Hops have low alpha acids

[MrN]

I've just received a pack of whole styrian golding hops in the post however the listed alpha acid content is a lot lower than I was expecting - 1.83%. I'd read that styrian goldings should be around 5.5%. I'm planning on following a recipe which asks for 22g of styrians in the last 10 mins of the boil. As these will mainly be for aroma, at this point, is the low level of alpha acids an issue? Should I increase the amount and if so is there a good way to work out how much?

Thank you.

 

[geetee]

I've just received a pack of whole styrian golding hops in the post however the listed alpha acid content is a lot lower than I was expecting - 1.83%. I'd read that styrian goldings should be around 5.5%. I'm planning on following a recipe which asks for 22g of styrians in the last 10 mins of the boil. As these will mainly be for aroma, at this point, is the low level of alpha acids an issue? Should I increase the amount and if so is there a good way to work out how much?

Thank you.

To acheive the same IBUs multiply the weight by a direct ratio i.e 5.5/1.83 x 22 which would be 66g however is your reason for adding these late to achieve bitterness or just for flavour?

The lower alpha acid will only affect the bitterness not the flavour so if it were me I would keep the 10 minute styrians the same and maybe tweak the full boil bittering hops slightly to compensate. Utilisation of the early hops is much higher so more efficient to add a few grams there to compensate for the lower alpha without affecting the flavour.

 

[MyQul]

Are you sure they're that low? Where did you get them from? I have someSG from geterbrewed which are 3.8%

I dont think there will be a problem with the flavour or aroma but at 10min addition will add some IBU's and there will be a difference because of the lower AA%. If you post the reciepe I or someone else can put it through a brewing calc to make the 10min adjustment for you. If you know the efficiency that the reciepe is based on that's helpful too.

edit: just cross posted with Geetee - do what he suggests :thumb:

 

[JapanBrew]

1.8???? I think my nike shoes have a higher alpha rating than that.
Sorry.... Bottle and brew day. Can't count how many I had to put down in the name of..... Name of....

 

[MrN]

1.8???? I think my nike shoes have a higher alpha rating than that.
Sorry.... Bottle and brew day. Can't count how many I had to put down in the name of..... Name of....

Yeah, I'm wondering whether it's worth order another lot from somewhere else as I have a little while before brew day. However if the alpha acids don't affect aroma then it's probably not worth it...

I use beersmith so I can try using that to up the IBUs. I'm also putting fuggles and goldings in for bittering. Fuggles from the same place are only 3.23% so planning on increasing those as it is.

Anyone know a more reliable place for ordering hops online?

 

[JapanBrew]

For bittering don't waste good hops for that.

 

[Leon103]

Yeah, I'm wondering whether it's worth order another lot from somewhere else as I have a little while before brew day. However if the alpha acids don't affect aroma then it's probably not worth it...

I use beersmith so I can try using that to up the IBUs. I'm also putting fuggles and goldings in for bittering. Fuggles from the same place are only 3.23% so planning on increasing those as it is.

Anyone know a more reliable place for ordering hops online?

Where did you get them from? Try Geterbrewed

 

[MrN]

Where did you get them from? Try Geterbrewed

The Home Brew Shop

 

[MyQul]

To an extent I agree with those of you who are saying don't waste good hops on bittering, But..I think it depends on what your making. If your making a stout or a porter then any bittering hops will do. But if your making something pale the bittering hops can have an effect on flavour. Bittering hops can have different types of bittering flavour, e.g. harsh bittering or more mellow bittering. I think even, a small amount of actual flavour might even be able to make it through to the final beer ( I'm not a big pale beer man, but I'm sure it's something I've read)

 

[JapanBrew]

MyQul could be. I've done a few different ones with different bittering and couldn't really see a difference. But then again we can only get 4 kinds of hops in Japan. So I don't like to waste my cascade or fuggle since they are bit pricey here. For some reason nugget is cheaper and has a high alpha so I primarily use that one.

 

[IainM]

Funny, I picked up some Hallertauer Hersbrucker from the same place and the AA is only 2%, on the assumption that I would just have to increase the early addition and keep the late addition the same. Hopefully this won't do anything strange, as the intended brew is for a friends wedding.

 

[MyQul]

What is the harvest year on these low AA% hops chaps? Are the homebrew shop taking into account that the AA% will degrade as time goes by and being honest, putting what they think/calculate the AA% will be now?

 

[IainM]

Well, online they say 2013, but the packet has a typo and says 20114. Both say 2%AA though.

 

[geetee]

For bittering don't waste good hops for that.

For most of my beers even APA I normally use a clean bittering hop such as target, magnum purely for the IBUs and keep the more fragrant and flavoursome US and NZ hops for late and dry hopping. If you put these in as bittering hops you just lose all of the flavour so stick with pure clean bittering hops!

 

[MrN]

What is the harvest year on these low AA% hops chaps? Are the homebrew shop taking into account that the AA% will degrade as time goes by and being honest, putting what they think/calculate the AA% will be now?

Mine say they're from 2015 harvest. The annoying thing is - on the website it says they have 5.55% AA (approx), which is why I ordered them from there, rather than somewhere else.

My fuggles, which are 3.23%, also claim to be from 2015 harvest. Fuggles are from France, Styrians from Slovenia.

 

[MyQul]

I would have phone up and complained if they advertised the AA% as one value and sent you out hops of a different AA% value. I often do my brew calulations and order the amount of hops I need. I would probably have ended up will less hops than I needed had I been you