Mash Hopping

[oldjiver]

Sitting here tonight Bored stiff, I have been googling around beer sites. I came across something I have never heard of before, "Mash Hopping". Apparently 40% of the hops are steeped in the mash tun with the grain which gives no bitterness but "binds" aroma and flavor to the brew and is not boiled out. Dismissed by some but praised by others, has anyone here tried it?

 

[abeyptfc]

if your not boiling the hops then I don't know if you will get much bitterness from them, you will get aroma but after an hour and a half boiling then I would think it would be a bit pointless. just stick to adding early boil hops for bitterness of late hops for aroma. I like your thinking though! sometimes when I'm sitting in work I think, would this work, or would this work, whose to say it won't work, it could be the next big thing! a hopped mash, a guy on youtube i watch called big secue has experimented with hopped ciders and hopped wines and seems to like them!

 

[Dieseljockey]

I've never done this either, but have also read it on other sites.

would this work, or would this work, whose to say it won't work, it could be the next big thing! a hopped mash

Agreed.. :thumb: lets face it, to do a small test brew and find out for yourself wouldn't cost the earth...you'd know then.

 

[oldjiver]

So many different ways of extracting flavour! Our local microbrewery tells me he adds aroma hops after flameout and when the brew has dropped below 80C.
Apparently the idea behind mash hopping is that there is a chemical reaction with the hops and grains in the tun that will not boil out?

 

[Good Ed]

This is from Mitch Steele's book IPA

"A technique in which whole hops or pellets are added directly to the mash, mash hopping apparently was a common practice in the early 20th century. The theory is that the higher pH in the mash and the presence of oxygen allow the volatile compounds in the hops to form oxidation products with components in the malt. The resulting compounds are not volatile and remain in the wort throughout the lautering and kettle boil process, and lend a "more rounded" depth of hop flavour to the beer."

He goes on to say that there is a fair amount of discussion as to whether anything is gained by this technique, also there would be little point doing this in a late high hopped beer.