smoothest bittering hop

[BetterSense]

I've been attempting to brew IPAs and achieve strong, but smooth bitterness. Typically the only way I can get strong bitterness is to use a ton of hops, and then the bitterness I get is kind of sharp or astringent. Commercial IPAs that I like have powerful bitterness, but I don't get the same unpleasant sharpness.

This could be my water or my mash PH, I suppose. But are there certain hops better than others when you are making large 60min additions?

 

[BreezyBrew]

I might not be of much help, but I am having the same issue. I'll know on my most recent brew this weekend if pulling the PH down to 5.3 theoretical value will help. My tap water is very similar to London water and have been doing some research. My next test is to get some Sam Smith's IPA and see how the finish is in the taste. I had the stout recently, and it seemed similar in characteristics to my issue.

The flavor I'm experiencing is an almost sour note that lingers on the palate for a long time. I don't use any 60 min additions hardly at all.

I have heard and used Magnum for bittering, which is a known clean hop. This didn't help much. If anyone has been able to fix this problem, please enlighten us!

 

[bobbrews]

I personally like the character I get from bittering hops like Columbus, Apollo, Chinook, and Warrior. Magnum a cleaner choice, but I wouldn't say it is better. Even though it's low cohumulone, it's also less characterful overall. I want to have characterful IPAs, not bland/boring ones. I would advise not overlooking the importance of your early and middle addition hops. They are more important than you think.

Some tips on lowering the perceived harshness/astringency in your IPAs:

*Use pellet hops and bag them in the boil.
*Try to do more 90 min boils, adding your first hop addition at 60 min.
*If you must do 60 min boils, be sure you have a full-rolling boil before your first hop addition.
*Try not to boil your hops for more than 1 hour.
*Focus heavily on the hopstand and dryhop.
*Work on your pH and mineral content.
*Don't mill your grains too fine.
*Don't carry over too much trub to the primary.
*Don't sparge with water hotter than 168 F. Also, don't over sparge with too much water. Try to stop the run-off when it gets to 1.010. The mash pH is increasing during the sparge and beyond this SG, you run the chance of stripping too much astringency from the grain bed. If you are measuring the run-off pH, stop when the pH rises to about 5.8 to avoid astringency problems.

 

[joyceman]

Any consideration to trying to get some IBUs from first wort hopping? Generally its a smoother bitterness than a 60 addition.

 

[BetterSense]

Well, i typically don't sparge; if i do it's with cold water. I have been using 75% RO water mixed with my rather decent tap water. I have had the same astringency problem when I make extract batches. The only way i can get good bitterness levels is by boiling several ounces of high alpha hops for 60 minutes. Maybe i need to use higher-alpha hops and/or more of them and boil less long overall.

 

[daksin]

Water is definitely a part of it so that's something you should check, but also look for hops that are low in cohumulone, which attributes a harshness to the bittering qualities.

I'm a big fan of Bravo as a bittering hop- it's a super high alpha variety (Last year was 14.3% AA and this year is 16.6%!) that's fairly new but is a nice late addition too.

 

[BreezyBrew]

Back to the drawing board. Just tasted my saison, and the aftertaste is there.

 

[conneryis007]

first wort hopping and hop bursting are two techniques you should study and experiment with. Both provide bitterness that is much smoother!