were not sitting in the mash as impenetrable little hop nuggets, I stirred the pellets in vigourously when mashing in. I will be bottling my mash hopped PA on Sunday or Monday, so I will let you know how things are going. I am still on the fence as to whether mash hopping is worthwhile. I sure hope it is. The more hop aroma the better I say.
Just a thought...if you are worried about the pellets not breaking up in the mash, perhaps you could break them up in a cup of warm water prior to mash in. That way you could be sure they are mixed thoroughly throughout the entire mash. I think I may try this next time.
Chris
Just a thought...if you are worried about the pellets not breaking up in the mash, perhaps you could break them up in a cup of warm water prior to mash in. That way you could be sure they are mixed thoroughly throughout the entire mash. I think I may try this next time.
Chris