Monthly Archives: January 2010

Hops…..more than just simply Alpha Acids!

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Hops

Ahhh, hops. Every brewers friend. It balances sweetness with it bitterness. It adds flavor and aroma to many styles of beer. Even in beers where you may think there is no hops, chances are it is there in the background providing just enough bitterness to prevent the beer from appearing sweet, even if there is not much hop aroma or flavor. But the focus on hops is almost always the Alpha Acids, and to a much lesser extent the beta acids. Since the focus of this article is not on those two components, I will only briefly brush through their role in hops before I hit on the main topic of my posting, co-humulone.

Almost all the matter that benefits beer is found in the lupulin in the hop cone. You can easily identify lupulin in the hop cone as the yellow powdery and slightly sticky substance under the cones of leaves (see picture below). The alpha acids, which when isomorized in the boil, contribute bitterness to the beer, as well as some mild preservative qualities because of their antiseptic properties as well. The Beta acids also contribute a slight bitterness, however, since they don’t isomerize, but rather become soluble through oxidation, high amounts of beta acids can contribute to off-flavors such as a vegetal aroma for example. This lupulin also has the other oils and resins that contribute flavor and aroma as well as co-humulone.

Lupulin

So why is understanding co-humulone important? By understanding what it does, you can control the type of bitterness your beer has. If you have ever had an IPA with say 60 IBU’s (International Bittering Units) that you just loved, but then had another that was stating it was also 60 IBU’s but you found the bitterness quite off-putting, it could have been the co-humulone level of the hops used in each beer. In short, it is the level of co-humulone in the alpha acids that will dictate the type of bitterness the beer will have. Higher co-humulone hops tend to have a more bracing or harsh bitterness, while lower levels of co-humulone tend to have a softer more rounded bitterness. Think Amarillo, and the type of bitterness it provides compared to Chinook.

So here is where you can really start to have fun with recipe formulation and playing with hop varieties. I consider lower co-humulone levels to be that of 25% of total alpha acid, anything below 20% I consider to be quite low. Most of you nobel hop varieties fall in this range (15%-25% co-humulone), but some American varieties, some of the newer varieties in particular fall in here as well. See the bottom of the post for a list of low co-humulone US variety’s of hops.

Now there is some debate on if co-humulone really affects the type of bitterness. From my personal experience, it does. I have brewed a few IPA’s using the traditional Chinook, Cascade, Centennial, and other “traditional” American hops, and I have made IPA’s using the newer varieties like Amarillo, Glacier, Simcoe, and Horizon. I found that I prefered the newer varieties as opposed to the traditional. I never knew why until I discovered the effect co-humulone level has on bitterness.

I do have to say though, that if you are brewing for competition, it may be a good idea to add a small amount of higher co-humulone hops to the boil. The reason is that judges, and other beer geeks, have come to expect a certain type of flavor and bitterness when it comes to American IPA’s. I have found that all low co-humulone IPA’s seem to be described as “not having the bitterness expected for an IPA” and such. I don’t really think that is the case, but rather the bitterness is more well-rounded and not as sharp. My low co-humulone IPA’s are quite bitter if you pay attention, it’s just the bitterness is…..different. But keep that in mind if you enter one in a competition.

Below you will find a link to a hop data sheet, you can use this to research hop varieties from the US, UK, Germany, and other countries. These data sheets are helpful for finding a particular hops alpha acid, beta acid, and co-humulone range as well as getting aroma profiles, primary usage, and alternatives if you can’t get that particular hop near you. Below that I listed the low co-humulone American hops I know of.

Hop Union Hop Data Sheet

US Low Co-humulone varieties

  • Amarillo
  • Citra
  • Glacier
  • Crystal
  • Golding
  • Hallertau
  • Horizon
  • Mt. Hood
  • Santium
  • Simcoe
  • Summit
  • Tettnang
  • Vanguard

Content Announcement

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I am excited to say that I have decided to add some new content to this blog. Very shortly I will begin interviewing Wisconsin craft brewers. I have a list made of the breweries and am gathering my contact information for all brewers I want to interview. I do have my first interviewee, David Oldenburg, the brewmaster at Titletown Brewery. Dave should prove to be  great interview. While at Titletown Dave has won both a Silver Medal in the 2008 Great American Beer Festival (GABF) for their Railyard Ale, a Düsseldorf altbier and a Bronze in the 2009 with Dark Helmet which is a Schwartzbier. The date and time need to be finalized, but I am shooting for early February to get together with Dave. A few other brewery’s I am going to try to line up are Hinterland, Stone Cellar, Hops Haven, as well as some larger craft brewers like Furthermore, Lakefront, and New Glarus just to name a few. Hopefully I can schedule interviews with everyone on my list and keep this idea going.

