Can anyone give me some sort of guide or indicator on how to get a clean hoppy crispness to a beer?
The last few recipes I've made have been heavily hopped, but they turn out more marmalade-y / fruity that hoppy. Most of the time, this has been using Cascade, but no way are they like a Little Creatures or Sierra Nevada !
Have I been putting too much in for too long and not enough at the end, or is it dry hopping that REALLY helps ? Any tips/suggestions on how much, when, and what sort of hop to use .... ?
Cheers,
G
Post #2 made 13 years ago
I just started dry hopping my APA's a few batches ago......amazing difference! If you are a no-chill brewer, try doing a FWH only and then dry hop. If you're a traditional chiller, try doing a simple bittering charge and then add all the remainder of the hops at flameout, steep for 10 minutes or so, and then chill as quickly as possible. (Google "hopburst")
---Todd
---Todd
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Post #3 made 13 years ago
I have had great success(I think)using fwh and cube hopping for flavour and aroma,as well as a 60 min bittering addition.
AWOL
Post #4 made 13 years ago
Gyro, what a great topic 
.
As well as the above, some other things to look at might be...
1. Your mash temperature. (Don't rely on a single thermometer for your mash temperature readings.)
2. The yeast you are using. (A fruity yeast will suck out crispiness.)
3. Your fermentation temperature. (The higher you ferment, the more fruitiness you'll get from most yeasts.)
So, make sure your thermometers read well at mash and fermentation temperature and that you use a clean yeast.
I'm not great on this sort of stuff but I suspect also that certain grains will "uncrisp" hops???
PP
.As well as the above, some other things to look at might be...
1. Your mash temperature. (Don't rely on a single thermometer for your mash temperature readings.)
2. The yeast you are using. (A fruity yeast will suck out crispiness.)
3. Your fermentation temperature. (The higher you ferment, the more fruitiness you'll get from most yeasts.)
So, make sure your thermometers read well at mash and fermentation temperature and that you use a clean yeast.
I'm not great on this sort of stuff but I suspect also that certain grains will "uncrisp" hops???
PP
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Post #6 made 13 years ago
FWH= first wort hop,where you add hops as soon as you pull your bag and start ramping to boil.This is an old and tried method and it has been said to round out hop flavours.I take all of my flavour and aroma additions,add them together,divide in half,then ad half as FWH and the other half I throw into my cube.I leave the bittering additions as used in the recipe.I like the results,however I am also the only one tasting them!
AWOL
Post #7 made 13 years ago
Get one of these Here. If you doubt your thermometer they are a great piece of kit.PistolPatch wrote:1. Your mash temperature. (Don't rely on a single thermometer for your mash temperature readings.)
Last edited by Yeasty on 31 May 2012, 04:08, edited 3 times in total.
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Post #8 made 13 years ago
Gyro
Nice thread - I've been having similar problems recently!
I have got very limited experience but I would also say that if you have got a lot of speciality malts in your brew it will affect the crispness and hoppy-ness.
With my last couple of brews I've added the speciality grains at mashout (see this topic) and this seems to "concentrate"/bring out the malty-ness of the beer. This, and the fact that I no-chill, has lead to my brews seeming to lack a bit in terms of the expected hoppy-ness. I'm currently playing around with reducing the speciality grains and dry hopping.
Bertie
Nice thread - I've been having similar problems recently!
I have got very limited experience but I would also say that if you have got a lot of speciality malts in your brew it will affect the crispness and hoppy-ness.
With my last couple of brews I've added the speciality grains at mashout (see this topic) and this seems to "concentrate"/bring out the malty-ness of the beer. This, and the fact that I no-chill, has lead to my brews seeming to lack a bit in terms of the expected hoppy-ness. I'm currently playing around with reducing the speciality grains and dry hopping.
Bertie
Last edited by lambert on 31 May 2012, 05:41, edited 3 times in total.
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Post #9 made 13 years ago
Gyro,
Could mash temperature also effect hop "crispiness?"
