Potential centennial hop schedule

[ciaran987]

So I have a pound of centennial whole leaf hops from 2009. Its been in my parents freezer since I received them never opened. According to beersmith the aa rating should be cut in half around that point. I have no idea if they are still good or not, but the question is.

If I open them and they smell alright, what sort of hop schedule would you use for an ipa using the whole pound? Balance isnt an issue for me(nor is it possible without knowing how degraded they are)

There is also a pound of cascade in the same situation but that bag is open and loose and doesnt seem like it would be ok. The centennial still has that vacuum sealed look to it.

 

[reinstone]

If it were me, if they smell ok.....I would use them as late hops only. I'd get an oz or 2 of magnum and get my ibus from that.....it takes the guesswork out of the ibu equation. I'd do a 15 minute 10 minute 5 minute and flameout. The dry hop. Assuming they are correctly packaged and fresh If they are not great smelling don't ruin your beer.

 

[ciaran987]

Good idea. According to beersmith the aa rating should be around 4sh for the centennials. Any idea's as to how break up the pound of hops? I just randomly threw this together as a way to break it up. Beersmith says 83 ibu's with the cent at 4.4% aa. Would this need to be a double ipa?

1oz magnum 60min

3oz cent 15min

2.5oz cent 10 min

2.5oz cent 5min

3oz cent 0min

5oz cent dry hop

 

[reinstone]

Good idea. According to beersmith the aa rating should be around 4sh for the centennials. Any idea's as to how break up the pound of hops? I just randomly threw this together as a way to break it up. Beersmith says 83 ibu's with the cent at 4.4% aa. Would this need to be a double ipa?

1oz magnum 60min

3oz cent 15min

2.5oz cent 10 min

2.5oz cent 5min

3oz cent 0min

5oz cent dry hop

Looks awesome !!!!

 

[tnlandsailor]

If they have been vacuum sealed, I'll bet they are fine.

I actually do an all Centennial IPA with no hop additions until the 30 minute mark. In some circles, this is called "hop bursting". I just do a 30, 15, and 0 minute addition. Use Beer Smith to get the IBU's you want and increase the amounts as you go later in the boil. This decreases the overall bitterness imparted while maximizing the hop character. If the hops still smell good, dry hop in the primary with about 2.5 oz per 6 gallons. 5 oz seems like a lot for dry hops, but to each their own.

 

[ciaran987]

Dog bumped laptop and posted before I was done.

 

[ciaran987]

I've been reading about hop bursting here on the forums, it wasnt something nearly as popular when I first started in 2009 but in the years while ive been away it seems to have taken over. It is something that has peaked my interest, but I dont feel like I should use 5 year old hops on my first attempt at doing it.

Ive never used centennial and intended to use the pound for single hop ipa's to learn about it(since I love founders centennial ipa) Life got in the way and now if its not bad I would just like to use it up.

Only reason I went so high on the dry hop was because they will be of unknown aa level due to age. I am pretty much shooting in the dark with this.