Review of Great Divide’s Belgica

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Great Divide Belgica

There is a little joke in the homebrewing community that sometimes when someone screws up a beer, they just call it a Belgian, because many times the flavors in that style are unique to the type of yeast used. Maybe also sometimes wild fermentation of the sour beers can leave some novice brewers to believe that if wild yeast or bacteria get hold of their beer, they can call it a Belgian whatever, and that’s OK. I’m sure that is not what Great Divide did, but a Belgian IPA made me think of some I have tried in competition that were obvious contaminated IPA’s that the brewer was trying to pass off as Belgian. I do want to go on record as saying that a screwed up beer and Belgian style beer are not one and the same at all. So,  with that little story out of the way, lets get on with the review.

As you may have noticed, I added two easy links to the right side of the page. One is to the full guidelines from the BJCP with all the beer styles, you can download this PDF to your computer or print it out if you want to have access to these at all times. I also added a link to a scoresheet so you can see what criteria I am using and scoring system. There is no Belgian IPA style so technically this is a specialty beer. And as I pointed out in past entries, you need to identify the base style (in competition the brewer needs to specify what the base beer was) and what the special technique, ingredient, or other aspect that makes this beer a specialty beer. A quick look at Great Divides website leads me to believe that I should treat this as an IPA with Belgian yeast used (even though they used Belgian Pilsner malt, its mostly the yeast that will add the Belgian Character) So it looks like they tried to take  Belgian Pale Ale and combine it with an American style IPA.

In the aroma there is a nice blend of Belgian yeast derived phenols. It’s cloves, spicy, and slightly peppery. I get some floral and grapefruity citrus hop aroma as well.  Malt wise the beer offers what I call a clean sweetness. Not quite corn-like but not much in the way of toast, caramel, roast, or other typical malt aroma.  I think the blend works very well here, but would like a touch more hops in the aroma. This bottle is just a bit weak in hop aroma for an IPA, but hop aroma does diminish with age. (8 points)

The color is a straw yellow with some very good clarity.  It poured a very nice head with some great lacing.Color seems bit low for both an IPA and Belgian Pale. (2 points)

The flavor is interesting. The beer is mildly sweet up front and finishes dry. What is interesting is the blend of Belgian yeast flavors with the grapefruity hop character. There is also some mild fruitiness, almost pear-like which softens the grapefruity bite. The malt flavor is slightly grainy, with some crusty bread flavor. Yeast wise, I am not a fan of the combination with the bitterness from the hops, but I can see its appeal that some may like. The hops and yeast flavors take center stage though without a doubt and the malt just barely supports the other flavors. As the beer warms, I also got some alcohol which was not in the aroma. (13 points)

The mouthfeel is medium/light with some higher carbonation, which leads to a bit of acidic feel. (4 points)

Overall, I have to admit that right off the  bat I really didn’t enjoy the beer. But, when evaluating a beer you sometimes need to look beyond if you like the beer or not, and look at the beer subjectively instead of objectively. If you look at what the brewer was trying to do, I think they did a good job of blending the two styles in a way that showcases what they intended to. Each beer style within this beer, was brewed well and had all the key components. Some fruitiness, yeast derived phenols, hop flavor/aroma/bitterness, and was fairly well balanced. I would just think a bit more IPA and touch less Belgian in this style would have been a bit better. (7 points)

For a Belgian IPA I score this beer a 33, which would be in the B- range if you were to try to put a letter grade on it.

If I were to put a personal twist on the review, I would say the spice from the yeast is odd with the hops, and does not work for my taste. But you can’t do that in judging, sometimes you have to put your personal feelings aside and look at what the brewer accomplished. There are times you are stuck judging styles you don’t particularly like, and often those are the best categories for you to judge. You tend to put personal taste or aroma preferences aside and pay closer attention to what the guidelines are for that style. They may not be as fun to evaluate or judge because you don’t like the style, but often those are the ones you leave the most subjective feedback.

