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.

To add a distinct chocolate character to beer, brewers use roasted malts, cocoa powder, bakers chocolate, bar chocolate like dark chocolate,  cacao nibs, chocolate flavoring, or a combination of these. I have had beers that used all of these methods and some are better than others in my opinion. Out of these, the worst is the use of bar chocolate and Baker’s Chocolate. To make the chocolate into a bar, the manufacturer uses cocoa butter or other fats to bind the chocolate. You do not want these fats and oils in your beer, not only does it affect head retention, but fats go rancid fairly quickly. Chocolate flavoring can be OK, but many times it does not give you the chocolate character that goes well with beer. Most chocolate flavoring gives you a sweeter milk chocolate or chocolate candy flavor (maybe you remember Frederick Miller Classic Chocolate Lager from Miller Brewing Co).  The use of Cocoa Powder is pretty popular, but in all honesty still tastes like cocoa powder in the beer, but it can work. The use of malts to impart chocolate is probably the best, but can sometimes be tricky to really get that chocolate character you may be looking for. For, me the use of Cacao Nibs gives you the distinct natural bitter-sweet chocolate flavor and aroma, non of the fats, and does not give you that cocoa powder flavor.

Here is what Cacao Nibs look like.

Cacao Nibs are chocolate at is roots. They are the roasted and broken up pieces of the cacao bean. You do need to find the roasted nibs, and not raw. There is a difference. There are several vendors that sell Nibs, and I prefer these.

Scharffen Berger Cacao Nibs

You can add the nibs to the end of the boil for a small amount of chocolate flavor and aroma, or add them to either the end of the primary or in the secondary fermentor. The best way that I have found to impart the most the character from the nibs is to soak them in vodka for 24 to 72 hours prior to adding them. You use just enough to cover the nibs amount you want to use. For example, if you use 6oz for a batch of beer, the amount of vodka it takes to the cover the nibs in a small container is not enough to alter the ABV by anything you can detect by taste or smell. You do add the nibs and vodka to the beer. Just remember, only add enough to cover the nibs, no more than that.

So why the vodka you ask? Because there are volatile components to the chocolate that are not soluble in water. So for better extraction of the flavor and aroma qualities of the nibs, you need a medium like alcohol to draw them out. Vodka is neutral enough to do the job, while not affecting flavor or aroma in the small amount used for a 5 gallon batch of beer.  Another benefit is that the vodka is high enough in alcohol to sanitize the nibs prior to adding them to the primary or secondary fermentor.

So does it work? Yes, I have a special recipe I will share with you that I have done well with in competition. The extract version of the beer and the all grain version of this beer have both won awards. The all grain version also lost by only 4 votes in a “Best of the Fest” people’s choice award at a brewfest against 30 commercial brewers and one other homebrew club. The issue with this beer you can expect if you enter it in competition is that it is what I call a tweener beer. It is too dry to be a sweet stout, too sweet to be a dry stout, and does not fit in the oatmeal stout category well even though there is some oats in the recipe. But one fact remains, this is a very good people pleasing chocolate stout.

The 501st Vader's Fist Chocolate Stout

The 501st Vader’s Fist Chocolate Stout (All Grain Version)

Batch Size= 5 gallons

6.00 lb Pale Ale Malt 2-Row (Briess) (3.5 SRM)
2.00 lb Munich 10L (Briess) (10.0 SRM)
1.25 lb Chocolate (Briess) (350.0 SRM)
1.00 lb Caramel Malt – 60L (Briess) (60.0 SRM)
1.00 lb Oats, Flaked (Briess) (1.4 SRM)
0.25 lb Roasted Barley (Briess) (300.0 SRM)
1.50 oz Fuggles [4.10%] (60 min)
1.00 oz Fuggles [4.10%] (30 min)
1 tbsp 5.2 PH Stabilizer (Mash 0.0 min)
6.00 oz cacao beans (Secondary 7 days)
1 Pkgs US-05, Wyeast1056, or WLP001

OG=1.054
FG=1.013
IBU’S=33.5
SRM=40.5
ABV=5.3%

MASH INFO:
Single infusion/Batch Sparge/Full Body
Mash in with 14.38 quarts of water at 174. Should equalize to 156 degrees. Mash at 156 for 60 minutes.

