When to add hops - graph and question.

I found this graph from brewsupplies.com which tells the effect of adding hops at various times in the boil.



The graph seems to say this:

• Adding a hop about 7 minutes before the end of the boil will give maximum aroma. The aroma will start to disappear if the hop is left boiling for longer than 7 minutes, but the hop will start to influence flavour.
• Optimal time for flavour is boiling for around 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, flavour will start to disappear and bitterness will increase.
• After about 40 minutes the hop is bittering only, with maximum bittering effect around 60 minutes.

But what about flame-out? According to this graph, adding at 0 minutes - which many recipes do - has no effect on aroma, flavour, or bitterness.

I've always felt uneasy about adding at 0 minutes. My understanding was this: Add the hops when switching off the gas, leave for about a minute, transfer to the cooling sink and take out the hop bag [Edited - I incorrectly mentioned grain before], then cool the wort down. Maximum time the hops would be in for is 1-2 minutes.

So, is my interpretation of flame-out wrong? Or should I be following the graph and adding at 7 minutes rather than flame-out?

homebrewjapan said:

I found this graph from brewsupplies.com which tells the effect of adding hops at various times in the boil.

I've always felt uneasy about adding at 0 minutes. My understanding was this: Add the hops when switching off the gas, leave for about a minute, transfer to the cooling sink and take out the grain and hops, then cool the wort down. Maximum time the hops would be in for is 1-2 minutes.

So, is my interpretation of flame-out wrong? Or should I be following the graph and adding at 7 minutes rather than flame-out?

Click to expand...

Wait... How are you removing hops after 2 minutes? Also, why are you removing grain at the end of a boil? you should NEVER have grain in a boil.

I'm pretty sure that graph has been disproved recently. It's a cool graph, but not really representative of what happens.

Flame out additions are great. Awesome flavor and aroma, with no bitterness added. Remember, bitterness only comes from the hops when they are boiled. That's why you boil for an hour or so- to get the bittering out of the hops. Anything added with less than about 20 minutes left in the boil will give you more flavor and aroma, with less bitterness.

For flame out additions, you simply add the hops at flame out. They steep during the cooling of the wort, which takes me about 20 minutes. They start out in boiling wort, of course, but then the wort cools rapidly giving plenty of flavor and aroma from those hops.

I don't remove my hops (I don't use bags) but if I did, I'd pull them out or strain right as they go into my fermenter.

Since the grains are removed before the boil (they should be removed before the wort gets to 170 degrees), they aren't a factor at all.

> Wait... How are you removing hops after 2 minutes? Also, why are you removing grain at the end of a boil? you should NEVER have grain in a boil.

Ooops, yes you are right - forget about the grain part. As for hops, they would be in a hop bag.