Hop Bursting

[ctninh]

I don't know about "soapy" for hops. I tasted that off-flavor before but I cannot attribute it to hops. Was the beer fatty, slick, cheesy, or detergent-like? It can be hop storage or water profile that leads to that off-flavor, in my experience.

For hops in the whirlpool, hop bursting, or similar techniques here are things to consider for it (if anything, to make you want to have your keg/bottle collection more full before starting considering these things). Brewing and beer is rarely a standardized process with similar techniques, environments, and equipment. Here by $0.63 to keep the thread going.

For bitterness:
1) Alpha-acids isomerize to become biter substances at around 180 degrees F. How long are the hops in contact with wort at that temperature? The whirlpool may be a certain time, but the time above 180 degrees F is what matters for bitterness.
2) Tossing in hops is usually not the start of isomerization. Hop compounds must dissolve in the wort in order to extract bitter flavor. It's the exposure to the 180 F temperature that determines the conversion. For example, tossing in tea in hot water does not instantly make an homogenous tea drink. It takes time for flavor particles to mix depending on temperature, agitation, and vessel geometry. At a beer homebrew scale, it's really just amount of agitation.
3) Magnesium ions help isomerization. Too much is also bad.
4) Alkaline pH (basic) also helps isomerization. Not likely at the whirlpool stage since most wort is around pH 5.5. Just putting what was researched out there.
5) Of course, dumping in a lot of hops or having a lot of high-alpha varietys help at the expense of your wallet.
6) With processing equipment (tubing, pumps, multiple vessels, ect.) bitterness is lost depending on how much stuff is used. During and after fermentation, iso-aplha acids are not as soluble in wort/beer and want to get out of solution as much as possible. Thus, they will cling to things, The more things to cling onto, the more bitterness loss.

For aroma:
a) What's the pitch rate and vessel geometry? As fermentation takes place, bubble production will scrub out aromas in the wort. More vigorous fermentations will scrub out more aroma. This assumes no dry hops added to replenish the aroma compounds.

Production considerations:
i) Hop products allow for a post-fermentation adjustment of beer aroma and flavor. I may tick off the purists here, but use of such items exist in commercial brewing (see below).
ii) For bitterness, big, international breweries use isomerized iso-alpha extract can be used to increase bitterness. It helps make things consistent.
iii) For aroma, try an IPA named Hop Hunter. The Pale Ale is a good comparison between hop plant and hop product (if you can factor out alcohol level differences).
iv) Hop additions that late can add to haze. Polyphenols in the hop plants usually make their exit with the hot break in the boil. Since there is not much heating in the whirlpool, then brewers should consider the possibility of having hazy beers. Appearance is just 3 points on a BJCP scale, but I've judged categories where 3 points was the difference between medals.
v) Wort loss. Hop plant matter absorbs so much wort.

For me, I like to give some hops (0.5 to 1 oz) of magnum or crystal at the start of the boil. That usually gives a clean, least aggressive bitterness to beers. Aroma hops are then added within 15 minutes in the boil or after that point to give aroma. My recent pale ale at was made using this method.

Overall, people need a well trained palate or nose to detect changes in procedure, process, or recipe. Not many train to be at that level. I am not there yet. Even a well calibrated gas chromatography machine (measure aroma compounds) and spectrophotometer (measure IBUs) gives a biased story of the beer.

[bwarbiany]

I don't know about "soapy" for hops. I tasted that off-flavor before but I cannot attribute it to hops. Was the beer fatty, slick, cheesy, or detergent-like? It can be hop storage or water profile that leads to that off-flavor, in my experience.

It might not be the correct descriptor. It's the best I could come up with. And it's ONLY Amarillo.

It's not my homebrew, either. I've tasted this across a bunch of commercial brews from a variety of breweries, and every time I've tasted it I confirm--always Amarillo.

I'm not saying there's anything wrong with the hop... I think I'm just really sensitive to whatever is highly prominent in Amarillo... Just like some people [genetically] are predisposed to thinking cilantro tastes soapy... Thankfully I don't have that problem.

[JonW]

Interesting article I saw today relating (mostly) to dry hopping and bitterness perceptions.
https://beerandbrewing.com/rethinking-b ... azy-beers/