Noob hop questions

OK, I've been out of brewing for about 7 years now. I've got about 6 extract batches under my belt way back when, but I basically just followed instructions without really understanding why I was doing what I was doing.

What is the reasoning behind adding hops at different times in the boil? I understand the aroma hops at the end of the boil/flameout and bittering hops during the boil, but why add some at 60 min, and a little more of the same type at 30 min?

Also what is the advantage of dry hopping?

Our wiki has some good information on that here: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/wiki/index.php/Hops#Hop_bitterness.2C_aroma.2C_and_flavor

And welcome to HBT!

sorry - should have posted this in the beginners forum... feel free to move it if necessary.

Different boil times will get you different results from hops. THe longer the boil, the more bitterness you extract.

Bitterness comes from boiling 20-60 minutes
Flavor comes from boiling 5-15 minutes
Aroma comes from boiling less than 5 minutes, or adding at flameout.

Dry hopping (adding hops to the secondary) will add a very nice rush of flavor and aroma with no bitterness extracted. If you enjoy an APA or IPA and really notice a fresh citrus or piney flavor, that most likely came from dry hopping at a rate of about 1/2 Oz (or more) per five gallon batch.

Get familiar with which hops are better suited for which purpose. You won't want to use valuable aroma hops like EKG to bitter your beer. The alpha's are too low and it would require too much.
High alpha hops can be used in much lower quantities to achieve bitterness...and if you're lucky, a few of those high alpha's also have very nice flavor/aroma profiles.

YooperBrew said:

Our wiki has some good information on that here: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/wiki/index.php/Hops#Hop_bitterness.2C_aroma.2C_and_flavor

And welcome to HBT!

Click to expand...

And more detailed information here:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/wiki/index.php/Hop_chemistry

Thanks, thats just what I needed.

BierMuncher said:

Different boil times will get you different results from hops. THe longer the boil, the more bitterness you extract.

Bitterness comes from boiling 20-60 minutes
Flavor comes from boiling 5-15 minutes
Aroma comes from boiling less than 5 minutes, or adding at flameout.

Click to expand...

The reason you might see additions at various times within these windows is that ofcourse the dividing lines are more gray than black and white. A 60min addition gives you some flavor and aroma but not nearly as much as you would get at 20 however the bitterness is much stronger. At 15 you get some bitterness, considerable flavor and some aroma. At 5 the bitterness is minimal but the flavor and aroma are considerable. Each addition adds a little different to the beer. Thats part of the reason Dogfish Head developed their continuous hopping machine that adds hops slowly over the entire boil.

Craig

Check this out:



I have nothing to back this up, except that my experience finds it fairly true. Actually, I tend to find more flavor in a 15 minute addition, rather than a 20 minute one, but that could be due to the remaining aroma, how long it takes me to cool my wort, and any number of other factors.


TL

Excellent rendering, Tex - I assume this is your own creation. I think it captures the hops just right and illustrates why you would space your hopping out through the boil.

I usually use 60, 30 and five minutes as my hopping points but like anything in this avocation, very few rules are hard and fast, even my own.

Nope. It's not my own creation. I'd love to give some attribution, but I don't remember where I got it!


TL