Shipping Beer for Competition

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Homebrew Competition

A friend of mine from our homebrew club, The Manty Malters, has produced some very fine beers lately, and I keep telling him that he should be entering these in competition. First of all, he will get some great outside feedback aside from members of the club, but I am confident he will be taking some awards. At our holiday party this past weekend he was telling me he would like to send beer off, but is unsure about how to package and ship his beer for competition. So, this post is for Brian, and others like him who may be a bit unsure about how to send beer in to competition.

First, you need to find a competition to send to . There are two spots you can look that I know of. First is the Homebrewers Association competition calendar, and second is the BJCP Calendar. You will have to look at the specific rules for each competition because not all competitions are open to all categories of beer, and some are club only competitions. Club only competition means your club needs to be a member of the AHA to enter.

What competition you enter is important too. For the best chance at getting great feedback, regardless of winning a ribbon or medal, you want to enter a large competition or one with a great reputation. Smaller competitions are great too, and each will have some great judges. However, usually (but not always) the smaller competitions also have limited numbers of judges and many times some beers are judges by inexperienced or non-trained judges. But on the flip side, your chances of winning a medal or ribbon (if that is all you are looking for) are better with a small competition. After all, a decent beer has a better chance of placing in a competition where your category has 5 entries, compared to a larger competition where you may be up against 18 to even hundreds of other entries. But a win in a large competition just feels so much better. For some of us though, as long as you get solid and honest feedback, that is what we are looking for.

So, now that you found a competition and made sure the beer you are entering fits the category you are entering (This is very important. You want to make sure you read the guidelines and enter your beer where it fits best. You may have set out to create a dry stout, but if it is sweet you are better off entering it as a sweet because that is what the beer is.), you are ready to ship.

Being a shipping clerk and working in the shipping and receiving industry for 17 years, has given me some insight into how to ship these bottles with the least chance of breaking, while still not costing an arm and a leg. I will run this down for you here, then give detailed description on how I pack for competition or trades. The trick is to prevent the glass from hitting each other, double bag the beers (I will explain why later), and pack the box tight so there is no play inside the box at all. The box should feel like a solid mass with no internal movement. If you follow those rules alone, your beer will make it to its destination safely.

Attach Label

First you want to attach the proper label as required by the competition. You are not allowed to have any markings on the bottle or the cap, so you need to affix the paper label with a rubber band. I also suggest making sure the beer is not cold when attaching the label because the condensation can make any ink you use, run, or make the paper so wet it will rip.

Wrap it with foam, bubble wrap, or newspaper.

Next you want to wrap the beer in a layer of foam, bubble wrap, or newspaper just enough so that if two bottles do make hard contact, they will not clink together or make any sound.

Wrapped tight

As you see, you want enough foam or wrap to make a nice barrier. I also leave enough at the top and bottom to protect the neck and bottom. To hold it in place you can use any type of tape.

1st bag.

Now for the bagging. You want to use this first bag as a catch-all for when the carrier handles the package too rough and it does cause some breakage. The foam will help prevent the glass from cutting the bag (as long as you can foam inside the bag first)if it breaks, and the bag will help contain the beer.

2nd bag

Now here you can do it one of two ways. You can bag each bottle in two bags, or do as I have done and place a few bottles that have been placed in smaller bags, in one large ziplock bag. What this does is give you an additional layer of leak protection. If UPS or FedEx (Never ship beer USPS to competition) detects any leaks, your package will be stopped right there. So this way, even if you have breakage, your package will get to the destination.

Layer large shipments

If you are sending many bottles, you will want to place a large layer of foam in the bottom, then place a layer of bottles. On top of that, place more foam, then your next layer of bottles. You also want to make sure that the sides, front, and back are all packed tight too. In this picture, there is a layer of 4 bottles below this, then a layer of foam, and a partial of two bottles here.

Pack it tight.

Last, you want to make sure you pack the box tight with foam. You want to force the top down so that you can pick up the box and shake it, there should not be any movement. I can tell you that FedEx and UPS handle packages a lot rougher than you think, and putting a glass or fragile sticker on the box does little for how they handle it. So pack it very tightly, that is your best protection. If there is no movement inside the box, you will be fairly safe, and foam and bubble wrap are cheap. So don’t be afraid to use them. Newspaper works good too, but can easily compress. DO NOT EVER use packing peanuts. These allow heavy items to settle and there is a lot of movement allowed by packing peanuts. These are best used for lighter items in bigger boxes, but should never be used for heavy or fragile items.

