Bring on the hops! Adding more hops to existing recipes?

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HasstheBoss

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Is it safe to assume that adding more of the same kind of hops will simply add more hop bitterness and/or aroma?

I'm looking at brewing a light wheat beer recipe that calls for 1 oz of Willamette for the full 60 mins and 1 oz of Cascade for the last 15mins. I assume the beer will turn out with only a little hop kick, so I was thinking of simply adding more to get a light beer with a hoppy finish.

I was thinking of just doubling what they call for (2oz for 60mins + 2 oz @ final 15mins), but I have no experience with tweaking recipes or making my own. I also figured that brewing more light beers will be a good jumping off point for making my own recipes.

Anything I should consider?

thanks in advance
:mug:
-Eric
 
Doubling might be overkill, especially for a wheat.

You could add another ounce @ 30 min. You could also boil them longer, use more water (if a 2.5gal boil), use a hop with a higher alpha acid, or even do a late extract addition to get more IBU's

I think going from 2 oz to 4 oz is going to be overly hoppy and bitter for a wheat. You said you wanted more hop kick/finish. Do you want more of an aroma, or more of a bitterness?

Adding more hops at the end of the boil won't add much IBU's (bitterness), but will add more aroma. If you wanted a little bit of both, add another ounce, but do it @30min instead of a full 60.
 
+1 to what 1990dtgl98 said.

Adding hops at 60 mins will really just make the beer more bitter
Adding at 15 mins will add more flavour
Adding at 2 mins will give more aroma

that should be a decent guide for your first tweak but adding at 30 mins will give some bitterness and flavour or adding at 10 mins will give flavour and some aroma.

If you want some aroma I would probably just try adding an oz of cascade with two minutes to go in your boil. Downloading the free trial of beersmith will help with calculating IBU and how the amount of time effects this bitterness, it doesnt have a way of calculating flavour though unfortunately :p
 
Thanks for the replies, just to clarify though:

Adding more hops for longer periods of time = bitterness? Adding more hops @ the end of the boil = aroma? And anything in between will be a combination of the two?

I guess I get a little tripped up because to me the word "aroma" is more specific to smells. In brewing however, should I think of it more as "the finish" of the beer?

I want a light beer with a hoppy finish, so it's sounding like just a little more Cascade @ the end should do the trick?

thanks again

-Eric

* I also have some US Golding and Amarillo Hops, might those be more suitable to add more aroma?
 
Amarillo is a downright awesome aroma hop. And bittering and flavor too, if you ask me. :)

You're pretty much right about the longer periods of time = bitterness, and at the end of the boil = aroma. In between, flavor.
 
Wheat is probably not the best beer style to try and make a light hoppy beer. I would suggest going for a pale ale, this kind of beer is really suited to american hops like cascade and amarillo.

A wheat beer should be more about the wheat and yeast and the hops really should take a back seat.
 
I made an American wheat with the following hop schedule and it has a nice citrus hop flavor... I think it's very balanced for the style.

.75oz Cascade (6%AA) @ 60mins
.75oz Cascade (6%AA) @ 7mins
.25oz Cascade (5.8%AA) @ 1min

I love Cascade :) I think you could apply the same to your recipe and use .75oz of the Cascade at 15mins for flavor and .25oz at 1min for aroma. Smell is a big factor in taste so the extra .25oz of aroma hops should kick up your perceived hop flavor.
 
i usually stick to the noble hops when doing a wheat. it really doesnt matter that much, but i couldnt see myself bittering a wheat with something like chinook or magnum. not the exact style that i want to be bitter or very hop forward. my advice, either stick to the style with noble hops or light on the alphas, or brew yourself a nice ipa :)
 
Thanks for the replies, just to clarify though:

Adding more hops for longer periods of time = bitterness? Adding more hops @ the end of the boil = aroma? And anything in between will be a combination of the two?

Yes, the longer you boil the hops, the more bitter the beer becomes, and vice versa. And to an extent, a middle ground will offer both.

The closer to flameout you add the hops, the less bitterness you get and the more aroma.

Hops have acids and oils. The boil time determines the bitterness, however, as you boil, the oils that give the hop aroma, breakdown and are basically evaporated.

Hence why the longer the boil, the more bitter/less aroma you get, and vice versa. You can play around with the times to suit if you like it more or less bitter/aromatic. Aroma will also contribute to a hop "taste/flavor," since our sense of smell is linked pretty closely to taste.

If your looking for more flavor, do a 1oz addition at around 15-20 min. If you like that fresh hop "bite" (think Sierra Nevada Torpedo if you've had it), do it even later (say 5min)
 
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