When to add hops to boiling wort?!?

I've been doing some research over the past few days on why exactly my first batch has such a strong bitter after taste (even after 3 months in the bottle) and have noticed a lot of differences between the instructions that came with the ingredient kit i bought vs buying the ingredients myself.

For example, the instructions with the Amber kit say to add all the DME, unhopped malt extract and hops at the same time and bring to a boil for 60 mins.

I have come across a lot of recipes that seem to have a standard of 60 min boils time, but add the hops after the Hot Break. And others that add the hops at the 45 min left of boil time.

I also came across a Hops Boiling Chart that says most of the flavor of hops is gone after 60 mins of boiling the wort but the bitterness level peaks. It also says that the flavor peaks at about 20 mins of boiling time.

I am so confused. Is there an ideal time to add the hops to ensure flavor, but not over bitter beer?? Does the time of when to add hops vary from type of beer?

Yes to both questions. The first thing to disappear is aroma, which is why you want to add hops with 5 to 0 minutes left of you want smell (and dry hop). Flavor disappears after about 20 so adding hops with 15ish minutes will give you flavor. Boiling them longer just adds bitterness.

Yes hops additions vary greatly with beer styles. 60 minute additions are for bittering, flavor/aroma additions happen in the last 10-20 minutes. There are also other hops manipulation schedules such as first wort hopping, dry hopping, etc, etc, just about anything you can do with hops and beer has been identified.

Natarch519 said:

I also came across a Hops Boiling Chart that says most of the flavor of hops is gone after 60 mins of boiling the wort but the bitterness level peaks.

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any clue why there's a possible bitterness peak? all ive read is that it takes about 30 min for the acids/resins to become soluable with the wort

It does change for various types of beer, but most standard kits should have you add a designated amount of bittering hops after you have brought the wort to a boil (after adding the malt extract) and boil for 60 minutes. But there should usually be a small addition of flavoring or aroma hops anywhere within the last 20 minutes. Some kits are put together differently though.

Where did you buy this kit from?

Natarch519, I would recommend using some kind of brewing software (such as Beer Smith, Brewtarget or Brew Mate). This allows you to add your ingredients and adjust your hop schedule. The time and amount of hops you add during the boil have huge impact on bitterness. Using the software allows you see this impact via the calculated IBUs.

Also look at different recipes and see what hop schedules they use to help you develop your recipe.

Cheers

ThePonchoKid said:

any clue why there's a possible bitterness peak? all ive read is that it takes about 30 min for the acids/resins to become soluable with the wort

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I'm not really sure. There wasnt much of why the bitterness peaks, more of just a graph showing biol times and hop reaction. Here is the chart I cam across :http://www.brewsupplies.com/hop_characteristics.htm

Eliterunner1 said:

It does change for various types of beer, but most standard kits should have you add a designated amount of bittering hops after you have brought the wort to a boil (after adding the malt extract) and boil for 60 minutes. But there should usually be a small addition of flavoring or aroma hops anywhere within the last 20 minutes. Some kits are put together differently though.

Where did you buy this kit from?

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It was a True Brew All Malt Amber Kit. I recently did a pale ale kit from this same place. We'll see how that turns out.

I've never used True Brew but if you ever branch out I recommend Austin Hombrew or Northern Brewer. Their kits are really great for the most part.

Natarch519 said:

I'm not really sure. There wasnt much of why the bitterness peaks, more of just a graph showing biol times and hop reaction. Here is the chart I cam across :http://www.brewsupplies.com/hop_characteristics.htm

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Something about it taking 60 minutes to isomerize all the alpha acids.

Natarch519 said:

I'm not really sure. There wasnt much of why the bitterness peaks, more of just a graph showing biol times and hop reaction. Here is the chart I cam across :http://www.brewsupplies.com/hop_characteristics.htm

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interesting chart to look at, thanks

I'm just curious did you have any other additions at 60 mins boil?
besides DME, wort and hops?

It's not a peak, it's just diminishing returns. The longer you boil the hops the less acids get added to the wort. Boiling 60 minutes seems to be about the right time to achieve the most benefit per time of boil. Boiling 120 minutes doesn't get you double the acids, if I recall it's less than a 25% inc from 60 minutes.

COLObrewer said:

I'm just curious did you have any other additions at 60 mins boil?
besides DME, wort and hops?

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Surprisingly no. The more I read, the more it seems like there should be at least one more addition of hops at least half way or near the end of the boil.

most basic kits that I've done only had 2 hop additions. mainly 60min and 15min additions, but those all were wheat beers so there wasn't much for aroma.

Eliterunner1 said:

It does change for various types of beer, but most standard kits should have you add a designated amount of bittering hops after you have brought the wort to a boil (after adding the malt extract) and boil for 60 minutes. But there should usually be a small addition of flavoring or aroma hops anywhere within the last 20 minutes. Some kits are put together differently though.

Where did you buy this kit from?

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So is the addition of the hops after the hot break or after the wort starts to boil? When does the 60 mins start for the hop schedule?

I believe the idea of adding after hot break is only to avoid loss of hop particulate due to sticking to the sides of your kettle with the rise of the foam. I don't buy much into that.

yeah generally I add my hops right as the wort comes back to a boil and I start my timer.

Natarch519 said:

So is the addition of the hops after the hot break or after the wort starts to boil? When does the 60 mins start for the hop schedule?

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This is going to sound like an obnoxious answer, but the 60 minutes starts whenever you add the 60 minute hops. Don't start your timer until you add those hops. The wort should already be boiling before you add them, but don't start your timer just because the wort is boiling.

For an extract kit, the only reason you boil beyond the point of pasteurizing the wort at all is to add hop bitterness/flavor/aroma.

Extracts don't have a true "hot break" like AG/PM brewing does (more accurately, the true "hot break" already happened at the factory, when they made the extract), so I wouldn't worry too much about whether or not you see a break before adding the hops. Once the wort is boiling, you should be ready to go.

Eliterunner1 said:

yeah generally I add my hops right as the wort comes back to a boil and I start my timer.

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I may be talking in circles now, but when you say yeah, is that that after the hot break? The comes back to a boil part throws me

once you bring your water to a boil you remove it from the heat and add your extract. after thoroughly mixing the extract into the water you return it to the heat and bring it back to a boil then add your hops and start your timer