 Hops
are a flower which was introduced to brewing about 1000 years ago but have
only been in common use for 200 years. The fact that hops are flowers tells
us everything we need to know about handling them. Hops are delicate and
impart the necessary bitterness required to balance the sweetness of the
malt. They provide the spice flavor in beer and the aroma which prepares
the taste buds via the nose. While color is the most obvious beer style
characteristic; bitterness, flavor and aroma, provide the primary distinction
between beer styles. There is a large selection of hop varieties to choose
from. Most are available in whole, pellet and leaf forms. Pellets are preferred
by most brewers because they are most predictable. |
| The
bitterness, flavor and aroma of hops are released into the wort through
boiling. The timing of additions of hops to the wort is called a hopping
schedule. The amount of bitterness imparted to the wort in called utilization.
There are four basic classifications of hop use. Bittering, flavoring,
finishing and dry hopping. These terms refer to how the selected hop variety
is used. |
| Bittering
hops are added to the boil for their bittering potential only. They contribute
very little hop flavor and aroma. The bitterness utilized from the hops
is a function of time and the total available bittering power in the hops. |
| Flavor
and aroma hops are added to the wort during to final 15 to 5 minutes of
boiling time. This is done to season the wort without boiling off all of
the hop flavor and aroma. The shorter the time the greater the aroma. |
Simple
hopping schedule;
-
Bittering
- 1.0 oz. Northern Brewer for 60 minutes
-
Flavor
- 0.5 oz. Fuggles for 15 minutes
-
Aroma
- 0.5 oz. Fuggles for 5 minutes
|
| A
disposable hopping bag is the easiest way to control hops. This is a muslin
sack which can be tied off at both ends with the hops inside. Be sure that
there is enough room inside the bag for the hops to expand. We want to
expose the hops to as much of the wort as possible. Most recipes will call
for two or more hopping steps. The amount of time the wort is exposed to
the hops determines the extent of bittering, flavor and aroma imparted
to the beer. The first hopping step is for bittering. |
| Bittering
hops need to be boiled for longest period of time. On average, a one hour
boil will extract all of the available bittering power of most hop verities.
Simply place the bittering hop sack into the brew pot once the wort has
begun to boil. Once again your brew pot is going to turn on you. The hops
will cause the wort to foam so be prepared to control the situation until
the wort settles down. It is a good idea to set a timer to remind you when
the wort is ready for the next addition of ingredients. |
| Finishing
Hops are used to add hop flavor and aroma to the beer. Simple drop the
finishing hops into the wort and prepare to avoid a boil over. Putting
the proper finish on a brew requires some experimentation and fine tuning
to your taste. The longer finishing hops are boiled the more flavor and
less aroma they will contribute. If they are allowed to boil for longer
than 20 minutes the flavor will dissipate and only bitterness will remain. |
