Hop additions

[Sanktwo]

i know it a personal preference thing but i’ll ask anyway

how much (oz) is to much in a 5 gallon extract brew for flavor?
i was going to use 1 oz Vic Secret pellets at 10 min and 2 oz at 0 min
or
would it be more beneficial flavor wise to use 2 oz at 10min and 1oz at 0min

 

[BOB357]

In that time frame, both additions would contribute to both aroma and flavor. The longer boil time would tend to add more to flavor while the shorter time more to aroma.

 

[Sanktwo]

In that time frame, both additions would contribute to both aroma and flavor. The longer boil time would tend to add more to flavor while the shorter time more to aroma.

thanks for the reply

ok, both additions would add flavor but I wasn't sure if adding more hops at 10 min vs adding more at 0 min would result in more flavor. I get the IBUs go up with the 10 min vs 0 min. I was trying to figure out if I'm wasting an 1oz of hops adding at 0 min if I'll get more flavor using it at 10 or 15 min. I didn't want to get to high IBU, I'm in the 50s right now for my IPA and wasn't sure if the bitterness would overtake the flavor

 

[Bubba Wade]

I typically use a 5 minute addition followed by some dry hopping. Note that even with a zero minute you'll get a small amount of IBU increase due to isomerization while the wort is being cooled.

Try a couple of different methods and see what works for your taste and equipment profile.

 

[BOB357]

thanks for the reply

ok, both additions would add flavor but I wasn't sure if adding more hops at 10 min vs adding more at 0 min would result in more flavor. I get the IBUs go up with the 10 min vs 0 min. I was trying to figure out if I'm wasting an 1oz of hops adding at 0 min if I'll get more flavor using it at 10 or 15 min. I didn't want to get to high IBU, I'm in the 50s right now for my IPA and wasn't sure if the bitterness would overtake the flavor

You can reduce the bittering addition in order to maintain the bitterness level you want.

 

[Mark Farrall]

thanks for the reply

ok, both additions would add flavor but I wasn't sure if adding more hops at 10 min vs adding more at 0 min would result in more flavor. I get the IBUs go up with the 10 min vs 0 min. I was trying to figure out if I'm wasting an 1oz of hops adding at 0 min if I'll get more flavor using it at 10 or 15 min. I didn't want to get to high IBU, I'm in the 50s right now for my IPA and wasn't sure if the bitterness would overtake the flavor

There's a bit of to and fro on how much flavour/aroma the steeping additions after flameout add, vs 5 - 10 minutes before. My current thinking based on what I've heard/read is that it's more, but you may not be able to tell the difference if there was no dry hop. It's probably not worth changing the timing if you're happy with the beer and your process.

The most common point mentioned is that the steeping hops seem to deliver more protein than the late boil additions. That then gives the dry hop more materials to attach to and gives you more flavour/aroma than earlier boil additions. I definitely noticed more when I started steeping after flameout, but then I didn't do a batch where that was the only change, so I don't know whether 10 min, 5 min or 0 min additions are much better or worse than each other.

The other thngs we homebrewers may get confused about is when commercial brewers talk about whirlpool additions. There's so much wort and it takes so long to push through their cooling that it's still hot for many minutes, if not an hour or more, when they make a whirlpool addition. So their whirpool additions are more like a 10 minute addition at a homebrew scale.

Some will say that they don't add their whirlppol additions until the wort hits 80C. That's much closer to a flameout steeping addition at a homebrew scale, though our wort cools so much more quickly. They'll probably get all the hop extraction done at 80C in their scale, while ours would happen over the 80-75C range.

So my cop out advice would be try one approach. Change it and see which you prefer, especially as this is really your preference, not what's more effective.