I had a situation recently where brewed a couple beers with Santiam hops @ 7.9% AA. Both were under hopped in my opinion...not the recipe. Flavor good - just not enough... Hops had been properly stored, and looked and smelled great. My feeling was somehow the AA, if correct initially, had somehow dropped dramatically. (?)
Brewed a beer yesterday and I took the above Santiam hops (FWH, 15 min and 1 min) and multiplied the 7.9% AA and multiplied by 70% for a 5.5% AA estimate. Used Magnums for bittering and left it at posted 13.2AA. Also - dialed in a higher IBU calculation on this brew... 40 IBUs by Tinseth vs. 30 IBU / German Pilsner. Wort tasted good...so hopefully all is good.
My LHBS manager told me yesterday that the AA of hops, even when perfectly stored, will drop dramatically. He told me the Magnums he sold me in November of this past year, which were labeled @ 13.2% AA, I should probably figure only about 70% for them as well (another 30% AA drop in seven months). (I did not follow his suggestion on the Magnums). Can his suggestion be right...?
For unused hops I use a Vacuum Sealer (food storage system) to suck the air out and store in the freezer.
Of course we all use the BIABacus for planning and conducting our brews, so it is a major issue if we can't trust the AA printed on our hop packages. Or that we have to make a guess and drop AA from what is posted.
I haven't noticed dramatic problems like this before. Suppose this is just a "one off" on this batch of hops and its actual AA, and if so...my LHBS manager is wrong? I'm kind of perplexed by this issue...
Did some internet surfing to see if others had experience with this, and what I found suggested light drop (if properly stored) but nothing dramatic. http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/t ... ge.245378/
Anyhow, would love to hear others' experience on the issue.
Thanks,
Scott
Do Hops Lose AA Content, Even With Proper Storage?
Post #1 made 8 years ago
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