Space Posted February 12, 2022 Share Posted February 12, 2022 I'm about to start my 10th brew and want to add another layer of flavour to my lager. I've found a small business that sells packets of leaf and pellet hops and it's only 10 miles drive away - so I have a selection of hops on hand. This is a crisp and clean tasting cerveza and I just want to add a subtle layer of taste and hint of aroma to it. I've read that for taste you add near the beginning and for aroma you add near the end. If it brews in about 7 days can I do a little of both by adding the hops somewhere in the middle? Or should I do a bit of both? Can I use a cheesecloth bag or does it have to be food grade nylon? Or can I use those disposable tea/coffee bags? I have Liberty pellets, Crystal leaf and and Strisselspalt on hand - I'm yet to decide what's going in and when. I can get others. I've also bought some Northdown and Fuggle - but thats for my Yorkshire Bitter project next month. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pints Posted February 12, 2022 Share Posted February 12, 2022 (edited) 25 minutes ago, Space said: I'm about to start my 10th brew and want to add another layer of flavour to my lager. I've found a small business that sells packets of leaf and pellet hops and it's only 10 miles drive away - so I have a selection of hops on hand. This is a crisp and clean tasting cerveza and I just want to add a subtle layer of taste and hint of aroma to it. I've read that for taste you add near the beginning and for aroma you add near the end. If it brews in about 7 days can I do a little of both by adding the hops somewhere in the middle? Or should I do a bit of both? Can I use a cheesecloth bag or does it have to be food grade nylon? Or can I use those disposable tea/coffee bags? I have Liberty pellets, Crystal leaf and and Strisselspalt on hand - I'm yet to decide what's going in and when. I can get others. I've also bought some Northdown and Fuggle - but thats for my Yorkshire Bitter project next month. Hi mate. Check out below. The longer you boil, the more bitterness you will get. A little goes a long way I've found. Aus pale tin with 20g for 20min, and maybe a dry hop of 50 or 60g works a treat for my tastes. I do like a bitter bite though. I either use a stocking or just go commando with dry hop. For boil just commando straight in then strain out into another pot when done. Keep in mind the below is probably for all grain. So with a pre hopped kit u won't need more than 15 -20min boil in my opinion Edited February 12, 2022 by PintsAtMeLocal 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pints Posted February 12, 2022 Share Posted February 12, 2022 U say u want subtle, so maybe 5 or 10 min boil, say 15 grams. Then a dry hop of 30g. These are all just my estimates. The best way to learn what u like is experiment, as I'm sure you know. Let us know what u decide✌ 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Space Posted February 12, 2022 Author Share Posted February 12, 2022 By "dry hop", is that adding them to the FV during fermentation or something else? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pints Posted February 12, 2022 Share Posted February 12, 2022 21 minutes ago, Space said: By "dry hop", is that adding them to the FV during fermentation or something else? Usually at the tail end of fermentation. So when the krausen has settled down. U can even add them 2 or 3 days before bottling, I leave them in for about 4 or 5 days though myself 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Space Posted February 12, 2022 Author Share Posted February 12, 2022 (edited) 2 hours ago, PintsAtMeLocal said: Usually at the tail end of fermentation. So when the krausen has settled down. U can even add them 2 or 3 before bottling, I leave them in for about 4 or 5 days though myself Do you just chuck them in or do you bag them up? Edited February 12, 2022 by Space Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stickers Posted February 13, 2022 Share Posted February 13, 2022 5 hours ago, Space said: Do you just chuck them in or do you bag them up? i bag my dry hops in a little nylon bag. they don't clog the tap when you're filling bottles that way. others do throw them in (commando style). 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shamus O'Sean Posted February 13, 2022 Share Posted February 13, 2022 6 hours ago, Space said: Do you just chuck them in or do you bag them up? Most of the time I bag mine up in a Chux cloth, weighed down with about 20 sanitised glass marbles. I have been chucking them in when I am pressure fermenting. I usually drop them in a day before I start the cold crash so they are in contact with the beer for the least amount of time. Too long and they can impart a grassiness to the beer. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pints Posted February 13, 2022 Share Posted February 13, 2022 9 hours ago, Space said: Do you just chuck them in or do you bag them up? I just check em in. U can use a bag as others have mentioned 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Classic Brewing Co Posted February 13, 2022 Share Posted February 13, 2022 16 minutes ago, PintsAtMeLocal said: I just check em in. U can use a bag as others have mentioned I prefer the little muslin bags & tie them up, nice easy clean-up & you still get a nice hop bite, I did dry hop my current Pale Ale so hoping for no drama on bottling day with clogging. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malter White Posted February 13, 2022 Share Posted February 13, 2022 (edited) For hops flavour, an option that I use most often is making a hop tea with a coffee plunger. Rather than using hot water or boiling them which creates bitterness, I'll steep them in (pre-boiled) cool or tepid water overnight and mix them in on brew day. This might not be the most effective way to use hops but I find it simple to do and I'm happy with the results I've achieved. For aroma, which I don't do often, a dry hop in a Chux type cloth. When doing this it pays to weigh the Chux bag down with sanitised marbles or a spoon. Otherwise the bag tends to float on the wort. Edited February 13, 2022 by MUZZY 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregT5 Posted February 13, 2022 Share Posted February 13, 2022 I do the same as you, @MUZZY although I steep mine in a coffee plunger in pre-boiled water for 30 minutes rather than overnight. This may impart a bit of bitterness but it works for me. I dry hop using the same method as you. