"BBC" Pure Hop Pellets

[peebee]

Got my eye on these pellets.

Reason: I "age" my hops so I am using increasing more hops the older they are to get roughly the bitterness I'm expecting. But the likes of Cascade which deteriorate pretty quick means that I'll use huge quantities of them at this time of year (18 months since 2017 hops were harvested, no 2018 hops yet). So these "BBC" Cascade hop pellets look attractive.

But I can't find any details to age them, just statements like "more stable" which means nowt. Is there a "hop storage index" or like for BBC pellets?

 

[Dutto]

Which pellets are these? No link!

 

[Keruso]

Which pellets are these? No link!

The maltmiller sells them, website has a reasonable description about the differences, I think I’ll give them a try.

 

[peebee]

Which pellets are these? No link!

Here go: https://www.themaltmiller.co.uk/product/cascade-bbc-pure-hop-pellet/

I'm getting the feeling I'm diving in a bit early? But I've ordered some BBC pellets now, and will treat them like "straight" Cascades but at half the quoted "hop storage index" - which is a mammoth 50% for Cascade (AA lost in 6 months at room temp). Some newer varieties come in better (Admiral gets 15%). The idea does seem to work, keeping bitterness about where expecting, once I'd figured hops are all stored in cool storage these days, not in a barn as I imagined (that made for some increasingly bitter brews).

Just another "parameter" to fart about with.

 

[dan125]

I just put 200g BBC chinook from MM in as dry hops - smelled lovely

 

[Hoddy]

Got my eye on these pellets.

Reason: I "age" my hops so I am using increasing more hops the older they are to get roughly the bitterness I'm expecting. But the likes of Cascade which deteriorate pretty quick means that I'll use huge quantities of them at this time of year (18 months since 2017 hops were harvested, no 2018 hops yet). So these "BBC" Cascade hop pellets look attractive.

But I can't find any details to age them, just statements like "more stable" which means nowt. Is there a "hop storage index" or like for BBC pellets?

You don't want to age these hops whatsoever.

You them fresh and for dry hopping only. You would be wasting your money using the BBC hops or cryo hops on the hot side.

 

[Keruso]

I just put 200g BBC chinook from MM in as dry hops - smelled lovely

I just ordered BBC Citra from MM - will be dry-hopping a DIPA !

 

[Braindead]

Im adding Citra BBC dry hops to my WEST COAST. Just wondering if 100g is enough

 

[peebee]

You don't want to age these hops whatsoever.

You them fresh and for dry hopping only. You would be wasting your money using the BBC hops or cryo hops on the hot side.

Wrong! The BBC pellets are cheaper than normal pellets (for Cascades at least) so it is saving money. And they've only undergone mechanical processing (removing useless vegetable matter, which bumps up the AA% too) at low temperature and packed well. It wouldn't make much sense to try and preserve alpha-acids and then only use them for dry-hops.

 

[Hoddy]

Im adding Citra BBC dry hops to my WEST COAST. Just wondering if 100g is enough

Nope it isnt. Just ADD MORE!!!!!

 

[peebee]

Kegged my first dabbling with these "BBC" hop pellets.

I'd already figured that cutting the "hop storage index" by a half might be giving the process making these "BBC" pellets a little too much credit - bitterness was coming out a little lower than expected (not much, perhaps cut the HSI quoted for Cascades from 50% to 30-35% next time, rather than 25%).

But it had now sat on 90g of Cascade and Centennial BBC hops (20L batch) and about same of miscellaneous other hops (whole and pellets) for a few days. This is a recipe I'd used before but only conventional hop pellets.

Blimey! At first I thought I'd picked up a bit of a taint from something; maybe left the dry hops in too long - na. But it quickly resolved to being something I put in (the BBC pellets?). And just as quickly the unexpected powerful flavour grew on you (you can't help but come back for more). Will be very interesting to see how this turns out.

Nope it isnt. Just ADD MORE!!!!!

I think this comes from someone who's tried them a few times!

 

[Hoddy]

Kegged my first dabbling with these "BBC" hop pellets.

I'd already figured that cutting the "hop storage index" by a half might be giving the process making these "BBC" pellets a little too much credit - bitterness was coming out a little lower than expected (not much, perhaps cut the HSI quoted for Cascades from 50% to 30-35% next time, rather than 25%).

But it had now sat on 90g of Cascade and Centennial BBC hops (20L batch) and about same of miscellaneous other hops (whole and pellets) for a few days. This is a recipe I'd used before but only conventional hop pellets.

Blimey! At first I thought I'd picked up a bit of a taint from something; maybe left the dry hops in too long - na. But it quickly resolved to being something I put in (the BBC pellets?). And just as quickly the unexpected powerful flavour grew on you (you can't help but come back for more). Will be very interesting to see how this turns out.

I think this comes from someone who's tried them a few times!

yes they really are quite impressive. I am planning another recipe using them. And i want to improve the recipe i made with the centennial and Columbus BBC pellets now i understand how they work now i have used them once.

And i know what you mean, i just cant stop drinking my BBC IPA.

 

[Simonh82]

Kegged my first dabbling with these "BBC" hop pellets.

I'd already figured that cutting the "hop storage index" by a half might be giving the process making these "BBC" pellets a little too much credit - bitterness was coming out a little lower than expected (not much, perhaps cut the HSI quoted for Cascades from 50% to 30-35% next time, rather than 25%).

But it had now sat on 90g of Cascade and Centennial BBC hops (20L batch) and about same of miscellaneous other hops (whole and pellets) for a few days. This is a recipe I'd used before but only conventional hop pellets.

