Do you steep your hops?

[beerkench]

I usually steep my hops 20-30 mins after the boil to get the most out of my flavour and aroma hop additions although my beers have been getting some chill haze even after a two week cold crash. I read that chill haze can be caused by not cooling immediately after the boil so do you think this could be the problem?
I know breweries steep but then again they filter.

 

[Bogforce]

Are you chilling the beer while you are steeping? And by steeping do you mean you are leaving a hop bag in the brew kettle. A little more explanation would help.

 

[beerkench]

I steep for 20-30 mins then chill.

 

[Bogforce]

I assume that this could be the reason for the haze. You could use irish moss or some sort of clearing agent to help with that. You also risk infection if you are not chilling quickly enough but 20-30 minutes shouldn't be a problem with that.

You might start to notice some harsher bitterness from leaving the hops in for that long as well as some other different or possibly unwanted flavors. I've been reading a lot of books and listening to podcasts. Not one of them mentioned steeping hops at any point.

 

[Jayhem]

How long does it take you to chill? It takes me 20 minutes to chill down my 11 gallon batches so I just throw my hops in at flame out the same time I start chilling.

I also use 1 tsp Irish Moss in the last 10 minutes of the boil. It works as well as a cold crash to clear up my beer but is much easier to use.

 

[beerkench]

It takes me approx 30 mins to chill.
I think it's a waste to throw in 1-2 oz of hops at flameout and not steep them.
I will try with Irish Moss next some but I always forget to add it.

 

[Stauffbier]

Steeping your hops for 20-30 minutes after flameout is called a "Hop Stand". There's a BYO that came out last year that goes into it in detail. It's very common for IPA's. It does, however create problems with clarity. I do hop stands at 170F for 30 minutes on most of my IPA's. It lends great aroma and flavor, but those particular beers never clear. Even after months they are still cloudy. I don't really mind as long as they taste great, and they do!

 

[soccerdad]

Try reading up on "hop stand" .. good info here and elsewhere. No conclusive evidence that it 'bursts' the scent of aroma hops but lots of anecdotal evidence from those that do it. Essentially you cool to 180 or less, throw in any and all aroma hops, wait a half hour and finish cooling. I like it from the perspective that I have plenty to do during that 30 min ... clean, sanitize, repack the brew boxes, give the yeast a pep talk, etc.

 

[beerkench]

Never thought about chilling to 180 first and then throwing in my aroma hops.
Will try that next time although I guess it doesn't solve my chill haze.

 

[Stauffbier]

You could always use gelatin for the haze, but most people say that will drop out essential oils from the hops. To be honest when I pour an IPA from a reputable brewer and it's cloudy I know I'm likely in for a treat! Some of the best commercially available IPA's that I've had have been cloudy or had lots of floaties, so for me it's like a sign of good quality IPA.

 

[Yooper]

I do a hops stand with most of my beers (I brew more than 75% IPAs/APAs), and my beers clear well.

There are lots of reasons for cloudy/hazy beer, including mash pH and not getting a good hot break, but my beers still clear well and I don't use anything except whirlfloc. I"ve seen "no-chill" brewers get a clear beer, too, so if you have chill haze I wonder if it's something other than lack of a good cold break.

I still get a really good cold break, even after my hops stand though.

 

[Stauffbier]

I still get a really good cold break, even after my hops stand though.

Maybe that's my problem. Like you I only use whirlfloc, and all my other beers become crystal clear accept for anything I do a hop stand on.

 

[Yooper]

Maybe that's my problem. Like you I only use whirlfloc, and all my other beers become crystal clear accept for anything I do a hop stand on.

Hmmm. How do you chill? I use a CFC, and so after the hops stand I chill the rest of the way. I still get cold break in the fermenter (and lots of it!).

 

[Stauffbier]

Hmmm. How do you chill? I use a CFC, and so after the hops stand I chill the rest of the way. I still get cold break in the fermenter (and lots of it!).

I just use a standard immersion chiller. I typically do my hop stand at 170, and by the time 30 minutes passes it has dropped to 165. I've been wondering if I should start doing it at 180-185 instead.

 

[Yooper]

I just use a standard immersion chiller. I typically do my hop stand at 170, and by the time 30 minutes passes it has dropped to 165. I've been wondering if I should start doing it at 180-185 instead.

That seems about right to me.

Do you have any kettle pH readings? Or post-boil pH readings? I was reading something recently about kettle pH and the lack of clarity in some brews. That's just a wild guess, but I have no issues with clarity (not even much of a hops haze) in any of my beers and so I'm trying to figure out what it could be.

 

[Stauffbier]

That seems about right to me.

Do you have any kettle pH readings? Or post-boil pH readings? I was reading something recently about kettle pH and the lack of clarity in some brews. That's just a wild guess, but I have no issues with clarity (not even much of a hops haze) in any of my beers and so I'm trying to figure out what it could be.

