Austin Homebrew: Hop Dust

So, as of late I have been trying to budget my financials better and realized that I had been spending quite a bit of money in brewing. Now I am trying to find a simple brew that is inexpensive. I prefer higher IBU beers (IIPA, ESB, etc... Although I know that explain action is unneeded). I seen this "hop dust" at Austin brew house and though now there is a way to vary my beer as well as cut cost, and also add an element of surprise; but would I need more, ounce wise, then doing simple pellet hops?

Has anyone used this yet? If so how'd it come out?

I'm not sure but hop dust seems like a long shot to get consistent results. Have you checked farmhousebrewing for some cheap hops? I don't see why you would need more ounces of hop dust vs. pellet hops, because pellets basically dissolve into particles in the boil anyways.

I wouldn't use hop dust for brewing. maybe some other creative use for hops like food or something... but definitely not brewing. at the very minimum you'd want to know the AA%. Nevermind the random mess you'd get in flavor and aroma.

if you're a hophead and want to save money, buy by the pound, like bradleybrew suggested.

I like the idea of having a random hop mess with every batch. I thought about purchasing in bulk, but finding a place to store everything before it goes bad is my concern there

If you wanna use it in a really hoppy beer, I'd use it for additions less than 10min. That way the IBUs contributed won't be so high and you can use a known AA hop for bittering.

Troxs said:

I like the idea of having a random hop mess with every batch. I thought about purchasing in bulk, but finding a place to store everything before it goes bad is my concern there

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You can't find space in your freezer for a pound or two of hops? Buy a clean bittering hop in bulk to supplement your flavor and aroma hops.

Yeah, just buy a pound or two of hops in bulk and stick them in the freezer. I'm sure you have some random crap in your freezer that's been there for a couple of years that you're not even sure what it is taking up the same amount of space.

The Hop Dust is ideally used to bump up the bittering addition.

Forrest

Austinhomebrew said:

The Hop Dust is ideally used to bump up the bittering addition.

Forrest

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How so Forrest? Do you just average all the hops and assume it's around 8-9%?

Funny this thread should pop up about AHS hop dust, I was just talking about it last club meeting... I actually want to do a complete chaos brew. My plan is to get the home brew club involved and have 8-10 members show up with 1.5-2# of base malt (what ever they want to use) and between 1/4 - 1/2 oz of pelleted hops. Then mix in some hop dust and do a continuos hopped Pale ale style boil. While I can not say we will have a specific beer and it will never be able to be replicated again, I think it would be a fun club activity.

EllisTX said:

How so Forrest? Do you just average all the hops and assume it's around 8-9%?

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That would work. Since you are just getting bitterness at that addition it has more room to be not an exact alpha.

Forrest

Austinhomebrew said:

That would work. Since you are just getting bitterness at that addition it has more room to be not an exact alpha.

Forrest

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What if the hop dust ends up being ~5% AA? That's a big difference in bitterness.

DragonOrta said:

What if the hop dust ends up being ~5% AA? That's a big difference in bitterness.

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I'm going to have to agree with this. Knowing the AA percentage is absolutely critical for a bittering addition. Too high or too low and you end up with a beer that is over bittered or cloyingly sweet.

I understand not knowing the AA of the hops, and the fact that you could have one extreme or the other; but I am still tempted to do a beer with say 6-7 oz of dust and see what happens. I figure if you keep the grain base basic and keep the conditions right to accent the hops it would be a fun mystery brew.

I brew beer because I like all beer, although I prefer higher IBU beers, so I cannot see this ending undrinkable. Plus with that amount even at 4% AA it'll be hoppy, on the other hand if it hits 10 well then it'll be REALLY hoppy; and I am fine with that as well

I brewed a stout and got better efficiency than I thought I would, so I added an oz of hop dust with the 6 oz of nugget that I had planned. It worked out pretty well.

weirdboy said:

. I'm sure you have some random crap in your freezer that's been there for a couple of years that you're not even sure what it is taking up the same amount of space.

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That made me laugh. Sounds like my freezer!