Beer Geek 102 - Alpha acids

How do you get that just right amount of hops flavor and bitterness in your beer. It is not the amount of hops directly that matter, rather the amount of alpha acids.....

Alpha acids are a class of compounds primarily of importance to the production of beer. They are found in the flowers of the hop plant and are the source of hop bitterness. Alpha acids may be isomerized to form iso-alpha acids by the application of heat in solution. Iso-alpha acids are typically produced in beer from the addition of hops to the boiling wort. The degree of isomerization and the amount of bitter flavor produced by the addition of hops is highly dependent on the length of time the hops are boiled. Longer boil times will result in isomerization of more of the available alpha acids. The alpha acid "rating" on hops indicates the amount of alpha acid as a percentage of total weight of the hop. Hops with a higher alpha acid content will contribute more bitterness than a lower alpha acid hop when using the same amount of hops. High alpha acid varieties of hops are more efficient for producing highly bitter beers.
For example, this list shows a number of hop varieties with the highest percentages of Alpha Acids typically found in each variety (percentages are based on total dried weight). Alpha acid percentages may also vary within specific varieties depending on growing conditions, drying methods, age of the hop, and other factors.

• BULLION 11%
• CASCADE 8%
• CENTENNIAL 11.5%
• CHINOOK 14%
• CLUSTER 8.5%
• CRYSTAL 5%
• EAST KENT GOLDINGS 7%
• EROICA 14%
• FUGGLES 5.5%
• GALENA 14%
• HALLERTAUER HERSBRUCKER 5%
• HALLERTAUER MITTELFRUEH 5%
• LIBERTY 6%
• MT. HOOD 8%
• NORTHDOWN 9.95%
• NORTHERN BREWER 8%
• NUGGET 14%
• PERLE 9.5%
• SAAZ 5%
• STYRIAN GOLDINGS 7%
• SUMMIT 19.5%
• TARGET 12.5%
• TETTNANG 6%
• WILLAMETTE 6%

The next several postings will be all about hops. So strap on your taste buds. If you have any questions, comments or stories, please share with us. And don't forget for you budding gardeners out there hops rizomes come out mid to late March. pearlcitysobs@yahoo.com.

Beer Geek 101 - IBUs (measuring the Bitterness of Beer)

Thanks to some cutting, copying and editing from Wikpedia we can begin our Journey into the language of home brewing. Today I would like to start with the IBU - a subject near and dear to my heart as the number gets higher with the more hops you use and I love hops!

The International Bittering Units scale, or simply IBU scale, provides a measure of the bitterness of beer, which is provided by the hops used during brewing. Bittering units are measured through the use of a spectrophotometer and solvent extraction. ^[11]

The bittering effect is less noticeable in beers with a high quantity of malt, so a higher IBU is needed in heavier beers to balance the flavor. For example, an Imperial Stout may have an IBU of 50, but will taste less bitter than an English Bitter with an IBU of 30, because the latter beer uses much less malt than the former. The technical limit for IBU's is around 100; some have tried to surpass this number, but there is no real gauge after 100 IBUs when it comes to taste threshold. Light lagers without much bitterness will generally have 5 IBUs, while an India Pale Ale may have 100 IBUs or more.

This is the beginning of a series of posts to discuss the terms home brewers know and use, if you have any comments or questions, or any specific terms you wanted summarized please let me know by commenting below.

Home brewing with a green thumb

Want to give your love for home brewing a natural twist? Consider planting and growing your own hops. This member of the hemp family quite literally grows like a weed here in the midwest. All it needs is a lot of sun and a lot of space. For those of you who don't know this plant can grow in excess of 20 feet. My solution to this fast growing plant...

I mounted a pulley to the apex of my garage. A rope attached to a board with ropes going down to the base of my plants. When it comes time to harvest the hops I just lower the board down to ground level. Once the hops get growing you have to direct the plant by wrapping the feelers the plant puts out around the rope so it grows in the right direction.

For those of you who have never brewed with whole hop flowers, not just pellets, beware displacement, because the flowers occupy a lot more volume. Get out your larger brew kettles!

I get my rhizomes from Jerry at the Bluff Brew Haus in Dubuque, IA. If you live anywhere in the Dubuque area I highly recommend you check out  his store - he is a great guy and a great resource.

If there are any brewers out there with a green thumb with any tidbits to share on growing or using hops, please share with us here at PCSOBs.

Waste Not, Want Not

What to do with the sludge at the bottom of your wort? Hops, we all love them. But when I started the homebrewing process I was told to take great care to avoid getting the hops sludge at the bottom of your wort into the fermentation carboy. A sentiment I have heard several times over the years.
     I have found that including the sludge does not harm, and in some cases has actually improved the flavor of my beer, especially those extra hoppy IPAs. Now this may be my bias as I am partial to hoppines, in fact I have yet to meet a hop I don't like.
     PCSOBs is curious about your opinion in the matter, post a comment or e-mail us and let us know what you think.