Hops in the mash?

[alemonkey]

Ok, I know this sounds bizarre, but has anyone ever tried mixing hops in with your mash? I know if you first wort hop you supposedly gain some extra aroma because the acids oxidize enough to keep from being boiled away (or something like that). I wonder if throwing some hops in the mash would accomplish the same thing? If nothing else leaf hops might help with sparging.

Disclaimer: I was drinking last night when I thought of this, and today it doesn't sound like nearly as good of an idea

 

[Brewsmith]

Adding hops to the mash is an old technique in brewing German hefeweizen. The hops make lautering easier. Plus with decoction mashing, there were some beers that were never actually boiled like a traditional wort. After boiling the decoction and the conversion rest, the runoff was just fermented, instead of boiling more.

 

[alemonkey]

Hmm....so does it actually add anything or does it just help with lautering? It makes sense for Hefeweizen, with all that wheat.

 

[Dude]

Hmm....so does it actually add anything or does it just help with lautering? It makes sense for Hefeweizen, with all that wheat.

Interesting concept....filter bed?

 

[Brewsmith]

I think I read it in Ray Daniels Designing Great Beers, the section on wheat beers of course.

 

[alemonkey]

Did a little googling tonight and came across this link:

http://www.paddockwood.com/article_info.php?articles_id=3&osCsid=b223a26c1030c47a4ed

sounds like it adds quite a bit of aroma. Think I'll try it on my next IPA.

 

[david_42]

This comes up occasionally and most of what I've read leans towards "waste of hops". The mash isn't hot enough to bring out the alphas and any aroma/flavor oils boil off. There are people who swear it adds something unique, though.

 

[Rookie]

I mash hop in my Number 6 Hopping Street british IPA.
I haven't brewed it without the mash hops so I don't really know what difference there would be, but I do know that I LIKE it.
I like the overall hopness so much the way it is that I don't want to change a thing.

 

[Lost]

This comes up occasionally and most of what I've read leans towards "waste of hops". The mash isn't hot enough to bring out the alphas and any aroma/flavor oils boil off. There are people who swear it adds something unique, though.

bingo! We have a winner! If you want to help lautering then use rice hulls.. they're more effective and a fair bit cheaper.

 

[Kaiser]

I'm pretty open to this and FWH (first wort hopping which is a related concept) and will have to try it to see if for myself. There are enough accounts for me to believe that it makes a difference and is definately worth a try.

Kai

 

[Dude]

I attribute it to making hop tea. It may not be hot enough to extract the alpha acids, but it will definitely steep some flavor out of those hops.

For example, your mouth's temperature isn't boiling, but try putting a hop leaf in your mouth. You'll get some flavor outta that sucker.

Note the highlighted word(s).

As for lautering, I read the Daniels portion of that, and it doesn't really say in there that this method was to help lautering. It was used sans adding hops to the boil to make it a smooth hop flavor.

 

[alemonkey]

So, are you trying to say it helps with aroma?

 

[Lost]

And the essential oils are highly volatile, why wouldn't they evaporate during the course of a 60 minute boil?

I think if you want it to make a difference and truly expect that it will then you will surely perceive that there is in fact a difference... a placebo effect if you will.

 

[Kaiser]

And the essential oils are highly volatile, why wouldn't they evaporate during the course of a 60 minute boil?

That is exactly what is puzzling in mash hopping and FWH. Most sources suggest that the volatile oils form bonds that make them less volatile and cause them to stay in the wort during the boil.

I think if you want it to make a difference and truly expect that it will then you will surely perceive that there is in fact a difference... a placebo effect if you will.

Yes, the pacebo effect needs to be considerd. That's why I find blind taste tests most reliable in this matter.

Kai