Measuring AA% for home grown hops

[Meatymc]

So last years Northdown and Prima Donna (recommended cos I'm up North) are sprouting well and the UK Cascade and Fuggles bought for me by the wife last October are coming through nicely as well. I've already split the Northdown and PD as there were side shoots all over the place so I should at least get some sort of reasonable harvest this year - got just short of 1lb from the 1st two in their 1st year last Autumn.

So my question is how do I determine the AA content when harvested without busting the Bank and sending off to the lab? I know each variety should fall within 'a range' but believe that can vary quite dramatically in terms of the upper and lower range - 4% instead of 6% should make a big difference as I now heavily hop.

I've come across a method involving boiling up a known weight of hops in a known quantity of water and then diluting it in stages until you can't determine any bitterness. It doesn't pretend to be an accurate method but has the 1 advantage I can see of working with my perception of what is and what isn't 'bitter'.

I know I could simply take a guess based on type and then adjust in subsequent brews depending on the result but as I'm only set-up to do 1 brew at a time and I'm noticing quite a difference depending how long it's left to 'mature' the lead time between comparing one to another is just too long.

Has anyone tried this or any other method.

[rpt]

I'd say don't bother. Use a purchased hop with known AA% for bittering and use your hops for flavour and aroma.

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[Meatymc]

Fair comment RPT but the idea is to get to the point where I don't have to pay for my session beer hops - hence persuading the wife she's going to enjoy seeing the new extension, garage and the 30 new abnormally tall fence panel posts festooned with lovely green hops - sorry, flowers!

[scuppeteer]

Answered your own question really.

As you know AA% vary year to year. It seems that hot sunny weather late into the season before picking increases the AA content, so if this is the case base your figures at the higher end of the range and vice versa. It also depends on the ripeness of the hop, as it also increases if they are nearly over ripe, whereas one that is picked too early will obviously have a lower content of AA. Very much a balancing game.
The methods you describe are very hit and miss and very much rely on your taste buds at the time as well. So not really worth wasting your precious harvest on.

[keith1664]

Without paying a lot of cash to have them analysed it's all guesswork.
As rpt says I use a bittering hop of known AA early in the boil and use my home grown cascade late. I use the mid point of the AA range for the variety for the calculation.
I've yet to brew anything with them that's too sweet or overly bitter, so it seems to work. If you use something like Magnum as the bittering hop then a 100g pack isn't expensive and will last a few batches.

[simon12]

If you don't buy any hops I would make a pale ale with a guesstimate IBU around 45 if it comes in very bitter call it a session IPA if it is lacking bitterness call it a spring golden ale as base future recipes on what its like. As far as i'm aware there no cheap way to measure AA accurately.

[simon12]

Contary to my previous post I just found this http://aussiehomebrewer.com/topic/44429 ... id-levels/ not exactly scientific but you could try it on known hops first and see if it works

[Meatymc]

Thanks for the link. Different site but exactly the method I came across before. I don't think there is a solution to this other than trial and error.

[Kev888]

Unless you are growing huge amounts, using your lovely home-grown green cones for bittering seems a bit wasteful to my mind, as well as hard to judge. I'd personally reserve them for flavour and aroma purposes, for both these reasons. If you are new to this, it may surprise you at how light the dry green cones are, and so how many are needed to get the weights you would typically use.

[Bad 'Ed]

That's also an important point. The amount of moisture you remove from your hops will also change the bittering rate per gram. Two variables to work with, although at least weight change is easy to calculate.

[SMASH3R]

Last year I had a box of dried fuggles from the vine. About 15 x 15 x 30 inch box size. This only went into three brews with a bit extra from known purchased varieties for bittering. I doubt you will overdo the bittering addition using home grown.

[Wonkydonkey]

If you don't buy any hops I would make a pale ale with a guesstimate IBU around 45 if it comes in very bitter call it a session IPA if it is lacking bitterness call it a spring golden ale as base future recipes on what its like. As far as i'm aware there no cheap way to measure AA accurately.

Yep that what I do, as well as what Keith1664 does. After all that's what must have been done before they understood AA and testing of the hops.
I guess I X hop flavour, from this years hops, if I chuck in to much. Then I guess it needs more time to mellow,