Making my hops pop

[Mcbrewer]

Hi...I have just had my water tested again and the results are basically the same as the water which was tested in dec 2012 except the alkilinity which is now 27 and was 17 before.I have been using the recommended 23g DWB on my ipa brews and while they are very nice I am still not getting that hop sharpness that commercial beers have,the flavours come out a bit fuzzy and the hops a little bit muted.

Is there anything else I can add to make the hops pop.I keep reading about adding some gypsum but I don't know how much to add and when?

I mash at 65c and I use us-05 which gets me down to 1.008-1.009 on my ipa's.

Here is a copy of my water report and any recommendations will be greatly appreciated.

[daf]

Where/how do you get these water tests?

[Mcbrewer]

Hi,go to murphyhomebrew.com and go to laboratory services and select water analysis.You send a small bottle of your tap water to them and they email the results to you about 4 days later.

[GrowlingDogBeer]

Or just email your local water company and ask them for the parameters you need (its free). Get yourself an Alkalinity test kit and you have all you need.

[killer]

Hi Mcbrewer,

It would be useful to know the grain bill and the hop additions too. There are those who like minerally liquor for their beers (traditionally british) and those who like very clean crisp beers (traditionally american). I like both - it depends on the beer you're making.

For hoppy crisp beers I would make a couple of suggestions. Drop your chloride - many people talk about sulfate: chloride ratios to enhance hop flavour or malt flavour (e.g 3:1 sulfate: chloride for hoppy beers and maybe 1:1 for more malty beers) but I find the absolute values can also have an influence. I would suggest about 250 ppm sulfate and maybe 30 - 60 chloride. 180 chloride would be a bit much for me.

How vigorous is your boil ? To get a proper backbone bitterness a good boil is very helpful and for a minimum of 60 min.

You mention adding gypsum but your treated liquor has already quite a lot - as gypsum is Calcium sulfate.

You actually have a pretty blank sheet with your water profile as there is not much in there - so it might be useful to get your hands on some salts to play around with. Calcium chloride and calcium sulfate would be useful for a start.

If this all seems like a pain in the ass you could just add half the suggested salts, boil the beer well and of course make sure your hops are of good quality.

[Matt12398]

The Murphy's recommendations have never struck me as being very reliable. They take no account for the grain bill and they often seem to be a one size fits all for a number of beer styles.

[GrowlingDogBeer]

Agreed, if I want hop forward I think a higher Sulphate to Chloride ratio is better. I never usually push my Chloride over 100 but happily take my Sulphate over 300. What does the DWB do to your water. I've never used it so don't know what's in it.

[AnthonyUK]

I agree with the above comments. I would use the data you have from the analysis and build a water profile using something such as BruNwater. This will enable you to get a higher sulphate to chloride ratio again as already suggested.

[Mcbrewer]

Thanks for the reply's everyone.The grain bill is usually all crisp pale ale with a very small addition of caramalt.The hops vary but it's usually magnum at start of boil and anything from 75-150g of American hops 15 mins to flameout and a dry hop of 50g.

I use a buffalo boiler and i do a 75 min boil,my boil of is 4 litres a hour and it is a good rolling boil.

I think I might go with your suggestion and buy some different salts and have a play about with the water calculator on this site and go from there.

I bought a alkaline test kit and my alkilinity came out at 24 so it's very close to the water report.

Thanks again

Mark

[Mr. Dripping]

DWB is a mixture of gypsum and calcium chloride. The problem as I see it, is that it adds both chloride and sulphate in a fixed ratio....you can't add one without adding the other.
In my opinion you need to get separate salts...you have far better control of your finished liquor that way.

[hophit]

I might be suggesting somthing here that you already know...

...How are you using the hops - i.e. how many and and what times during the process?

I do use gypsum and CRS to get an IPA profile myself, but have found the effect of that was marginal as compared to revising my hop schedule.

You might be able to get more pop simply by using more, as late as possible in the boil/steeping at flame out (+ a good chunk of dry hopping). I'd say that is more important before starting to mess with Chemistry, which will have a more marginal impact.

[Matt12398]

I disagree. Making the hops pop can't be achieved by more hops. Without water treatment the hop zing is not possible unless you already have water that allows for that. My water is very similar to mcbrewer's and with added sulphate I get zingy hops every time. It's like putting salt on your chips.

[Mcbrewer]

I have a had a play around with the water calculator on here and brewersfriend and for the pale,hoppy profile it is telling me to add
9.65 g of gypsum
1.8 g of calcium chloride
1.6 g Epsom salts
.4 g common salt for 41 litres of water.
Does that look about right.
My head is hurting thinking about all of this today

[AnthonyUK]

That looks about right but less than 2g in 41l will not make much difference.
Do you know what the sulphate:chloride ratio is with those additions?
Aim for at least 3:1. Some US brewers go as high as 9:1 with the really hoppy stuff but this would be extreme.

[Mcbrewer]

Hi..It's a 3:1 ratio.Brewersfriend said 2.5g and the calculator on here said 1.8g of calcium chloride.