Hops at the start of the boil: does the variety really matter?

[Agentgonzo]

Presumably the FWHops stay in the wort for the length of the boil as well, or do you remove them before the boil?

 

[crescent city Mike]

You simply lauter on top of the hops. The hops are there for the duration of the boil.

 

[dan125]

I have done a bit of research myself for my upcoming West Coast IPA recipe.

Janish (The New IPA, 2019) suggests that the vast majority of flavour and aroma is lost in boiling hops, save for those from alpha humulene and beta caryophyllene whose oxidation products impart an earthy, spicy, woody flavour.
So if this is desired, choose a hop high in these oils, if not, then don't.
Oddly enough, the high AA hops with low kettle potential seem to be the most expensive, which goes against the usual approach of selecting boil hops.

Cat amongst the pigeons, I know... but citra is my bittering hop of choice. Its not like a lot is needed in most beers, and I always seem to have plenty on hand

 

[Brew_DD2]

Yes, it does matter. Some hops give a coarse bitterness and others a smooth bitterness. It used to be thought that those hops with a high percentage cohumulone content were harsh, but I think that has been debunked. Personally I find Pacific Gem and Target to be quite coarse, while Magnum is very mellow and clean. Others, say Bullion is coarse, but it's my favourite bittering hop hop in an Irish stout.

That's exactly it. Sometimes the coarseness is exactly what you're wanting.

 

[An Ankoù]

That's exactly it. Sometimes the coarseness is exactly what you're wanting.

Yes. I've just brewed a batch with Pride of Ringwood and it is a bit coarse and sort of "old fashioned".

 

[DuncR]

Hmm. A nice story, but I'm not sure about the bit about binding the flavours to the wort sounds a bit odd even if the other claimed benefits are there. I've done FWH with all my brews for a couple of years now. My thinking was that if I'm going to cut the boil time down from 90 minutes to 60-75 minutes then I can get the best bitterness out of the hops by chucking them in sooner rather than later. Whether that gives me a smoother bitterness and more flavour, I hadn't noticed and I'll have to do a side-by-side to evaluated that one. However, any excuse to brew more beer is a good idea in my book. So thanks.
Yes you can have too much Miles Davis.
and too much Al di Meola, too.

Disagree with being able to have too much Miles Davis

 

[An Ankoù]

Disagree with being able to have too much Miles Davis

Only one thing for it. Stick some MD on the old spinner, sit back and enjoy a couple of beers. Full report when I wake up.

 

[An Ankoù]

Only one thing for it. Stick some MD on the old spinner, sit back and enjoy a couple of beers. Full report when I wake up.

Didn't last five minutes mate. I guess I'm just not Miles-orientated. Switched to Egberto Gismonti and loving it.
Sorry.

 

[Cheshire Cat]

Saw Miles Davis IOW 1970.

 

[RoomWithABrew]

Pride of Ringwood and it is a bit coarse and sort of "old fashioned".

Ne'er a truer word, the variety said to have classic Australian character.

 

[jceg316]

Yes, it does matter. Some hops give a coarse bitterness and others a smooth bitterness. It used to be thought that those hops with a high percentage cohumulone content were harsh, but I think that has been debunked. Personally I find Pacific Gem and Target to be quite coarse, while Magnum is very mellow and clean. Others, say Bullion is coarse, but it's my favourite bittering hop hop in an Irish stout.

Was gonna say this as well, although I've not seen anything saying it's been debunked. I use Magnum almost exclusively for bittering. I used to use Polaris which has high AAs and gives a really smooth bitterness but home brew shops don't seem to sell it anymore.

Something I will also add about bittering hop choice is beta acid: these break down over time and add bitterness over time, but can also contribute a harshness in some circumstances.

If using hop cones over pellets, using varieties low in AAs means using more of them, and can add a grassiness to the beer.

TBH both of those I've read about but can't say I've actually experienced myself. The biggest trouble I've experienced is in a recent beer, I used a total of 485g homegrown hops in what was supposed to be a 23L brew. I lost 4 litres of wort due to it being absorbed in the hops.

 

[An Ankoù]

Was gonna say this as well, although I've not seen anything saying it's been debunked. I use Magnum almost exclusively for bittering. I used to use Polaris which has high AAs and gives a really smooth bitterness but home brew shops don't seem to sell it anymore.

Something I will also add about bittering hop choice is beta acid: these break down over time and add bitterness over time, but can also contribute a harshness in some circumstances.

If using hop cones over pellets, using varieties low in AAs means using more of them, and can add a grassiness to the beer.

TBH both of those I've read about but can't say I've actually experienced myself. The biggest trouble I've experienced is in a recent beer, I used a total of 485g homegrown hops in what was supposed to be a 23L brew. I lost 4 litres of wort due to it being absorbed in the hops.

I've been caught out like that. Brew a little short and rinse the hops before giving them a good squeeze.

 

[jceg316]

I've been caught out like that. Brew a little short and rinse the hops before giving them a good squeeze.

I'll give that a go next time

 

[St00]

Irrespective of our varying sensory interpretations of bittering hops, there's also the "terroir" of a classic beer style.

For instance, whilst I use magnum (or warrior when I could get it) for a lot of my beers, I've started using CTZ as the bittering hop for all of my American IPAs and Pales. My recent entry for a competition used Eureka! as it was an American beer style.

If people are insisting on Belgian Malts and Belgian Strains for Belgian beers, then why not try this approach across the board?

I'm not saying there's no room for experimentation, I'm just suggesting that sometimes it's nice to impose a few restrictions and embrace the classical approaches.

 

[Agentgonzo]

If people are insisting on Belgian Malts and Belgian Strains for Belgian beers...

People are insisting this? That seems a bit dogmatic to me. How would they even know (or care) if you sneakily swapped some belgian malt for some equivalently malted/kilned Engish or German malts?

 

[St00]

People are insisting this? That seems a bit dogmatic to me. How would they even know (or care) if you sneakily swapped some belgian malt for some equivalently malted/kilned Engish or German malts?

That's sort of missing the point of my comment, if you're brewing to an "authentic" style why not do it as much as possible? I'm not saying lose sleep if you can't, but if you can, why not?

 

[Sadfield]

People are insisting this? That seems a bit dogmatic to me. How would they even know (or care) if you sneakily swapped some belgian malt for some equivalently malted/kilned Engish or German malts?

It's only dogmatic if you don't understand simple linguistics. People doesn't mean everyone and you can insist something on yourself and not others, like insisting on shopping local.

 

[Agentgonzo]

That's sort of missing the point of my comment, if you're brewing to an "authentic" style why not do it as much as possible? I'm not saying lose sleep if you can't, but if you can, why not?

Ah, yes. I think I misunderstood. If the brewer chooses to use 'authentic' ingredients, then full support to them. I had it in my mind that you meant it was the drinker who was insisting that the brewer used authentic malts for Belgian beers.

 

[Michael Burnley]

GEB only sell Hallertauer Magnum, are they the same ?

 

[dcbrookes]

GEB only sell Hallertauer Magnum, are they the same ?

Yes, they are. German hops grown in that part of Bavaria are often prefixed with "Hallertauer". I have some German-grown Cascade that were labelled "Hallertauer Cascade".