Hops

[Evstakiev]

I'm never sure how much hops I should use. I know lighter beers should have less, and darker beers can be more heavily hopped. But how do you know how much you should use?

Also can some one throw in the usage ratio between hop pellets and whole hops.

 

[Pappers_]

I know lighter beers should have less, and darker beers can be more heavily hopped.

The distinction you are looking for is light bodied and heavy bodied, not color. Hops and their bitterness balance the malt and it's residual sweetness.

Also, of course, different styles use more or less hops, regardless of balance. The measurement used is IBU or international buttering unit.

You might consider downloading a free trial of BeerSmith and mess around with that, showing you the estimated ibu for certain hops boiled for a certain amount of time within a style.

Good luck!

 

[pilotdane]

Have you got any brewing software? Most all softwares allow you to select the variety of hops, how much and how long to boil and the program calculates the bitterness. It makes it very easy to play around with the quantity and boil time to get the flavor you want.

QBrew is a pretty decent free software you can download off the Internet and it works well especially when doing extract brews, and it is pretty quick and easy to learn. Currently I use Beer Smith which can be bought for about $19 from some retailers or downloaded from their site for $21. It is more complex so it might be a bit overwhelming if you are new to brewing. Beer Smith has a free 30 day trail.

 

[Hang Glider]

Besides the software - are you using any recipies? Most recipies give you an indication of how many ounces/grams of hops to use for the style they're trying to duplicate.

Many darker beers have fewer hops than lighter beers...
there is a recipe section here as well, that you might look through.

welcome to HBT!

 

[pilotdane]

I could not find this earlier. This link might explain things a bit understanding the relationship between hops and malt Basically the stronger or more malty the beer, the more hops you need to balance out the flavor.

 

[IXVolt]

Also can some one throw in the usage ratio between hop pellets and whole hops.

I usually use them interchangeably, oz for oz. The IBU doesn't seem to very that much from pellets to whole.

 

[the_Roqk]

If you really want to know what the hop usage for particular beer styles then try this link:

BJCP Style Guidelines

Hopefully this can help, atleast it can give you the IBU's for each style.

 

[Schnitzengiggle]

If you are newer to brewing, I would suggest drinking some different craft beers ranging from very malty to very hoppy to get a better idea of the flavor that hops can produce when used differently. Basically it will help you understand how bitter, or malty, a brew can be, as well as certain flavors that hops can impart from late aroma and flavor additions in beers such as IPA's and PA's.

Beersmith is über easy to use, I downloaded the free trial after my second batch, and started putting together my own recipes (I like to experiment), I have yet to have a beer come out that is undrinkable, however, my Abbey Dubbel did come out with a distinct banana note, but I had a stuck ferment on that one, and Belgians are funky anyway.

Good luck, and happy brewing

 

[Evstakiev]

Thank you very helpful, I'm now ready to brew my own recipe for the first time.