Batch Sparge twice with 2.5 gallons of water at 175 degrees.
Boil for 60 minutes using the hop schedule listed in the ingredients section.

Add Nibs to primary after fermentation has ended, do not rack beer to a secondary. Just add the nibs to the primary fermentor. 2-3 days before adding them, soak the nibs in just enough Vodka to cover the nibs. Then dump them in, vodka and all, let sit on the nibs for 7-10 days max, 3 to 4 days seems about right. Add Milk Sugar if preferred.

501st Vader’s Fist Chocolate Stout (Extract Version)

6.60 lb LME Dark Traditional (Briess) (8.0 SRM)
1.00 lb Chocolate (Briess) (350.0 SRM)
3.25 oz Fuggles [4.10%] (60 min)
1.00 oz Fuggles [4.10%] (25 min)
1.00 tsp Irish Moss (Boil 10.0 min)
6.00 oz cacao beans (Boil 5.0 min)
1 PKG US-05, Wyeast 1056, or WLP001

(For 5 gallon pot) Bring 1.5 gallons of water to 158 degrees and place grains in pot, place cover on pot and allow to steep for 30 min. Remove Grains and Sparge with 1 gallon of Hot Water in a strainer. Bring water volume to 4.0 gallons. Bring Water to boil and add LME and EKG hops.  Add Sterling Hops at 30 min in. Then Add Irish Moss with 15 min left in boil. Cool and add top-up water to fermentor as needed to reach 5 gallons. Soak nibs in Vodka for 2 to 3 days and add nibs and vodka to primary after fermentation slows allow to sit on the nibs for 7-days. If you have the ability to do full boils, add your usual water volumes for a 5 gallon batch.

If you have any questions, don’t be afraid to ask.

D.O.A. IPA

Recipe Specifications
————————–
Batch Size: 5.50 gal
Boil Size: 6.92 gal
Estimated OG: 1.066 SG (Actual was 1.059)
Estimated Color: 12.4 SRM
Estimated IBU: 117.9 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 65.00 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
————
Amount        Item                                      Type         % or IBU
11.00 lb      Brewers Malt 2-Row (Briess) (1.8 SRM)     Grain        70.97 %
2.00 lb       Victory Malt (biscuit) (Briess) (28.0 SRM)Grain        12.90 %
1.50 lb       Vienna Malt (Briess) (3.5 SRM)            Grain        9.68 %
1.00 lb       Caramel/Crystal Malt – 40L (40.0 SRM)     Grain        6.45 %
0.50 oz       Newport [9.30 %]  (60 min)                Hops         13.6 IBU
0.50 oz       Newport [9.30 %]  (40 min)                Hops         11.9 IBU
1.00 oz       Simcoe [11.90 %]  (25 min)                Hops         24.2 IBU
1.00 oz       Amarillo Gold [8.60 %]  (20 min)          Hops         15.2 IBU
1.00 oz       Palisade [6.30 %]  (20 min)               Hops         11.2 IBU
1.00 oz       Palisade [6.30 %]  (15 min)               Hops         9.1 IBU
1.00 oz       Simcoe [11.90 %]  (15 min)                Hops         17.3 IBU
1.00 oz       Amarillo Gold [8.60 %]  (10 min)          Hops         9.1 IBU
1.00 oz       Glacier [4.50 %]  (5 min)                 Hops         2.6 IBU
1.00 oz       Palisade [6.30 %]  (5 min)                Hops         3.7 IBU
1.00 oz       Glacier [4.50 %]  (0 min)                 Hops          -
1.00 items    Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 min)          Misc
1 Pkgs        SafAle American Ale (DCL #US-05)          Yeast-Ale

Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Medium Body, No Mash Out
Total Grain Weight: 15.50 lb
—————————-
Single Infusion, Medium Body, No Mash Out
Step Time     Name               Description                                               Step Temp
60 min        Mash In            Add 9.03 gal of water at 163.3 F         154.0 F

Notes:
——

This was a brew in a bag batch where all the water is added at once in the kettle while the grains are contained in a bag. The process had a few glitches, but the beer turned out awesome.