I've added my hops "how long now"?

[mancer62]

I brewed a Wilko extract IPA kit on 22/11/18 38pints OG 1046.
Yesterday 2nd Dec (10 days later). I made up a hop tea and added it to the FV along with the contents of the Muslin bag.
I boiled the hops(50g Cascade) in 3/4 pint of water for 5 mins. I then let cool for a.while before stirring them into my brew.
Does this seem a good enough way to have done this or could or should I have.done it differently?
The Gravity was at 1016 when I added the additional tea water and hops is it likely to change gaining more or less abv?
How long you recommend I leave the muslin bag & hops in the FV before removing. Ty

 

[terrym]

Most folks seem to leave the hops in the beer between 4 to 7 days, whether its a dry hop or a hop tea with the hop bits, bag or no bag, the reasoning being that if its less than 4 days the hops may not have given up their goodness, or if its more than 7 days you might get unwanted flavours coming in. That said others add hops for more or less time. In the end its what you feel is best for you. I usually go for 6 days with the last 2 days in a cold place to help drop the hops and clear the beer ready for packaging. However I always introduce the hops when the fermentation has almost finished or at 9/10 days whichever is the longest, so that I know that the beer will be properly finished and ready for packaging when the six days are up. In your case, given your current SG of 1.016, the SG may still be dropping after another 6 days is up, so your fermentation may still be active. However since you have used a bag you could always remove when it gets to day 7 or just leave it in until its finished. Its your choice. But whatever you do whether the hops are in or not, don't package until the fermentation has properly finished.

 

[Bigcol49]

Hi @mancer62
I have a dedicated cafetierre for hop tea.
I boil the water, let it drop to 64°C and add the hops. I swaddle the cafetierre in towels for about 15 minutes, push the press down and add the tea to the bottling bucket with the fermented wort..
I don't boil the hops as at least one essential hop oil boils off at about 65°C.

 

[mancer62]

Bigcol49 ty for your input as ever you too terry its apprecioated.
Bigcol you say an essential oil is boiled off at 65 C is this just with the Cascade I am using or is this with every hop? If so why do brewers boil hops then?
Also I am doing this IPA with 50g of Cascade...and I am doing my next one with 50g Citra...I am doing this to try and get to know the hops I like.
I admit I like the citrusy taste of Citra and I am looking forward to that one but can you inform me if Cascade is quite similar in taste or very different.

 

[Drunkula]

You boil hops for bitterness. Isomerisation and all that. It's all out there. All hops have their aroma compounds boiled away hence the hop schedule for bittering, flavour then aroma.

I do a similar thing to BigCol. I use one of those mini flasks with the water in at 65c then use a caffetiere.

I did a split batch with a dry hop, early hop tea as in 5 days before bottling, and a hop tea at bottling. The early hop tea was the one that died off fastest. I then tasted them week by weee. The dry hop was the nicest throughout what I'd call a standard drinking time - say 3 to 12 weeks, then they died off. The late tea lastest longest but the flavour was not as good as the dry hop, but not remarkably so.

For dry hop timing have a search for 'hop biotransformation' as well as the usual methods. You put them in close to the end of fermentation and can also add more after. I've not done it yet but I might within a few days.

 

[Bigcol49]

Hi @mancer62
The hop oil that is most prevalent in hops, or so I read online, is myrcene.
Although present in all hops, it represents 45-60% of the oils in Cascade, and 60 - 65% of Citra, both very high.
This article has led me to add only cheaper, bittering hops during the boil, saving the expensive hops like Citra and Cascade, for hop teas and dry hopping.
http://beersmith.com/blog/2013/01/21/late-hop-additions-and-hop-oils-in-beer-brewing/
This is also interesting: http://buffalobeerbiochemist.com/beer-science-essential-oils/

 

[terrym]

I admit I like the citrusy taste of Citra and I am looking forward to that one but can you inform me if Cascade is quite similar in taste or very different.

Here are some links to the characteristics of the most commonly available hops
https://www.crossmyloofbrew.co.uk/hop-guide
http://beerlegends.com/hops-varieties