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malter White Posted February 13, 2022 Share Posted February 13, 2022 5 minutes ago, GregT5 said: I do the same as you, @MUZZY although I steep mine in a coffee plunger in pre-boiled water for 30 minutes rather than overnight. This may impart a bit of bitterness but it works for me. I dry hop using the same method as you. Hi Greg. My times and temperatures vary greatly, depending on if I remember to cold steep the night before or not. If I forget the night before I'll do the steep on brew day and increase the temp a bit to extract as much flavour as I can in the shorter time. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pints Posted February 13, 2022 Share Posted February 13, 2022 Sound advice MUZZY and Greg. It's great to experiment. Cheers 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Space Posted February 13, 2022 Author Share Posted February 13, 2022 Does the hop tea go in at the beginning or the end of primary fermentation? Or do both of those options give different results? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pints Posted February 13, 2022 Share Posted February 13, 2022 3 minutes ago, Space said: Does the hop tea go in at the beginning or the end of primary fermentation? Or do both of those options give different results? GooD question, I'd like to see some of the answers to this. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Space Posted February 13, 2022 Author Share Posted February 13, 2022 4 minutes ago, PintsAtMeLocal said: GooD question, I'd like to see some of the answers to this. So far my answers are that you can add hops at the beginning, middle or end of primary fermentation or in any combination of those timeframes, in or not in a bag, with water or without water, which can be boiling, hot, warm or cold. Simple. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malter White Posted February 13, 2022 Share Posted February 13, 2022 1 hour ago, Space said: Does the hop tea go in at the beginning or the end of primary fermentation? Or do both of those options give different results? I mix the tea in just before I pitch my yeast. That way it's going into 20-30° wort. I started out mixing it with the extract and hot water but I reckon the hot water was creating more bitterness than I wanted. I haven't tried adding at the end of fermentation yet. I don't know of a reason why this can't be done also. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stickers Posted February 14, 2022 Share Posted February 14, 2022 10 hours ago, Space said: Does the hop tea go in at the beginning or the end of primary fermentation? Or do both of those options give different results? I've done both. my most recent was a hop tea added to the keg before filling, my next one will be added at the start of fermentation. (instructions from the SMOTY ale below) Bring 2 litres of water to the boil, add 25g of East Kent Goldings Hops and let simmer for 15 minutes. Remove pan from the heat, add another 25g of East Kent Goldings Hops, fit a lid and let steep for another 30mins. Strain the hop tea into a fermenting tub with the Australian Pale Ale and Dark Ale and dissolve. Top up with cool water to the 23 litre mark and stir thoroughly. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregT5 Posted February 14, 2022 Share Posted February 14, 2022 I usually add the "hop tea" when I am mixing the ingredients prior to fermentation. You can use the water to dissolve the malt or the Coopers can contents. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Space Posted February 14, 2022 Author Share Posted February 14, 2022 I hope it's OK to link to other resources from this forum (I'll remove post if it's not) because I found this hops comparison tool and I find the visual charts on it very useful - perhaps other learner brewers might also. https://beermaverick.com/hops/hop-comparison-tool/ From this my plan is going to be a three way hopping with a 15 minute boild of Liberty, a 15 minute tea steep of Crystal (puns about cooking up crystal not required but will probably happen), and a mid brew dry hopping of Strisselspalt. Someone above said that a small amount goes a long way so I'm guess the amounts will be 25g + 25g and a 30g-40g dry hop in a 23l brew. Does that sound about right? 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stickers Posted February 14, 2022 Share Posted February 14, 2022 yeah go easy on the hops you add to the boil but you can be more generous later on is what i've found. i did a 30 min boil with 10g each at 15/10/5 then dumped in 20 at -5 and will dry hop with 30 with my current brew. still experimenting myself, best way of learning 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malter White Posted February 14, 2022 Share Posted February 14, 2022 24 minutes ago, Space said: I hope it's OK to link to other resources from this forum (I'll remove post if it's not) because I found this hops comparison tool and I find the visual charts on it very useful - perhaps other learner brewers might also. https://beermaverick.com/hops/hop-comparison-tool/ From this my plan is going to be a three way hopping with a 15 minute boild of Liberty, a 15 minute tea steep of Crystal (puns about cooking up crystal not required but will probably happen), and a mid brew dry hopping of Strisselspalt. Someone above said that a small amount goes a long way so I'm guess the amounts will be 25g + 25g and a 30g-40g dry hop in a 23l brew. Does that sound about right? I won't be making any gags about cooking crystal. You can rest easy, Walter White. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pints Posted February 14, 2022 Share Posted February 14, 2022 27 minutes ago, Space said: I hope it's OK to link to other resources from this forum (I'll remove post if it's not) because I found this hops comparison tool and I find the visual charts on it very useful - perhaps other learner brewers might also. https://beermaverick.com/hops/hop-comparison-tool/ From this my plan is going to be a three way hopping with a 15 minute boild of Liberty, a 15 minute tea steep of Crystal (puns about cooking up crystal not required but will probably happen), and a mid brew dry hopping of Strisselspalt. Someone above said that a small amount goes a long way so I'm guess the amounts will be 25g + 25g and a 30g-40g dry hop in a 23l brew. Does that sound about right? Maybe less on the boil and steep. 15g more than enough. Add the extra to the dry hop 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Space Posted February 14, 2022 Author Share Posted February 14, 2022 Once again, thank you all for the advice. You've collectively saved me a month of my life making practice brews. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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