Has anybody generally abandoned this practice altogether? I just don’t seem to enjoy the harsh, bitter flavors that come with a hop boiled that long. Maybe it’s just me… but I feel like I get plenty good enough bittering from 45 minutes and on.
i always do a 60 min addition. although usually with some low cohumulone hops like magnum
And I generally don’t care for beers without it. Whatever you like is what you should do.
I go 45 sometimes, but usually 60. I did quick extract pils recently with 40 minutes (with 10 and 1 minute additions also)
[quote=“Denny”]
And I generally don’t care for beers without it.[/quote]
I’m just fishing around for why I don’t like it. Could be my bittering hops thus far. What about it is so desirable for you? Not trying to judge and I don’t worry about being judged just curious.
[quote=“Hoppenheimer”][quote=“Denny”]
And I generally don’t care for beers without it.[/quote]
I’m just fishing around for why I don’t like it. Could be my bittering hops thus far. What about it is so desirable for you? Not trying to judge and I don’t worry about being judged just curious.[/quote]
could be the variety of hop. what kind of hops have you been using? I’ve never heard of boil length creating a more unpleasant bitterness. It certainly aids in hop utilization though. at the brewery i work for we boil our bittering addition for 90 minutes.
magnum has a smooth bitterness, where as chinook’s bitterness is more harsh
Primarily Columbus, but I’ve used Chinook and Hallertauer and a few others depending on the beer. In the end (especially with IPAs) I’ve found I’m happier getting my bitterness out of using more hops later than just a few earlier.
I know the feeling. While I like a punch of bitter, I think sometimes it comes across as harsh.
While it’s not the norm, the shortest hop addition I’ve done is probably Gary Foster’s Spotted Dog.
10 min. was the earliest hop addition. If I recall it turned out pretty good.
http://www.writerferret.com/brewing/Bue ... pes_3.htmlI’ve become more interested in first wort hopping in place of 60 min addition, particularly with hops with the “rough” character like Chinook. According to For the Love of Hops book, current thinking and research says that the utilization is the same or greater than a 60 minute addition, but generally the perceived bitterness is more like a 20 or 30 min. addition. This jives with my experience with the method so far. Next time I use the Admiral hops I’ve got, they will be added first wort because I think the 60 min. addition was giving me a catty character that I don’t care for.
I’ve got where I always throw my hops in the boil kettle as I’m collecting the wort from mash tun.
I typically use Magnum or Northern Brewer for bittering for anything in the IPA family.
For simple pale ales I use Williamette or Mt Hood.
It all depends what hop it is.
I now have another issue to add to this…if you are not adding 60 minute hops, then why boil for 60 minutes? You might as well only do a 45 minute boil too. I know the deal with using pilsner, but if you are not using any pils, then why bother?
boiling longer caramelizes which imparts its own flavor.
boiling longer caramelizes which imparts its own flavor.[/quote]
Actually, temps don’t get high enough in the kettle for true caramelization.
And I always use a 60 min. addition along with FWH to give me the character of bitterness I like. I submitted some FWH beers for analysis and found they measured about 10% more IBU than a beer with only a 60 min. addition. But in a blind triangle tasting, most tasters perceived the FWH beer as less bitter. The results are here, starting on pg. 29
http://www.ahaconference.org/wp-content ... nyConn.pdf[quote=“Hoppenheimer”][quote=“Denny”]
And I generally don’t care for beers without it.[/quote]
I’m just fishing around for why I don’t like it. Could be my bittering hops thus far. What about it is so desirable for you? Not trying to judge and I don’t worry about being judged just curious.[/quote]
A lot depends on the style of beer and type of hop. I generally like firmly hopped beers, whether it’s a smooth hop character like in a dunkel, or a more assertive hop slap, like an AIPA or German pils.
I’ve never had any complaints with my bitterness. For just about everything I’ve bewed, I’ve used a 60min hop addition.
While I’m not married to always using a 60-minute addition, I have places where I like to use it, and others where I tend to skip it. I use a sole 60-minute addition for things like stouts or hefe’s where I’m not looking for much hop character, just some bitterness for balance. In those cases I generally stick to something clean like Magnum or a noble-type hop like Ultra.
For beers where I do want some hop character, I’ll use a 60-minute addition of Nugget, Columbus or Chinook when I want a bit more bite to the bitterness (IPA’s and IIPA’s generally). For other beers where I’m looking for a lot of hop aroma and flavor, but I don’t want the bitterness to be as sharp, then I skip the 60-minute addition and stick to FWH and late hopping. I’ve been brewing some hoppy lagers lately and I really like how this hopping regimen is working out.
