Hops for Sweet Beer?

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

ladybrewer

Member
Joined
Aug 11, 2010
Messages
24
Reaction score
0
Location
Pittsburgh, PA
I'm currently coming up with a recipe for a beer I'm hoping to be thick, creamy and super sweet. I want to add some hops, but I don't want it to be terribly bitter . . . my research is making me think maybe Goldings, but I'd like some variety.

What are some other hops used in sweet beers? Also, would I only use aroma hops, or would I add a slight amount of bittering hops as well?
 
The purpose of bittering hops is really only to counteract the sweetness of the malt, so you want to use some bittering hops. Aroma hops may or may not be wanted- it depends on what you want in the "nose" so to speak.

There are lots of sweet beers that have solid bittering- like a sweet stout comes to mind immediately.

What kind of beer are you thinking about? That would really decide your hopping rates.
 
Maybe somewhere in the 10-20 range? Does that sound about right? I've been brewing from recipes since October (only all-grain, now), but I've never made my own recipe.
 
Cream Ale is 15-20. I wouldnt consider that butterscotch candy sweet. Has anyone ever done a "No Hop" or less than 10 IBU brew?
 
I liked the descriptions of these in Beersmith:

· Goldings
· Crystal
· Chinnook
· Liberty
· Tettnang
· Warrior

Any of those sound good? What kind of combinations would you recommend, and how much bittering vs. aroma? No aroma at all?
 
Your bittering hops are going to have to be in relationship to your desired OG. a 1.060 OG beer with 20 IBU is going to be pretty malty and sweet where a 1.035 OG beer with 20 IBU will be much more balanced.

Look into Scottish wee heavy for higher abv content, and maybe a low IBU american brown for lower content
 
Cream Ale is 15-20. I wouldnt consider that butterscotch candy sweet. Has anyone ever done a "No Hop" or less than 10 IBU brew?

That's because the OG is low. Lambics are often hopped at less than 10IBU, but they're not sweet either. Then again, I had a barleywine a month back that was fairly sweet and hopped to 107IBU. Lots of factors are at play here.

Like mentioned above, you want to geta ratio of BU:GU that is low, maybe 1:4 or lower, and you want the rest of the recipe to support a solid malty sweet flavor. Think low to moderate attenuation, crystal malts, maybe backsweetening if you keg, etc.
 
Beersmith would help you infinately with this. But if you dont feel like dropping the scratch you can use brewbuilder at brewmasterswarehouse.com. Go into the recipes and you will be able to play with grain/extract amounts, hops (it will calc IBU), Yeast (Will calc ABV) and adjuncts.
Just watch your IBU vs OG ratios, to sweet and it could be cloying.
 
Back
Top