I've been wondering at what temperature the bitterness starts to get extracted from the hops. I doubt it only occurs at boiling. I don't cool my wort overly fast, so I figure there's some extra bitterness being added to my brews and was wondering how much this is affecting them. Maybe my search mojo isn't working, but it doesn't seem like there's much being said about this.
At what temperature do hops add bitterness?
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stratslinger
Well-Known Member
While there might be some small amount of bitterness added while chilling, I don't think it's anything that's going to be noticeable.
Hops bitterness comes from boiling the hops over a long time, dissolving the alpha acids in those hops into your beer. Sure, a little dissolving might still happen at cool temperatures, but not a significant enough amount to be concerned with.
Hops bitterness comes from boiling the hops over a long time, dissolving the alpha acids in those hops into your beer. Sure, a little dissolving might still happen at cool temperatures, but not a significant enough amount to be concerned with.
Boleslaus
Well-Known Member
You can extract certain oils which will provide aroma at lower temperatures, which is why FWH, mash hopping, whirlpool, hop back, dry hoping, etc. all work, but do not add considerable bitterness (FWH and mash hop a little because it is boiled eventually). Stratslinger is right though, you really need to boil hops to isomerize them, that is change them from their not-very-water-soluble normal state to a slightly more water-soluble iso-alpha state.
I e-mailed JZ with this question a year or so ago. I started doing a hot whirlpool post-boil, and I was wondering the same thing about bitterness. Here is the (abridged) answer I got.
"If you whirlpool hot, isomerization continues and bitterness is developed. I believe the minimum temp is somewhere around 175F.
Any compounds that volatilize or convert below the current temperature of your wort during whirlpool do get blown off or converted. That hoppy smell when you toss in the hops? It is being removed from the beer. If you add enough, then some may remain, but much is lost."
More recently, I spoke with Mike McDole because I remembered hearing he also switched to a hot whirlpool for late additions. These were his thoughts (specifically to his JBA recipe).
"As you suggest, I now do an extended whirlpool/rest. I suspect Im adding another 10-15 IBUs in addition to more hop flavor. My correspondence with Matt Brynildson from Firestone Walker suggests that at 1.065 OG, I might get about 12% hop utilization. Technically, I should have decreased the amount of flameout hops when I extended the whirlpool. Ive only made the 1.074 (Imperial) version since Ive taken on the extended whirlpool so the additional IBUs are probably balancing against the bigger OG. I need to make the 1.065 version to see how it turns out. I suspect its going to be a little more hop forward than I remember it. That may not be a bad thing as I feel theres a trend for all hoppy beers to be a little hoppier. "
I hope that shines some light.
Joe
"If you whirlpool hot, isomerization continues and bitterness is developed. I believe the minimum temp is somewhere around 175F.
Any compounds that volatilize or convert below the current temperature of your wort during whirlpool do get blown off or converted. That hoppy smell when you toss in the hops? It is being removed from the beer. If you add enough, then some may remain, but much is lost."
More recently, I spoke with Mike McDole because I remembered hearing he also switched to a hot whirlpool for late additions. These were his thoughts (specifically to his JBA recipe).
"As you suggest, I now do an extended whirlpool/rest. I suspect Im adding another 10-15 IBUs in addition to more hop flavor. My correspondence with Matt Brynildson from Firestone Walker suggests that at 1.065 OG, I might get about 12% hop utilization. Technically, I should have decreased the amount of flameout hops when I extended the whirlpool. Ive only made the 1.074 (Imperial) version since Ive taken on the extended whirlpool so the additional IBUs are probably balancing against the bigger OG. I need to make the 1.065 version to see how it turns out. I suspect its going to be a little more hop forward than I remember it. That may not be a bad thing as I feel theres a trend for all hoppy beers to be a little hoppier. "
I hope that shines some light.
Joe
There is isomerization of alpha acids at temperatures under boiling, but the isomerization rate falls rapidly as the temperature drops (Arrhenius factor). The amount of isomerization will be dependent upon the rate of cooling and the time available during that cooling. Mike offers some ballpark contributions based on his system performance. Your performance will probably vary a bit from that.
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