Hops and mead

[Megalodon77]

Thinking about trying out some hops in my next mead batch. Does anyone have any recommendations for the hop type. Was thinking about: Brewer's Gold, Tettnang or Savinski. Any thoughts?

 

[Cyclman]

I think the traditional Noble hops would add a nice spiciness.

 

[biochemedic]

I've done a mix of English hops (EKG, Fuggle) and a blend of American hops (Cascade, Centennial, Chinook) that both came out great...got plans to do a NZ hops blend (Nelson Sauvin, Pacific Jade, and Motueka)... Had always thought about doing a Continental/Noble hop one...given the low alpha percentages in those strains, I would probably do a bittering addition of Magnum, and then finish with Saaz and Tettanang.

 

[NZ-beekeeper]

What is the process of hopping a mead? Do you just chuck the fresh hops pellets in? Do they need boiling? I have just been given a hops plant cutting, not sure of the variety (Pacific Jade? Nelson Sauvin? not too sure).

 

[biochemedic]

What is the process of hopping a mead? Do you just chuck the fresh hops pellets in? Do they need boiling? I have just been given a hops plant cutting, not sure of the variety (Pacific Jade? Nelson Sauvin? not too sure).

If you want any bitterness, yes, you do need to boil. I know people normally freak out about boiling honey, but heat is the only way to get any alpha acid isomerization.
I actually boil about half the honey for the batch with most of the water, which I think is a good compromise between maximizing hop utilization and preserving some honey aroma.
I do tend to pack most of my hops into what would normally be considered late/aroma additions, and then I do dry hop.
If you only were trying to get some hop aroma and flavor you could just dry hop, and yes, you can just chuck the hops into your late primary, or into secondary if you are racking. I do find it helpful though to bag the hops in a muslin sack to keep them contained.
If you search HBT for threads on "hop metheglin" you will find more info, including the specifics of the recipe formula I follow.

 

[bernardsmith]

I have made a hopped mead without boiling the honey. I boiled the water (I know of no good reason why alpha acids do not isomerize in water boiled without sugars ), allowed the water to cool and then mixed the cool water with the honey. No need to freak out because the honey is never heated.

The recipe I use is this one:
http://meadist.com/making-mead/mead-recipes/hop-head-mead/
and it makes one of my favorite meads. Actually planning on making another batch in a couple of weeks.

 

[biochemedic]

I have made a hopped mead without boiling the honey. I boiled the water (I know of no good reason why alpha acids do not isomerize in water boiled without sugars ), allowed the water to cool and then mixed the cool water with the honey. No need to freak out because the honey is never heated.

The recipe I use is this one:
http://meadist.com/making-mead/mead-recipes/hop-head-mead/
and it makes one of my favorite meads. Actually planning on making another batch in a couple of weeks.

You can get alpha acid isomerization without sugar, but in the setting of higher pH levels (compared with a relatively acidic wort or must) you can get a lot of excess tannins and astringency from boiling hops in plain water. Now, depending on the mead, this could be a good thing...however, I've never added tannin to any of my hop metheglins, nor do I think they would necessarily benefit from them...

I think the logical experiment would be to see if boiling hops in plain water, but while using a buffer salt to keep the pH down around 5.2 would produce a good result....
(...added to my long list of mead experiments which I never seem to have time to accomplish!...)

 

[NZ-beekeeper]

If you want any bitterness, yes, you do need to boil. I know people normally freak out about boiling honey, but heat is the only way to get any alpha acid isomerization.

Does boiling hops make an almost uncleanable sticky residue? I might just have to try at least some hops for a braggot, maybe I'll have a dig through the archive.

 

[biochemedic]

Does boiling hops make an almost uncleanable sticky residue? I might just have to try at least some hops for a braggot, maybe I'll have a dig through the archive.

No more so than boiling straight honey... Try making a bochet sometime!

 

[Megalodon77]

I've done a mix of English hops (EKG, Fuggle) and a blend of American hops (Cascade, Centennial, Chinook) that both came out great...got plans to do a NZ hops blend (Nelson Sauvin, Pacific Jade, and Motueka)... Had always thought about doing a Continental/Noble hop one...given the low alpha percentages in those strains, I would probably do a bittering addition of Magnum, and then finish with Saaz and Tettanang.

What are the effects of the alpha acid ranges in the hops? I saw those listed next to the hops but I was looking more for the tastes and bitterness strength of the hops.

 

[biochemedic]

What are the effects of the alpha acid ranges in the hops? I saw those listed next to the hops but I was looking more for the tastes and bitterness strength of the hops.

Alpha acid percentage is a surrogate for bitterness...the taste/aroma of the hops is more strain specific, and to a degree, derives also from where the hop was grown; ie, a given strain grown in the US would likely taste/smell different than one grown somewhere else, probably even somewhere else in the US. As an aside, in a sense, this does create somewhat of a "terroir" that is specific to beer, in addition to what you might achieve from a wild fermentation with local yeast and/or bacteria...

Going back to alpha acid percentage, you should look into calculations/calculators for "IBUs," or International Bittering Units...most formulas take into account the alpha percentage, the time being boiled, the volume of the boil, and the gravity of the wort/must. In general, the longer you boil, you will extract more bitterness, and obviously, higher alpha hops will contribute more bitterness per time spent above isomerization temps (which actually do go down as low as 170*F, although with decreasing extraction efficiency as temps drop). Also, higher boil volume will increase hop utilization rates, and as hinted earlier, as you increase your boil gravity, you will lower hop extraction/efficiency. When you buy hops commercially, generally they will have a specific alpha percentage listed, based on testing at the hop processing facility. If you have a specific strain that comes from an untested source, I would just pick a number in the middle of the range for that hop strain...

 

[NZ-beekeeper]

No more so than boiling straight honey... Try making a bochet sometime!

I have a bochet in secondary atm. Yeah, it was sticky, but a little hot water and it was easy. I heard hops was harder to do. In fact, the bochet was where I got my inspiration for trying hops...People say the tasting notes are toasted marshmallow. That's not what I'm getting, I get the flavours of a dark roasted malted barley, and a hint of bitterness already. Do you know of any hops varieties that go well with stout or porter? Cause that's what half my bochet tastes like, but with something missing. The other half of my batch I did coffee with the primary, and...well let's say it's not entirely subtle!

 

[biochemedic]

I have a bochet in secondary atm. Yeah, it was sticky, but a little hot water and it was easy. I heard hops was harder to do. In fact, the bochet was where I got my inspiration for trying hops...People say the tasting notes are toasted marshmallow. That's not what I'm getting, I get the flavours of a dark roasted malted barley, and a hint of bitterness already. Do you know of any hops varieties that go well with stout or porter? Cause that's what half my bochet tastes like, but with something missing. The other half of my batch I did coffee with the primary, and...well let's say it's not entirely subtle!

Traditionally stouts and porters are not very hop forward beers, and have very little hop aroma...As usual, modern American versions are often more hoppy, and run the gamut with the types of hops used. I think if you are looking for more traditional, I would go with the English varieties such as East Kent Golding and Fuggle...