I hope that helps with how to ship beer for competition. If you have any questions, feel free to comment.

Review of O’Fallon Cherry Chocolate Beer

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O'Fallon's Cherry Chocolate Beer

Today I will taking a look at O’Fallon’s Cherry Chocolate Beer. I picked this up simply because the label appealed to me. For some reason the label made me think about my childhood and those sodas we would get at the holidays. I guess you could call it an impulse buy.

When doing a fruit, vegetable/spice, wood aged, or specialty beer you always need to know the base style. Seeing as this is a fruit beer, I went looking for what the brewery says is the base style. For O’Fallons, all I could find is that they say it’s a dark wheat beer, so I am assuming the base is going to be a Dunkelweizen, but in reality that could mean a darker American wheat as well. But for sake of evaluation I will go with the Dunkelweizen. With that, lets take a look at it.

The aroma is dominated by artificial cherry that reminds me of maraschino cherry. The chocolate follows closely behind, and is the artificial chocolate flavor I talked about in the post “Chocolatizing Your Beer“. Behind that is some toasted malt, but not much else that I can pick out. I don’t get much in the way of dunkelweizen, not even any of the esters or phenols you should get in the wheat beer. Still, I don’t exactly think that was the goal. If I had to describe this beer to anyone as simply as possible, it just smells like a cherry cordial you just bit into. The cherry and chocolate are a bit overdone and artificial for my taste. (5 points)

The color is a muddy brownish read, and it poured a decent head. The head disappears quite fast. The beer is quite cloudy, probably from yeast which was in the bottle. (2 points)

The flavor is not far off from the aroma. It’s not as sweet as the aroma suggests though. The cherry is artificial in flavor and reminds me of drinking the juice from the maraschino cherry jar. The chocolate is muddled in a dry and candy-like impression in flavor only (without the cloying sweetness of candy). Think of chocolate flavored hard candy and that is the type of chocolate flavor we are dealing with here. Together the two flavors remind me of chewing on the last bit of a cherry Tootsie pop, and this is even more clear in the aftertaste. The good news is there is some toasty malt flavor that is picked out with some careful attention and there is definitely some low hop bitterness. The bad is that aside from some toasty malt, there is not much support for the wheat beer side of this beer. The beer may be a bit better with some real cherry and some type of real chocolate or use malts to get the chocolate character. Very rarely do flavorings cut it when they are the focal point of the beer. (9 points)

Mouthfeel is medium-light, with some slight powdery astringency sensation in the mouth. (3 points)

Overall, the beer is not bad and pretty drinkable. The only negative points I have is the artificial aspect of the beer. The cherry and chocolate are both artificial in both the aroma and flavor. It is sad really, because both flavors are easily added to beer with real ingredients and the results is so much better. To me, this comes off more like a cheap novelty than a serious go at a specialty beer. Still, in the end the beer is avoids being so sweet you can’t enjoy it. It is drinkable, and aside from stating on the website it was a dark wheat, the label is quite honest about what it brought to the table. (4 points)

In the end, I score this beer a 23 which is equal to a C or C- in my book. The artificial parts of the beer just don’t do it for me. So its OK, but nothing to really rave about.  Is it really a fruit beer then? Or more a chemical beer? You be the judge.

A few thoughts on Style

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     There are some brewers who take great pride in not brewing to any particular style, and I think there is nothing wrong with that. There have been times that I have just brewed a beer for sake of brewing something I think would taste good, with no particular style in mind. I think many brewers have done the same. But there are those who think style guidelines or beer styles are not needed or a waste of time. This point of view I do disagree with and here is why.
     Without style guidelines, a brewer has no target to make a desired product. Sure you can brew anything you want, but it is much easier to give your audience a preconceived notion of what they may be buying or drinking. For example, if I were to hand  you a bottle of beer and tell you it is a Bavarian Heffe, chances are you will have a general idea of what to expect. If I handed you a bottle of beer and said, “here try this” and then tried to describe what it is, sure you may get an idea of what to expect, but how do you convey this message as quickly and efficiently as possible? By grouping the beer into specific named category, the consumer knows what is expected of the beer in general.
     Even if you are brewing for fun and brewed a beer with no style in particular, how you tell a friend what the beer is like when you hand it to them? If you are like most brewers I know you will say something like “Well, its like a porter if you put a German twist on it by combining a porter and and weizen.” Well you may not have brewed to style, but used beer styles to tell your friend what you either were shooting for, what you ended up with. Like it or not, style is helpful in brewing to help communicate general assumptions.
     I feel I am very forgiving when it comes to style when I am simply drinking a beer, but when judging a beer or drinking a commercial beer that is listed on the label as a specific style, I am looking for that beer to be within the description of that style. I couldn’t buy a Pontiac Vibe and tell you its a Dodge Viper so why would I accept that in a beer? In competition you need to be fairly strict on style, but be forgiving in an informal environment. That’s just my take.
     Here are some guidelines links for anyone interested.
Brewers association Style Guidelines
BJCP Style Guidelines

