how much and when

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tickle

how much and when

Post by tickle » Wed Apr 12, 2017 1:37 pm

right guys
I am thinking of making a English strong ale
so how do you workout the hops
the amount and when to add them to the boil

gaunt_paul
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Re: how much and when

Post by gaunt_paul » Wed Apr 12, 2017 7:39 pm

Using software to calculate bitterness makes this quite simple. All you have to decide is how bitter you think it should be and it will do the maths. Check out beersmith for example. Alternatively there are recipes all over this forum

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tickle

Re: how much and when

Post by tickle » Wed Apr 12, 2017 7:46 pm

gaunt_paul wrote:Using software to calculate bitterness makes this quite simple. All you have to decide is how bitter you think it should be and it will do the maths. Check out beersmith for example. Alternatively there are recipes all over this forum

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thanks for that but I think after 26 members looked at my topic some other member would
had said the same or something to help out

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Re: how much and when

Post by gaunt_paul » Wed Apr 12, 2017 7:57 pm

I think that may be because your question COULD warrant an extremely long answer, which there is no right or wrong solution too. Adding hops is a much bigger area of knowledge than it might seem if you're as obsessive as a lot of us are.

If you're getting into making recipes, there are loads of great books that will be right up your street. I strongly recommend "brew your own British real ale" by graham wheeler. It covers the basic techniques and theory and has a load of good recipes too. I got my copy in a waterstones, so it's quite an easy one to find.

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Re: how much and when

Post by joe1002 » Wed Apr 12, 2017 8:11 pm

tickle wrote:thanks for that but I think after 26 members looked at my topic some other member would
had said the same or something to help out
Ever thought it might be because you keep writing things like this?

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Re: how much and when

Post by jaroporter » Wed Apr 12, 2017 9:05 pm

what if those 26 people were inexperienced brewers and just looking for advice and information themselves, just with the initiative to research the HUGE amount of information already out there themselves and not demand it spoonfed from others.. ?
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Re: how much and when

Post by DaveyT » Wed Apr 12, 2017 10:56 pm

I don't tend to add bittering hops. I like buying hops more frequently than I can brew, plus I love the taste of them. So I've got loads of hops tht need sticking into my beers and I like beers with loads stuck of hops in them.

I tend to add them 15, 10 and 5 min before the end of the boil and I always dry hop. No matter what style. If i think it's unnecessary, I use noble hops. I also find hops come in threes so I'll think of three that will sit well together and blend them.

Hope that helps.
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Re: how much and when

Post by keith1664 » Wed Apr 12, 2017 11:43 pm

DaveyT wrote:I don't tend to add bittering hops. I like buying hops more frequently than I can brew, plus I love the taste of them. So I've got loads of hops tht need sticking into my beers and I like beers with loads stuck of hops in them.

I tend to add them 15, 10 and 5 min before the end of the boil and I always dry hop. No matter what style. If i think it's unnecessary, I use noble hops. I also find hops come in threes so I'll think of three that will sit well together and blend them.

Hope that helps.
I think you're limiting yourself with the hops there, a first wort hop will lend a smooth bitterness to the beer and help prevent boil over in the copper. You could also split the dry hop and add a load early in the ferment so you'll get the biotransformation of the hop oils for that juicy hop flavour, then a second dry hop for aroma.

So first wort, hop blasting at 15,10 and 5 minutes and then 2 loads of dry hops.
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Re: how much and when

Post by DaveyT » Fri Apr 14, 2017 4:08 pm

FWH? I'll give it a go. Good suggestion.

I tend to split my dry hop but only to ensure the all get a good soak after finding loads of untouched, dry hops when I bottled my first attempt. When would you suggest? I think the earliest for me was five days into fermentation.
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Re: how much and when

Post by orlando » Fri Apr 14, 2017 5:51 pm

DaveyT wrote:FWH? I'll give it a go. Good suggestion.

I tend to split my dry hop but only to ensure the all get a good soak after finding loads of untouched, dry hops when I bottled my first attempt. When would you suggest? I think the earliest for me was five days into fermentation.
Is that because you used "leaf" hops? I'm coming to the conclusion that dry hopping with pellets is the best solution, until Lupulin powder becomes available, might just be a game changer.
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Re: how much and when

Post by keith1664 » Fri Apr 14, 2017 10:25 pm

DaveyT wrote:FWH? I'll give it a go. Good suggestion.

I tend to split my dry hop but only to ensure the all get a good soak after finding loads of untouched, dry hops when I bottled my first attempt. When would you suggest? I think the earliest for me was five days into fermentation.
First lot while fermentation is active so around 2 days, second when it's died down.
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Re: how much and when

Post by keith1664 » Fri Apr 14, 2017 10:27 pm

orlando wrote:
DaveyT wrote:FWH? I'll give it a go. Good suggestion.

I tend to split my dry hop but only to ensure the all get a good soak after finding loads of untouched, dry hops when I bottled my first attempt. When would you suggest? I think the earliest for me was five days into fermentation.
Is that because you used "leaf" hops? I'm coming to the conclusion that dry hopping with pellets is the best solution, until Lupulin powder becomes available, might just be a game changer.
The problem I have with pellets is not transferring them into the glass, even with a mesh over the syphon.
And they also seem to prefer to float on the top, even with crash cooling.
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orlando
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Re: how much and when

Post by orlando » Sat Apr 15, 2017 6:56 am

keith1664 wrote:
orlando wrote:
DaveyT wrote:FWH? I'll give it a go. Good suggestion.

I tend to split my dry hop but only to ensure the all get a good soak after finding loads of untouched, dry hops when I bottled my first attempt. When would you suggest? I think the earliest for me was five days into fermentation.
Is that because you used "leaf" hops? I'm coming to the conclusion that dry hopping with pellets is the best solution, until Lupulin powder becomes available, might just be a game changer.
The problem I have with pellets is not transferring them into the glass, even with a mesh over the syphon.
And they also seem to prefer to float on the top, even with crash cooling.
Finings will deal with that.
I am "The Little Red Brooster"

Fermenting:
Conditioning:
Drinking: Southwold Again,

Up Next: John Barleycorn (Barley Wine)
Planning: Winter drinking Beer

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Re: how much and when

Post by Kev888 » Sat Apr 15, 2017 8:36 am

For me, Pellet dry hops (like whole hops) will usually decide to sink and/or remain properly floating, leaving the majority of beer in between top and bottom largely free of them without any special measures. Though I do stir the dry hops occasionally to help them infuse, and wonder if this may also encourage them to sink if they're going to.

That said, I generally keg (even if bottling, the beer gets matured and cleared in a keg for a bit first). So perhaps I'm just not being as fastidious as would be necessary if bottling direct from the fermenter.
Kev

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Re: how much and when

Post by DaveyT » Sun Apr 16, 2017 10:09 pm

Leaf hops were the ones that didn't even get wet. I made a number of errors there, though, not least in deciding to use a hop bag. Now I've worked out how I can swill the FV to get them mixed up nicely.

I love using pellets. The middle ground between floaters and fallers is great. I bought a really nice mesh from Brew UK that fits over my syphon tube a treat, too. Used it last night and didn't have a 'stuck' syphin at all. Saved me a good half an hour as that always happened.

In Hops by Hieronymous, he talks about the problems breweries have in administering hops and says many create a slurry or sludge. That powder could be the way forward. Like green tea powder. Maybe the way that's made might be the key!

David
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