Blimey! At first I thought I'd picked up a bit of a taint from something; maybe left the dry hops in too long - na. But it quickly resolved to being something I put in (the BBC pellets?). And just as quickly the unexpected powerful flavour grew on you (you can't help but come back for more). Will be very interesting to see how this turns out.



I think this comes from someone who's tried them a few times!

I'm interested to know why you are deliberately aging aroma hops that you will use for dry hopping? Are you aging them at room temperature? Surely you will lose aroma and bitterness and increase your chances of getting cheesey hops.

I know they use aged hops in some Belgian styles but that doesn't sound like what you are doing.

 

[peebee]

I'm interested to know why you are deliberately aging aroma hops that you will use for dry hopping? Are you aging them at room temperature? Surely you will lose aroma and bitterness and increase your chances of getting cheesey hops.

I know they use aged hops in some Belgian styles but that doesn't sound like what you are doing.

I'm not "deliberately" aging, I'm just accounting for the aging they must to have had (I know time warps don't exist, and try as I might I can't stop myself aging either). I store my hops in the deep-freezer because that dramatically slows aging according to the calculations.

(EDIT: And one other thing: I run the aging calculations on boil hops, because they apply to "alpha-acids" only and has no bearing on dry hops - i.e. doesn't calculate inevitable loss of aroma with time.).

 

[Simonh82]

I'm not "deliberately" aging, I'm just accounting for the aging they must to have had (I know time warps don't exist, and try as I might I can't stop myself aging either). I store my hops in the deep-freezer because that dramatically slows aging according to the calculations.

(EDIT: And one other thing: I run the aging calculations on boil hops, because they apply to "alpha-acids" only and has no bearing on dry hops - i.e. doesn't calculate inevitable loss of aroma with time.).

If you are storing them in the freezer doesn't that decrease the degradation to the point that it is negligible? The hop storage index is based on room temperature as a base line. I think it is also based on exposure to atmospheric oxygen. In a vacuum sealed bag in the freezer I've never felt the need to adjust for degradation.

 

[peebee]

If you are storing them in the freezer doesn't that decrease the degradation to the point that it is negligible? The hop storage index is based on room temperature as a base line. I think it is also based on exposure to atmospheric oxygen. In a vacuum sealed bag in the freezer I've never felt the need to adjust for degradation.

Hence the calculations factor in storage temperature and packaging. And you buy in all your hops the month they were picked? Or you think the hop sellers keep their hops in a deep freeze?

The last whole hops I purchased will have been picked some 15-16 months earlier and stored about 3-9C still pressed in the "pockets" employed by the oast house. I hope? It is virtually impossible knowing how the hops were stored (or when processed for ordinary pellets) before you (or the home-brew retailer if they are forth-coming with the information) got them. Currently that is, the situation is improving all the time due to pressure from the brewers (not home-brewers). Not so long ago the pockets (which weren't, perhaps still aren't, made from oxygen barrier material) just stood in barns or perhaps moderately cooled (wishful thinking) warehouses until needed.

I make plenty of assumptions when aging hops: I know when they are picked (September northern hemisphere, March southern), I know the stated AA content for the hops when picked (it's printed on the bag), I know when I bought them, I calculate the AA content based on that time period assuming stored at 7C in "oxygen barrier bag", and I add how long I've stored them a -18C (opened or unopened). That very rough calculation will drop the presumed AA content quite significantly. So, NO, it is not "negligible".

Useful when aiming at a difference between about 20 IBUs and about 35 IBUs. Irrelevant if following the current fashion of 80+ IBUs!

 

[peebee]

yes they really are quite impressive. I am planning another recipe using them. And i want to improve the recipe i made with the centennial and Columbus BBC pellets now i understand how they work now i have used them once.

And i know what you mean, i just cant stop drinking my BBC IPA.

A bit of time passes, and the beer is turning out really well. The "sledgehammer" impact of those BBC dry hops has passed and the beer just has a very good hop flavour and aroma. I can even detect the "lavender" notes I'd been able to pick out in the commercial offerings (I'm making a BrewDog "5am Saint" clone) but there was no suggestion of it at all in my previous attempts (I've been advised this is possibly geraniol, I was pretty pleased with myself that I could detect it). And I refute any suggestion I made that I might of got the bitterness a bit on the light side.

Definitely on the list of "things to repeat". And applying "HSI/2" wasn't a bad guess.

These "BBC" thingies might be changing my opinion of "rank American C hops".

 

[foxbat]

These "BBC" thingies might be changing my opinion of "rank American C hops".

Quick question... leaving HSI aside do you use the same quantities as you would use with normal pellet hops or do you scale back?

 

[peebee]

For dry hopping I use the same quantity (as whole hops, pellets, whatever).

For boil hops I'd use whatever was calculated by the recipe builder to achieve the "IBUs" in the beer from the IBUs declared on the hop packets. So, as the BBC hops declare a higher IBU figure than ordinary hop pellets that would mean the quantity of BBC hops would be less (i.e. "scaled back"). Probably would be using 2/3 thirds in BBC hops than ordinary pellets.

That's leaving "HSI" aside (not accounting for hop age).

 

[Hoddy]

For dry hopping I use the same quantity (as whole hops, pellets, whatever).

For boil hops I'd use whatever was calculated by the recipe builder to achieve the "IBUs" in the beer from the IBUs declared on the hop packets. So, as the BBC hops declare a higher IBU figure than ordinary hop pellets that would mean the quantity of BBC hops would be less (i.e. "scaled back"). Probably would be using 2/3 thirds in BBC hops than ordinary pellets.

That's leaving "HSI" aside (not accounting for hop age).

But just to add, I wouldn’t use the BBC hops on the hot side. It’s a waste of them IMHO. I just reserve them for dry hopping only.