When to add flavorings to affect taste vs. aroma?

[mscrowley]

I'm in the middle of my third homebrew batch. The first two came out excellent. I made a simple Red Ale to get started, and then made a more complicated Pumpkin Ale in time for Halloween that was outstanding, even if I do say so myself....

One of the things I noticed in the Pumpkin Ale was a very different smell from the taste. I read somewhere that that difference comes from when you add ingredients (mainly talking about hops) to the brew during the boil. I believe the statement was that earlier in the boil adds to the aroma, later in the boil adds to the flavor. While this seems to be counter-intuitive, I'll go with it, but is it correct?

Ingredients I'm referring to here are things like Spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, clove), Flavorings like Hazelnut for a Hazelnut brown ale, and Honey (for both fermentable sugar and flavor).

My local brewer recommended adding the Hazelnut just prior to bottling, but it seems to me that wouldn't be in the beer long enough - the beer would have mostly formed, and might not take the hazelnut flavoring. On the other hand, I don't want to add it too early, and end up boiling/fermenting it out. Thanks in advance for any and all help!

 

[Revvy]

I'll start with a basic discussion of hops, to give you an idea, and go from there.

Each hop addition that we traditionally do in brewing serves roughly a different purpose...the longer additions (usually your 60-30 minute additions) provide bitterness. Not necessarily a 'taste" of bitterness but the release of certain chemicals (isomerized alpha acids and other things) which "cut" the intense sweetness of the wort (which is pretty much just sugar water) down to a more drinkable level. It's also in these chemicals is where the preservatives of the beer

The next range from approx. 30 to the last 15 is where you get your
"hop flavor" the actual really nice taste of the distincive hops impart (which if you're a hophead, and brew for awhile, you'll be able to start identifying the flavors of certain ones, if you are skillfull or have a good sense of taste, maybe all of them.)

And then there is the last 15 minutes of the typical boil, from the last 15 to what we call "flameout." This is where the aroma of the hops is usually imparted. And that also includes dryhopping in a primary or secondary, or added to a keg, or dispensed through a randall.

The chemicals for bittering, taste and aroma are very volitile, especially the last two, they boil away quite rapidly, that's why we pretty much will separate the flavor and the aroma additions, and get the aroma ones as late in the boil (or after) as possible, to trap those in.

Spices and flavorings are for the most part just as volite. To get the flavor and aroma to stay you don't boil them away, so you add them as late as possible.

So in the case of the hazelnut, it is a good idea to add at bottling. It will mix in just fine and be trapped in the bottle, they won't boil or evaporate away.

Hope this helps.