Adding Hops to a no boil kit.

[Space]

Due to my proximity to a decent hop supplier I now have an ever growing arsenal of hops.  Should the local police see how many vacuum bags of green "herbs" I have it could be difficult to explain.  I'm learning that there a hops that are good for taste (the ones you put in the boild first) and the ones that are good for the aroma (you put them in last, or steep, or dry hop).

They all come with an acidity percentage on the packaging.  Is this like a strength indicator?  The higher the number do I use less in a mix - respect it more, and if a low number I can put a bit more in to balance things?

[Shamus O'Sean]

On 3/1/2022 at 4:40 AM, Space said:

Due to my proximity to a decent hop supplier I now have an ever growing arsenal of hops.  Should the local police see how many vacuum bags of green "herbs" I have it could be difficult to explain.  I'm learning that there a hops that are good for taste (the ones you put in the boild first) and the ones that are good for the aroma (you put them in last, or steep, or dry hop).

They all come with an acidity percentage on the packaging.  Is this like a strength indicator?  The higher the number do I use less in a mix - respect it more, and if a low number I can put a bit more in to balance things?

Hi Space, the percentage refers to Alpha Acids.  They are a measure of the hop's bittering potential when boiled.  I do not know if the relationship is linear.  For example if a 10% hop is twice as bitter as a 5% hop, but it is probably close.  One of the hop experts on here might clarify this for us.

Unfortunately, this percentage does not help a lot with flavour and aroma potential of a hop.  The description of the hop is more help.