     Now just for fun, let me tell you a story on what inspired me to write this post. Back in September I judged in the largest homebrew competition in Wisconsin, and was paired up with another judge who I ended up having a very rough session with. Rank is not a a sign of judging quality but it can be a gauge of experience. I learned that this guy took the exam several years ago and at this point was an apprentice or recognized, I don’t recall offhand but either way I was the senior judge at the table. All seemed pleasant and he stated he was excited to be judging Oktoberfest beers seeing as it was his favorite style. “I consider myself sort of an expert on this style.” he said.
      So all was going horribly once we started the flight. He hated every beer at the table and we spent a long time on each beer arguing over almost every beer. Beers that did not fit the style well, he scored high and others that were OK he scored low. In one particular beer he was trying to tell me the caramel character in this beer is OK for the style and that hop aroma is appropriate. Hmmm, you tell me (Oktoberfest Style Guidelines).  Finally as thing were obviously starting to get a bit more heated, he says to me, “Well, obviously you are not familar with the American Oktoberfest style, which this beer obviously is.”  Aside from thinking in my head that he was a pompous ass,  I proceeded to remind him how judging works and you are supposed to judge the beer according to the guidelines set forth by the BJCP, and the category that the person entered the beer in, another judge stepped in and asked to taste the beer in an attempt to settle our dispute. Well, needless to say he agreed with me that the beer was not in style according to the guidelines. The moral of the story is that style guidelines are there for a reason. To have a set description to grade or compare a beer to. In competition, or any blind evaluation you cannot take liberties and change what you feel a brewer was trying to do. If the brewer gives you a beer and tells you its a stout, and it pours a fizzy yellow and has no roast to it at all, you cannot judge it as a different style against other stouts just because you feel its more like  a pilsner.

The Beer Geek, Beer Snob, and Beer Nazi

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A beer geek, a beer snob, and a beer nazi walk into a bar. The beer geek orders a cream ale and the snob snorts, rolls his eyes, then asks for an IPA. All this time the Nazi walks out because the bar does not carry Sierra Nevada harvest ale and we all know that if a bar does not carry any Sierra Nevada its just not worth the time.
I was working on a post about this topic when my latest edition of Beer Advocate magazine came to my door. Inside was a very nice article about the very subject I was going to post on, so I deleted it. But now I thought, why should I not post my article on the matter just because someone else did it? After all, this blog is not a professional outlet, just my take on beer, brewing, and beer culture. So I thought I would go ahead with the post anyway.
For those in the know about beer, I am sure you have come across all types of beer enthusiasts of all different levels of interest and knowledge. But in my eyes there are three basic types of beer lovers, you have the beer geek, the beer snob, and the beer Nazis. Each has his or her qualities that make up the beer community and have an impact on beer culture. Let me cover the three types.
The beer geek, is someone who not only knows a lot about beer and/or brewing, but also understands that each beer has its place and like them or hate them, even the American lagers are a style to be appreciated for what they are. Websters defines a geek as: An expert or enthusiast especially in a technological field or activity. So in the beer world, a beer geek would be one who may be a self-proclaimed expert in beer, beer styles, or brewing. In my eyes it’s an enthusiast who has taken the time to try to learn as much as they could about beer and styles, and even though there may be beers or styles they are not fond of, they can respect the beer for what it is.
A beer snob is someone who thinks that any particular beer, brewery, or style is the best or maybe specific beer types, such as low alcohol beers or American lagers are not worth their time or inferior because basically they don’t think they are real beers. Snobs can be hard to get along with, but they usually do show a passion for beer. Many people today proclaim themselves as beer snobs, and refuse to drink anything other than extremely hoppy or very high alcohol beers. Anything less is not “in your face” enough for them. This is OK, but in all honesty they are missing out on the whole picture.
A beer Nazi is by far the worst. They take snobbery to a whole new level and think that only barleywines are good beers, or only beers from their favorite brewery are worth drinking, or if it doesn’t have 20 pounds of hops per barrel then the beer is crap. What separates the nazi from the snob is the strength of their convictions based upon their supposed knowledge of beer or brewing.

