Hops - when???

[Meatymc]

I really like that hop aroma. Best i've ever had was a pint they called Citrus in Tapped - a bar in Leeds just before Xmas. And Citrus was literally leaking out of the god damned glass - awesome.

But I'm still confused about additions to get that late hop taste/aroma and there seems to be a multitude of opinions on how to achieve that heavy hop effect.

Take the BIAB process I'm now getting used to - chucking in a set weight of hops at varying stages of the boil. But then you come to the end of boil and your final hop addition - which I assume is for that hop taste/aroma rather than bitterness. I can't get a clear answer on how long that last set of hops should stay in there. Seen everything from 10 minutes to bottling.

Can someone please clarify this for me

[rpt]

That big hop aroma might have been from dry hopping where you add the hops to the fermenter.

[Fil]

Aroma hops can be added anytime you like from the last 15 mins of the boil onward,
more can be added at flame out for a steep prior to chilling, in the FV as rpt says or even applied on draught from the keg if a hop rocket or randel is employed

check out APA American Pale Ale recipes and google hop rockets and randells?randalls? (the aussie version based on 10" filter housings ..)

Apa's tend to be drunk earlier than other ales as the vital hop aroma is quite volatile and wont persist through a longer maturation period.

Perhaps find a recipe for a citra smash to start with and follow the hopping schedule suggested, i suspect different hops yield better results when added at different stages, some hops may be more prone to grassy notes if added dry in the fv than others perhaps??

[alexlark]

Take a look at the hopping times for 'Son of a Punkie' on Malt Millers site:

http://www.themaltmiller.co.uk/index.ph ... ductId=611

When I've done my own hoppy APA beers I've stuck to those times. 0 Min being a 30min steep @ 80c.

I can highly recommend Amarillo and Vic Secret for late hops.

[Jocky]

It's definitely the thing being done by brewers of hoppy beers hop after flameout, and then to follow up later with a dry hop. Some people use a 'whirlpool', some people use a hopback/rocket.

There's some discussion as to whether to steep the hops at 100C or 80C. I've had good results with both... I think I'm leaning towards 100C personally, but I've not done a side by side comparison, and I think the difference is minimal from talking with those that have done a comparison.

[alix101]

The last 5 and flame out for me but the really punchy beers are generally put through a hop back or a randall as already stated,you can make one with a filter housing. ..or buy one like the hop rocket.
But don't discount a good dry hopping schedule refreshing your dry hops every couple of days it's expensive/risky but effective and rewarding when done well.

[Mr. Dripping]

I would also experiment with different temperatures for the dry hopping.
I've done a few beers recently where I've added half the dry hops in the primary at the end of fermentation and kept the beer at the fermentation temperature for 3 days. I've then dropped the temperature to 4 deg C or lower and added the second lot of dry hops.
You seem to get a bit more layering of flavour and complexity this way.

[Meatymc]

Thanks for the input guys.

So just to be simplistic, to get that 'heavy' hop aroma/flavour it's really just a question of working with the wort at flame out and/or at any point thereafter.

Becoming clearer to me that I first need to get a base brew to work from. I'm only on my 3rd BIAB - the last being a Pilsner (or maybe not ) but the 1st two being APA's. Problem is even on the 2nd APA I couldn't resist messing with the recipe so they may well be similar but certainly not the same.

One further point. As you may have seen on my other posts, because of my current situation I'm struggling getting the wort temp down so am going to try the no chill method. I presume that takes the timed steeping options out of the equation given the wort could be sat overnight at least and then brought back up to pitching temperature using the brew fridge. Is this a major loss on options?

[PhilB]

Hi Meaty

I'd suggest that, when no-chilling, do your post boil steep steps AFTER you've got your wort out of your cube ... put a few litres of your wort into a pan and bring it back to the boil ... meanwhile, put the rest of the wort from your cube into your sterilised FV ... make a hop-tea with the boiled wort, adding (All) your steep hops for the times and at the temps in your recipe ... either, chill the wort (or otherwise let it cool) in your cube to 5-10C below pitching temp before transferring, then the hot, hop-tea wort will bring it back up to around pitching temp when you add it ... or, chill the hop-tea wort by sticking the pan it's in into a sink full of cool water before you add it to the FV ... remember to sieve the hops out of it when transferring the hop-tea wort into the FV, won't you

Cheers, PhilB

[alix101]

Slightly away from the original post but how do you currently chill?

[Meatymc]

Cheers PhilB - got that (I think )

Alix - 1st time in a cold bath - took bloody ages even though only a 2 gallon batch, 2nd time by going to the pub for a couple of hours first and then a quick finish off in the bath (3 gallon batch), 3rd time - running late, too for the pub and knackered so covered and left over night. Last one was a Pilsner so near perfect temp in the morning.

All very amateurish I know but been OK so far.

Thanks again