Any significance of 5 min hop sched

PlexVector · Mar 15, 2015

I'm boiling wort presently and I have a hop schedule were you add hops 5 minutes before flame out. How does that compare to hop additions at flame-out? Is there any real difference?

EuBrew · Mar 15, 2015

Plug it into beersmith or similar. My guess is you'll get a few more ibu's out of a 5 min than a flame out.

PlexVector · Mar 15, 2015

almost 5 IBUs at 5min. But would it not be more efficient to add those 5 IBUs earlier in the boil. looks like I have some research to do...

zmanzorro · Mar 15, 2015

The later you add the hops, the more it adds to the aroma. The earlier you add the hops, the more it adds to the bitter taste. So with the 5 minute addition, you're adding the a very slight addition to taste and taking a very little amount away from the aroma, compared to flame out.

PlexVector · Mar 15, 2015

zmanzorro said:
The later you add the hops, the more it adds to the aroma. The earlier you add the hops, the more it adds to the bitter taste. So with the 5 minute addition, you're adding the a very slight addition to taste and taking a very little amount away from the aroma, compared to flame out.

Correct. I agree with the math, but what resolution do humans perceive IBU and aroma. on average can we detect the difference between 45 and 50 for example? I would expect the resolution we can detect is nonlinear over the range of 0 and 80.