Aging and Hop Stability

[xkred27]

Hey all!

I'm about to brew and age my first barleywine. I understand that hops degrade if not stored properly, and all the stability discussions seem to concern proper storage. This is my 27th brew in 13 months, and I've yet to purchase hops that weren't properly stored. So I'm wondering if the HSI provided by Beersmith refers to storage or %AA after the hops have been used?

If the HSI refers to %AA post-brew, is it good practice to increase the additions by the amount they will degrade? I intend to age my barleywine 6 months using Cascade (HSI 50%), Centennial (HSI 40%), and Chinook (bittering, HSI 42%). Applying this line of thought, I increased my additions accordingly and my IBUs went from 92 to 128. This is fine if the IBUs are indeed going to fade over the aging period.

If the HSI refers to storage only, how should I handle my hop additions? I've had pale ales that completely lost their cascade flavor after only a few months. Of course it could have been my hop profile, but I don't want to sit on this barleywine for 6 months only to have it taste like a bucket of malt.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Calder]

HSI = Hop Stability Index, and is a measure of how much alpha acids the hops will lose in 6 months if left open at 70 F for 6 months. Storing at cold temperatures (preferably freezer) and in a closed container (preferably in a vacuum) will greatly reduce that amount of AA loss.

Hop flavor and aroma will fade over time in the bottle, even some IBUs will be lost. Recipes are designed with appropriate storage in mind, you should make the recipe as given, and not try to compensate for hop contributions that are lost over time in the bottle.

 

[xkred27]

The recipe is one of my own creation, hence my question. I compared about a dozen barleywine recipes that I found online, but they were all different, from grain bill to hop schedule to aging time.

So I guess the HSI is completely useless, since no brewer worth their salt would ever leave their hops lying open on the counter for 6 months. I had hoped it might have some application for figuring flavor degradation over time.

Is trial and error the only way?

 

[Golddiggie]

I would get the IBU's to within the range for the style of barley wine you want to make and then proceed as you desire. Age it for how long it needs (to become a pleasure to drink) and go from there.

I made my 12-12-12 batch and have it aging on oak now (transferred last weekend). I plan to age it there for 3-6 months before going to either the serving/additional aging kegs (3 gallon kegs) or rack onto more oak cubes.

I'm also planning to make a barley wine/braggot recipe (also of my own creation) with a target of 20%(+) abv. I expect it to need at least a full year, if not two, to age and become great to drink. It might even need longer than that. I plan to age in bulk form for as long as possible (probably until it actually tastes ready, except for carbonation) and then it will go to keg to carbonate and such. I do plan to bottle some off of the keg in order to age some that way. With this method, I won't need to worry about several things, not the least of which is either lack of carbonation, or too much carbonation after bottle aging.