I've never checked pH in the kettle or post boil. I'll have to give that a try. I'll be doing a hop stand this Saturday, and I'll take some readings.

 

[soccerdad]

Something I noticed in the first couple of hop stands was that if I chilled to 180 and stopped, the heat would creep back up .. this is with IC, not CFC .. so I now go to about 170 / 175 and then whirlpool and stir in the aroma hops. I think I read that the optimum range for HS is between 180 and 150

 

[FuzzeWuzze]

I steep for 20-30 mins then chill.

I hope your accounting for the extra bitterness this gives you, your basically extending the boil 50% without actually boiling off liquid...

 

[beerkench]

I hope your accounting for the extra bitterness this gives you, your basically extending the boil 50% without actually boiling off liquid...

Funnily enough, the updated Beersmith now adds IBU for steeping although I am not in agreement with the readings. Some of my beers are now 20-30 IBU's more bitter according to the program and I am pretty sure this ain't the case.

 

[beerkench]

Something I noticed in the first couple of hop stands was that if I chilled to 180 and stopped, the heat would creep back up .. this is with IC, not CFC .. so I now go to about 170 / 175 and then whirlpool and stir in the aroma hops. I think I read that the optimum range for HS is between 180 and 150

Do leave your IC in the kettle when adding your hops at the lower temps?

 

[Stauffbier]

Funnily enough, the updated Beersmith now adds IBU for steeping although I am not in agreement with the readings. Some of my beers are now 20-30 IBU's more bitter according to the program and I am pretty sure this ain't the case.

I agree! A beer I recently brewed before the update was originally 70 IBU's, now it says it's 120 IBU's after I downloaded the upgrade. I tasted this beer from the fermenter the other day, and there is no way it is 120 IBU's. Heck, I was even thinking it could have used more bitterness after I tasted the sample.

 

[Sippin37]

Here is the BYO article about Hop Stands. I just tried my first one about 2 weeks ago on an APA. Just transferred to the keg yesterday and the beer seemed pretty clear after I crash cooled. We'll see in a week or so how it looks and tastes. I will report back.

http://byo.com/component/k2/item/2808-hop-stands

 

[Stauffbier]

Do you have any kettle pH readings? Or post-boil pH readings?.

Ok, here are all of my pH readings on todays hop stand brew;

- 10 minutes into mash = 5.7 @ 60*F (added lactic acid to drop pH at this point)
- 16 minutes into mash = 5.2 @ 65*F
- 100 minutes into mash (end of mash) = 5.2 @ 62*F
- Pre-boil kettle pH = 5.2 @ 63*F
- Post boil before hop stand = 6.2 @ 66*F
- Post boil after hop stand and after chilling = 6.2 @ 63*F

I honestly have no idea what my kettle readings should look like, since I've never paid attention to it before or researched any about it. With that said my gut tells me these numbers are pretty normal, but I'm just guessing. Let me know if anything looks abnormal. Meanwhile I'll report back post fermentation. More specifically after I chill the finished product.

 

[Yooper]

I agree! A beer I recently brewed before the update was originally 70 IBU's, now it says it's 120 IBU's after I downloaded the upgrade. I tasted this beer from the fermenter the other day, and there is no way it is 120 IBU's. Heck, I was even thinking it could have used more bitterness after I tasted the sample.

And it couldn't be 120 IBUs anyway- since there is a ceiling of the amount of solubility of the hops oils that can isomerize in the wort. That's about 100 IBUs, if I remember correctly, but even that is rare.

Pliny the Elder calculates out to something like 250 IBUs, but has been measured at about 85 IBUs.

Calculators are great- but they really aren't all that accurate.

 

[Yooper]

Ok, here are all of my pH readings on todays hop stand brew;

- 10 minutes into mash = 5.7 @ 60*F (added lactic acid to drop pH at this point)
- 16 minutes into mash = 5.2 @ 65*F
- 100 minutes into mash (end of mash) = 5.2 @ 62*F
- Pre-boil kettle pH = 5.2 @ 63*F
- Post boil before hop stand = 6.2 @ 66*F
- Post boil after hop stand and after chilling = 6.2 @ 63*F

I honestly have no idea what my kettle readings should look like, since I've never paid attention to it before or researched any about it. With that said my gut tells me these numbers are pretty normal, but I'm just guessing. Let me know if anything looks abnormal. Meanwhile I'll report back post fermentation. More specifically after I chill the finished product.

Something isn't right. The pH shouldn't go UP after the boil. The pH should have dropped quite a bit.

 

[Stauffbier]

Something isn't right. The pH shouldn't go UP after the boil. The pH should have dropped quite a bit.

Then I'm stumped! What could cause it to go up?

 

[Stauffbier]

Now I'm wondering if my meter is working correctly. I calibrate with 4 and 7. I'm going to change the batteries in it just in case they are dying or something. I might have to brew another mini batch soon just to test it out..