Hop additions time line?

[jdlev]

I understand hop additions to a limited extent. Basically, add hops during the start of the boil to give the beer it's bitterness. Add hops in the last 10 minutes to give the beer its aroma (or you can dry hop).

So what's with people adding hops at interval? What does that accomplish. I see stuff like in the SMaSH thread about adding fuggles at 60min, 45min, 30min, & 15min.

So how do interval-d additions improve beer quality?

 

[ArcaneXor]

I don't think it has anything to do with quality, but with flavor and aroma profile and complexity. The different constituents in hops react with the boiling wort at different rates, so staggering hop additions will give you a meld of several slightly different bittering qualities, flavors and aromas.

 

[Nateo]

The hop addition time line is a spectrum. At 0min you add 0% bitterness and 100% flavor. At 90min you add 100% bitterness and 0% flavor. At 60min you're probably getting 90% bitterness and 10% flavor. At 30min you're getting about a 50/50 split.

That's a pretty rough approximation, and the flavor contributions are different when the hops are boiled a long time vs a little bit, but it's a good way to start thinking about hop additions.

If you want to make a very hoppy beer with low bitterness, you could add all your hops at 20min or less.

 

[monkeyboy09]

Read the book "Designing Great Beers" by Ray Daniels
Great book and it covers what/why on hops in detail

 

[Vance71975]

The hop addition time line is a spectrum. At 0min you add 0% bitterness and 100% flavor. At 90min you add 100% bitterness and 0% flavor. At 60min you're probably getting 90% bitterness and 10% flavor. At 30min you're getting about a 50/50 split.

That's a pretty rough approximation, and the flavor contributions are different when the hops are boiled a long time vs a little bit, but it's a good way to start thinking about hop additions.

If you want to make a very hoppy beer with low bitterness, you could add all your hops at 20min or less.

Plus one, i have really taken a liking to Hop Bursting, IE adding all my hops at 30 mins or less, the bitterness you do get is very smooth and you get a TON of flavor and aroma!