“HOPPING” YOUR BEER

A Few Things You Should Know

TOPICS

What we Love About HopsPlanning Which Hops to UseWhen and How to Use HopsBitterness/Malt Balance

WHAT WE LOVE ABOUT HOPS•Balances out sweetness with bitterness•Antiseptic that helps to preserve beer•Adds flavor and aroma

Alpha Acids

•Isomerize during the boil. •Longer boil = more bitterness •Hops high in alpha acids are used as bittering hops and added early in the boil.

Beta Acids•Do not isomerize •Contribute aroma rather than bitterness. •Hops with high amounts of beta acids are added late in the boil or post boil in the fermenter.

Essential Oils

•Contribute to flavor and aroma. •Hops with desirable essential oils are added late in the boil or post boil so the oil don’t get boil off.

Flavanoids(xanthohumol)

Xanthohumol is a prenylated chalconoid derived from a plant type III PKS, and is synthesized in the glandular trichromes of hop cones.[2] L-Phenylalanine serves as the starting material, which is converted to cinnamic acid by the PLP-dependent phenylalanine ammonia lyase.[5][6] Cinnamic acid is oxidized by cinnamate-4-hydroxylase and loaded onto Coenzyme A (CoA) by 4-coumarate CoA ligase to yield 4-hydroxy-cinnamoyl CoA, the starter unit for PKS extension.[5][6] This molecule is extended three times with malonyl CoA, cyclized through a Claisen condensation, and aromatized through tautomerization to form naringenin chalcone (chalconaringenin).[5] This intermediate has the potential to form a variety of different products depending on the enzymes that modify the core structure.[2][5] In the case of xanthohumol, a prenyltransferase called Humulus lupulus prenyltransferase 1 (HlPT-1) attaches a molecule of dimethylallyl pyrophosphate from the DXP pathway.[7] HlPT-1 has a broad substrate specificity and also participates in making other prenylated flavonoids in the hop plant.[7] Finally, an O-methyltransferase methylates a phenol substituent using S-adenosyl methionine.[6] Total syntheses of xanthohumol and derivatives have been achieved, though extraction from hops remains a primary source.

•All the good stuff is contained in a yellow sticky substance in the hop’s lupulin gland

PLANNING WHICH HOPS TO USE

HOP FLAVOR CONTRIBUTION

BYO.COM HANDY

HOP CHART

https://byo.com/resources/hops

Select Beer Style

Find Hops with Desirable Alpha Acid and Flavor

CHOOSING A HOP FORM

Pellets Plugs Whole

WHEN AND HOW TO USE HOPS

TYPES OF HOPPING

Traditional Continuous Hop Bursting

Whirlpool Hopbacking First Wort

Dry Bottle Dispenser

Traditional Hopping

• High alpha are hops added early in the boil for BITTERING

• Low alpha acid hops are added late in the boil for AROMA

Continuous Hopping

• Continuously adding hops throughout the boil

• Claims to add more hop character to the beer

• Criticized for wasting hops because bittering hops are not boiled long enough and aroma hops are boiled too long.

Hop Bursting

Hops are added at the end of the boil to give b e e r l e s s bitterness but l o t s o f h o p fl a v o r a n d aroma.

Whirlpool Hopping• A d d h o p s w h i l e

rotating wort in the b o i l k e t t l e t o concentrate hops and coagulated protein in the center so it settles in the middle of the bottom of the tank.

• W h i r l p o o l i n g minimizes the amount o f d e b r i s b e i n g transferred to the fermenter.

Hopbacking

Beer is strained through fresh unboiled hops to add additional hop character. The hopback also strains boiled hops and coagulated protein (hot-break) out of wort.

First Wort Hopping

• Adding bittering h o p s d u r i n g m a s h r u n o f f into the boi l kettle prior to the start of the boil.

• Supposedly adds a more rounded hop bitterness.

Dry Hopping

• Any wort addition after the wort has cooled.

• Adds flavor and aroma but not bitterness

• D r y h o p a f t e r fermentation has begun.

• H o p s a r e a h o s t i l e environment for bacteria and the beer has alcohol so the risk of contamination is low.

Bottle Hopping

Add hops to the priming solution when you boil it.

Dispenser Hopping

• Filtering beer through a dispenser called a Randall during serving adds hop aroma and some hop flavor.

• Creates lots of foam so you have to constantly r e l i e v e a n d a d j u s t pressure to keep beer pouring good.

TECHNIQUESBagging Loose Krausen Hopping Hop Aroma Tea

DescriptionPutting hops into a bag

and adding to the boil or to conditioning beer.

Putting hops directly into the boil or into beer while

it is conditioning.

Adding highly hopped fermenting beer to a beer

while it is conditioning.

Processing hops and two quarts of boiled 1.005-1.015 wort with a french press then

adding the tea to the beer after primary fermentation to add hop flavor and aroma but

little bitterness..

ProsLess hop particulate in

your chill plate, and finished beer.

Good hop utilization.Aids in conditioning the

beer. Helps remove diacetyl from lagers.

You get more aroma than with dry hopping and you add

almost no additional bitterness

ConsHop utilization drops by

10-15% so add more hops to compensate.

Potential for clogging brewhouse plumbing and

chill plates

Can potentially dilute your beer, distort the color and could make the beer less hoppy if less hoppy than

the base beer.

Could cause the beer to start to ferment so let it go until it

finishes if it does.

BITTERNESS/MALT BALANCE

BALANCEBU:GU = Bitterness to Gravity Ratio

Bitterness Unit

Gravity Unit

Hop Bitterness vs. Malt Sweetness

IBU = 25 OG = 1.050

GU = The last two digits of the OGBU = IBUs

EXAMPLE

BU = 25 GU = 50BU:GU = 25 / 50 = 0.5

The Higher the BU:GU the more bitter the beer1.0 = Highly Bitter | 0.5 = Balanced | 0.1 = Low Bitterness

NOTE: ATTENUATION LEVEL WILL AFFECT BU:GU

Low attenuation will reduce perceived bitterness

http://www.pencilandspoon.com/2012/11/forgot-ibu-think-about-bugu.html?m=1

BU:GU CHART

https://www.scribd.com/document/347480144/beer-bitterness-ratio-chart-bu-gu-pdf

EXAMPLE BU:GU CALCULATION

BU = 59.5 GU = 50 BU:GU = 59.5 / 50 = 1.19

BU:GU CHART

ALTBIER RECIPE BU:GU 1.19

REFERENCES

• Hops: wikepedia.com, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hops

• The Best of Brew Your Own: Hop Lovers Guide: https://byo.com/store/special-issues/hop-lovers-guide

• Hop Breakdown: Ales to Lagers, http://alestolagers.blogspot.com/2010/05/hop-of-week-hop-breakdown.html

• Forget IBU, think BU:GU: PencilandSpoon.com: http://www.pencilandspoon.com/2012/11/forgot-ibu-think-about-bugu.html?m=1

• Balancing your Beer with the Bitterness Ratio, beersmith.com: http://beersmith.com/blog/2009/09/26/balancing-your-beer-with-the-bitterness-ratio/