I think we all know at least two of these types of beer lovers. I’m not saying that if you are a beer snob, then you are a big jerk or anything like that, but I often wonder how one can truly claim to be a beer lover, enthusiast, advocate, or whatever and completely alienate a beer based on what style it is, who made it, or how extreme it is. After all, shouldn’t we be appreciating a beer for how good it is? How well it was brewed? And in some cases how true to style it is? I like to think so, but I know there are some who beg to differ and think that the envelope should be pushed at all times.
Personally, I can appreciate that, but more often than not I just want to enjoy a good well crafted beer regardless of how extreme it is, or who made it. Heck, I grew up on Bud Light, Michelobe, and Bush and once in a great while I get a craving for it. Sure it’s not my beer of choice and you probably will not find them in my fridge, but it’s not because I think they are crappy beers. They are just not what I usually want. After all, who wants a McDonalds hamburger when you have easy access to nice ribeyes for only a few cents more?
In the end, all I am suggesting is that it is OK to have a favorite brewery, a favorite style, a favorite beer, or a favorite type of malt, ect. But as a beer lover, I ask that you try to take a look at the whole picture and open your mind up to all the potential styles, flavors, and aromas that beer has to offer. I know most of you realize that a cream ale, or American lager can be tough to brew. There is not much flavor or aroma to hide behind, so you do have to respect that these brewerys can make a consistent product that is very tough to produce. I’m not saying you have to drink them all the time, but if your buddy offers you a Budweiser or Michelobe Amber Bock, don’t snort at him and turn your head to his offering. Try to look on the bright side and drink the beer for what it is, then go home and crack open that Imperial IPA :)

Stay tuned for Part 2, A segment on Beer Styles.

Hopbursting + 3 Homebrew Recipes using this Method

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My Homegrown Hops

I am a huge fan of the technique called “Hopbursting”. I first discovered the yet to be named technique in 2006 on a general discussion of the possibility of eliminating the bittering hop addition, and instead using massive quantities of hops at the end of the boil. A few guys tried it and really seemed to like the results, so I then also brewed my first beer with all late additions in September of 2006. Most of my IPA’s and Pale Ales since the discovery of this Hopbursting technique, have been done this way with what I feel are outstanding results. I will provide a few of my own recipes at the end of this posting, two will be pale recipes and one smoked IPA recipe.
First let me explain what Hopbursting is. The technique is simple, you just increase your charge of hops and deliver them all to the boil within the last 20 minutes of the boil. The thought is that bitterness is imparted to some degree during even a short boil, and this is true. I have made some very nice IPAs with all my hops added in the last 15 minutes. They are nicely bitter and the aroma and flavor are bright and pleasing. I also find the bitterness to not be as bracing or harsh and seems to have a more round and soft character. The thing to not be confused about, is hopbursting is not just simply adding a large charge of aroma and flavor hops, ALL hops are added during the last 20 minutes. There are no 60 minute additions. You can probably get away with adding 30 minute and still calling it hopbursting, but the original technique adds them all within the last 20 minutes. As an example, in my smoked IPA recipe I add 7 ounces of hops all within the last 10 minutes of the boil.
So what are some the benefits of hopbursting? First and foremost, this technique gives you the bright and clear hop flavor and aroma that many people look for in a good IPA or American Pale. You can achieve these results without dry hopping, that of which I am not a personal fan of. Although I do enjoy dry hopped beers from time to time, I find the hop flavor to be a bit more grassy and raw than I like.
Another advantage is the bitterness I spoke of. If you don’t enjoy the harsh or bracing bitterness that some IPAs have, but yet yearn for intense hop flavor and aroma, then this is the technique for you. As I explained before, I find the bitterness to be more rounded and pleasing to the palate. The flavor also seems to shine more, where in traditionally hopped beers, the flavor seems to take a back seat to the bitterness. Don’t get me wrong, you will still see a good deal of bitterness, but it just won’t have the same feel to it.
Every technique has some disadvantages, and hopbursting has them as well. One disadvantage is that you lose more wort to absorbtion. So increase your wort volume based on how many extra ounces of hops you use. Also, hops are not all that cheap (but getting better again) so more hops will equal more cost. Another thing to consider is that if you don’t have a false bottom or good way of straining the wort, you will have a lot more hop matter to clog your spigot. One last thing I can think of to consider is your PH. If you measure your PH, remember that a high PH can make your beer appear more bitter than what it is. So with more hops, can come more bitterness than you want if your PH is too high. So pay attention to that.
All those things considered, Hopbursting is a good way to move more into the realm of hop flavor and aroma, instead of the just intensely bitter IPA’s. Below are some of my favorite recipes that I hopburst, and these all have turned out quite good. Keep in mind that the IBU’s for hopbursted beers probably appears a slight bit lower than what is listed. I also list the estimated OG and FG instead of my measurements.

