Photopilot

Recipes 

I am just getting into AG brewing and building a e-keggle setup.

I have been reading about hop utilization being lower in high OG beer and also where people are concerned about utilization issues using the hop sock. I came up with an idea to take a few gallons of the second sparge run-off and use that to boil the hops in the hop sock in a second stove top pot to get the most of my hops in high OG beers.

Anyone do this? Besides another pot to wash, are there any disadvantages to this?

david_42

Recipes 

When doing partial boil/PM, I have, on occasion, pre-boiled my top-off water with part of the bittering hops. Same basic idea.

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cheezydemon3

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Hop utilization requires more than just water. There have to be some sugars or starches or something.

I just remember reading that somewhere.

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justwhatthehellareYOUlookingat?

Photopilot

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I missed that chapter... Actually I remember something along those lines but have read too much to remember it all. But I guess I should have clarified I meant the sparge runoffs. So it will be wort, just weak wort. You do bring up a good point though can it be too weak to bring on the utilization?

GilaMinumBeer

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You would also have to calculate the gravity and IBU's separately and then calculate a dilution to determine the final potential.

A lot of work to avoid tossing in another half ounce of hops.

Photopilot

Recipes 

Your probably right in that it is only a fraction of an ounce of hops saved. But do i really need to do all that math? Can't i just boil the hops in a sock in 2 gallons of second sarge run-off, which would be 1.020 gravity (just a guess). Add that to the last 5 minutes of boil to the big BK, then factor in utilzation for gallons at 1.020 in a 10 gallon batch?

I am using Beersmith. Does it factor in OG and utilization when calculating the IBUs? If so then I would have to do the math.

david_42

Recipes 

Common factoid. Pure water results in the highest conversion and conversion rate.

__________________
Remember one unassailable statistic, as explained by the late, great George Carlin: "Just think of how stupid the average person is, and then realize half of them are even stupider!"

"I would like to die on Mars, just not on impact." Elon Musk

cheezydemon3

Recipes 

Pure water results in more hop utilization?

Are you referring to sparge water David?

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kryolla

Recipes 

why dont you just boil longer for more utilization

GilaMinumBeer

Recipes 

http://www.realbeer.com/hops/ written by Tinseth.

http://brewingtechniques.com/library/backissues/issue2.1/miller.html

http://www.byo.com/stories/recipes/article/indices/37-hops/859-hop-utilization-a-cool-brewings