I think that lower mash temps will produce a drier beer and higher mash temps a beer that is more malty with a little sweetness? I think a drier beer would allow the "hoppyness" to shine?
trout
Could mash temperature also effect hop "crispiness?"
I think that lower mash temps will produce a drier beer and higher mash temps a beer that is more malty with a little sweetness? I think a drier beer would allow the "hoppyness" to shine?
trout
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Post #10 made 13 years ago
Gyro,
If you've tried all the basics (like mash temp, grain bill, timing of hop additions) and you're still searching for ways to get that clean hoppy taste... you might consider tinkering with your water. Search for info on the 'sulfate to chloride ratio'.
One of the comments in John Palmer's water spreadsheet suggests:
The chloride to sulfate ratio is known to be a strong factor for the taste of the beer. A beer with a ratio of chloride to sulfate of >=1 will have a maltier balance, while a beer with a chloride to sulfate ratio of <1 will have a drier, more bitter balance.
The water here in San Diego seems to support a nice hoppy brew, so I haven't played around with it much, but it came to mind as I was reading this thread - thought it might be interesting for you.
If you've tried all the basics (like mash temp, grain bill, timing of hop additions) and you're still searching for ways to get that clean hoppy taste... you might consider tinkering with your water. Search for info on the 'sulfate to chloride ratio'.
One of the comments in John Palmer's water spreadsheet suggests:
The chloride to sulfate ratio is known to be a strong factor for the taste of the beer. A beer with a ratio of chloride to sulfate of >=1 will have a maltier balance, while a beer with a chloride to sulfate ratio of <1 will have a drier, more bitter balance.
The water here in San Diego seems to support a nice hoppy brew, so I haven't played around with it much, but it came to mind as I was reading this thread - thought it might be interesting for you.
Last edited by HenryBruer on 10 Oct 2012, 12:07, edited 3 times in total.
Post #11 made 13 years ago
Lylo,Lylo wrote:FWH= first wort hop,where you add hops as soon as you pull your bag and start ramping to boil.This is an old and tried method and it has been said to round out hop flavours.I take all of my flavour and aroma additions,add them together,divide in half,then ad half as FWH and the other half I throw into my cube.I leave the bittering additions as used in the recipe.I like the results,however I am also the only one tasting them!
when FWHing, do you use a hop bag and than remove the FWH from the boil, or do you put them in from preboil (mashout?) to flame out?
Last edited by shibolet on 22 Oct 2012, 03:33, edited 3 times in total.
Cube:
fermenter: Sourdough Spelt Ale, Classic Lambic, Oud Brune, Barrel Aged Belgian Dubbel
Kegs: Bob's Black IPA, Blanc Blond, Soda...
to be brewed:
fermenter: Sourdough Spelt Ale, Classic Lambic, Oud Brune, Barrel Aged Belgian Dubbel
Kegs: Bob's Black IPA, Blanc Blond, Soda...
to be brewed:
Post #12 made 13 years ago
Mashout to flameout. ;-)
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Post #14 made 13 years ago
got it.Thanks.
BTW, Todd, i'm looking at brewing a 100% Brett APA...
BTW, Todd, i'm looking at brewing a 100% Brett APA...
Cube:
fermenter: Sourdough Spelt Ale, Classic Lambic, Oud Brune, Barrel Aged Belgian Dubbel
Kegs: Bob's Black IPA, Blanc Blond, Soda...
to be brewed:
fermenter: Sourdough Spelt Ale, Classic Lambic, Oud Brune, Barrel Aged Belgian Dubbel
Kegs: Bob's Black IPA, Blanc Blond, Soda...
to be brewed:
Post #15 made 13 years ago
I'm thinking the same thing! I had a bottle of Brooklyn Brewing's Matilda (100% Brett) and harvested the yeast when I was done. I've got a nice big starter built up and thinking about pitching it into a simple Pale Ale, just for fun.shibolet wrote:got it.Thanks.
BTW, Todd, i'm looking at brewing a 100% Brett APA...
Last edited by thughes on 22 Oct 2012, 18:31, edited 3 times in total.
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