Brass Monkey Pale Ale (My First Hopbursted Beer)
5 Gallon Batch

10.00lb   Pale Malt (2 Row)  US (2.0 SRM)
1.00lb     Caramel Malt – 10L  (10.0 SRM)
1.00lb     Victory Malt (biscuit) (Briess) (28.0 SRM)
2.00oz     Chinook [12.80%] (10 min)
2.00oz     Amarillo Gold [8.40%] (5 min)
0.40oz     Chinook [12.80%] (0 min)     -
1 Pkgs     US-05 or WLP001 or Wyeast 1056     Yeast-Ale

Single Infusion Batch Sparge

Mash in with 15 quarts of water at 165.9 degrees F. Mash for 60 Min at 154.
Batch Sparge with 4.75 gallons of water based on equipment.

Ferment at 62 degrees until done. No need for secondary.

Est. OG=1.60
Est. FG=1.014
ABV=6%
IBU=42.4

Land of Lincoln Pale Ale (This beer has taken a 1st and 3rd place medal in competition)
5 Gallon Batch

10.00 lb     Pale Ale Malt 2-Row (Briess) (3.5 SRM)
1.50 lb     Victory Malt (25.0 SRM)
0.50 lb     Munich 10L (Briess) (10.0 SRM)
1.00 oz     Columbus (Tomahawk) [16.10%] (15 min)
0.50 oz     Columbus (Tomahawk) [16.10%] (10 min)
1.00 oz     Cascade [5.30%] (5 min)
0.20 oz     Glacier [5.60%] (5 min)
1.10 tbsp     5.2 PH Stabilizer (Mash 0.0 min)
1 Pkgs     US-06, WLP001, or Wyeast 1056     Yeast-Ale

Mash in with 15 quarts of water at 165.9 degrees F. Mash for 60 minutes at 154 degrees. Sparge with 4.75 gallons of water per your equipment.

Est. OG 1.050
Final 1.012
ABV 4.5%
IBU 41

Emperor’s Hand IPA (Smoked American IPA) and Juniper IPA
5.5 Gallon Batch

Please refer to my home roasting post to get the instructions on how to make the home roasted malts.

12.00 lb     Pale Ale Malt 2-Row (Briess) (3.5 SRM)
1.50 lb     Gold Malt (home roasted) (20.0 SRM)
1.00 lb     Amber Malt (home Roasted) (22.0 SRM)
1.00 lb     Copper Malt (home roasted) (100.0 SRM)
1.00 lb     Deep Amber (home roasted) (60.0 SRM)
3.00 oz     Simcoe [13.40 %] (10 min)     Hops
4.00 oz     Amarillo Gold [8.90 %] (5 min)     Hops
1.00 oz     German Saphire [4.11 %] (0 min)
1.00 tbsp     5.2 PH Stabilizer (Mash 0.0 min)
1.00 items     Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 min)
1 Pkgs        (DCL Yeast #US-05, WLP001, or Wyeast 1056 (chico strain)

Mash in with 20.63 quarts of water at 168.2 degrees F. Mash for 60 minutes at 154 degrees. Sparge with 4.5 gallons of water per equipment.

Ferment at 62 degrees until finished. No need for secondary.

OG 1.067
FG 1.016
ABV 6.26%
IBU 62.7

For Juniper IPA I added 1 package of Juniper berries soaked in 1 1/2 cups 170 degree water for 15 min. I added water and all. (Note – next time add Juniper to primary after fermentation is complete, or rack to secondary and add berries and water) Let sit for 2 weeks on berries.