No chill hop alterations

[rpt]

When I go AG I plan to use no chill methods. That is, I will transfer the almost boiling wort from the copper into a sealed 'cube' and leave it to cool naturally. The next day I'll transfer it to the FV and pitch the yeast.

I've read that some people adjust the hop additions when doing no chill but there seems to be no consensus. This is to prevent the beer being more bitter than intended. I think some of the confusion may be because some people transfer the hops to the cube (or leave the wort to cool in the copper) while others leave them in the copper.

Does anyone here do no chill and do you adjust the recipe?

It also occurs to me that whether you use an immersion or plate chiller could affect how long the flame out hops are in contact with the wort and at what temperature.

 

[bunkerbrewer]

Does anyone here do no chill and do you adjust the recipe?

Yep, I no-chill and don't adjust the recipe. I don't cool in the kettle and don't transfer any bittering hops to the cube, so the speed the wort cools has no effect on IBUs.

 

[calumscott]

What he said.

Except my last one where I forgot the flameout hops and bunged them in the FV during cooling. No idea what effect they actually had on the result but it's tasty beer!

 

[rpt]

The affect of flame out hops must vary from brewer to brewer since the amount of time they are in contact with the wort will vary massively.

With an immersion chiller, the hops are in contact with all the wort for the cooling time but the temperature is dropping rapidly.
With a plate chiller, the hops are in contact with a reducing amount of wort but the temperature is constant (or dropping relatively slowly).
With a no-chill cube, the hops are in contact with a reducing amount of wort with a constant temperature, but only for long enough to transfer the wort to the cube.

Since two brewers will be able to cool at different rates, and this will vary depending on ambient and water temperatures, there must be quite a variation in the effect of flame out hops. It won't affect the bitterness but could the flavour and aroma vary massively?

Does this make sense or am I talking nonsense?

 

[calumscott]

Makes perfect sense!

You are right, there will be minimal bittering from flame out hops, but you will get flavour and aroma from them which will be affected by the method of chilling as you describe.

The immersion chiller is likely to preserve the most volatile aromatics where cubing is probably the least successful.

I don't think it'll make a massive difference to flavour though.

 

[rpt]

If you transfer into the cube quickly, then won't the aroma be retained as it cannot evaporate? The only problem is the hops won't have been in contact with the wort for very long.

 

[calumscott]

If you transfer into the cube quickly, then won't the aroma be retained as it cannot evaporate? The only problem is the hops won't have been in contact with the wort for very long.

Well... maybe I suppose... it's all about partial pressures I guess - if you have very little headspace in your cube then equilibrium of the volatile will be reached quickly and little should be lost.

The point of flameout hops is exactly that - they aren't hot for long so the most volatile compounds are extracted but don't have the chance to evaporate. :thumb:

 

[lambert]

I no chill in cubes and I only alter the 0 minute hops additions - I dry hop the 0 minute additions. I normally transfer the wort to a cube within 15 minutes of flameout and I think most 0 minute hops additions will be in contact with the wort for longer than just 15 mins. Hence me dry hopping. No science involved here, just my take.