ultravista
Well-Known Member
Is there a preferred biotransformation hop schedule? Reading through the Google, hop additions in the fermenter are all over the place.
Day 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 or ?
Day 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 or ?
For my typical neipa recipe I do the bio-hops 24 hours post-pitch, let 'em simmer for 4 days, then do the traditional "dry hopping" ...!
You need very little yeast activity to get any sort of biotransformation. In my opinion adding anytime before say .06 to go is literally wasting money.. all that aroma will be volatized and with so much yeast in suspension at high krausen most of the oils will be pulled down with the yeast when they floc.
not to cloud the issue with actual research but this page would be of interest to the OP.I’ve read them all and done a lot of my own.. I tend to not agree with a lot of their findings...
I've experimented. I think I get the best hop flavor when I add a bit later in the fermentation. I used to add pretty late and do a second dry hop 5 days later but found that the brightness was dropping too quickly. Then I started doubling my early addition and the flavor/aroma were fantastic. I moved the single addition earlier and it seemed to drop off a bit. I think there is a sweet spot.
My latest I added a bit later in the fermentation, but then did a second one just two days later so I can still follow my accelerated schedule. That one gets kegged Sunday so the jury is still out. I ordered a tilt hydrometer that was supposed to be here before I brewed but they changed the ship date after I ordered, so I had to fly blind on this batch.
I'm looking forward to knowing more detail about the fermentation progress and being able to make more informed decisions about this stuff. I think the tilt will enable me to brew more consistent NEIPAs since I'll be able to adjust to varying batches of yeast or differences in how they behave from one batch to another.
I've done a lot of experimenting on when to add the hops and have found adding them just prior to high Krausen and then in the keg yields the best aroma for my palate.
It is certainly an inexact science.
In the over 150 batches of hoppy beers I’ve done in the last three years adding dry hops any time before say the last 1* plato of fermentation is a waste of dry hops and tends to produce a more muddled hop expression.
Here’s a statement from Lallemand specifically
“It is also important to note that this interaction may have unfavorable effects if we dry hop our beers under active fermentation (e.g. first fermentation) will lead to the reduction of hop oils by:
- CO2 stripping (hop oils are very volatile)
- Masking (fermentation compounds may mask the hop oil aroma)
- Adsorption (hop oils adsorbed by yeast membrane, which is removed later on)
However, if dry hopping is performed at the very end of the fermentation, where there is lower CO2 production (which kept within the tank) but yeast is still very active, the following benefits occur:
- Less CO2 stripping (more hop oils kept in the beer matrix)
- Reduction of dissolved oxygen (DO) by active yeast during dry hopping
- Ethanol presence (more hop oil solubility)
- Higher temperature (more solubility)- Some fermentation left (mixing effect due to beer turbulence)
Not listed is also the issue with mercaptan production due to the extended contact of high alpha hops with yeast. Alpha acids can coat the yeast and cause them to explode. Essentially leaking their guts into your beer. Some people are more sensitive to mercaptans than others.
I am tending to split my dry hop into two doses: end of fermentation and keg. I've been happy enough with the outcome that I haven't been driven to experiment with other schedules.
Enter your email address to join: