Flameout additions

[Chrissyr63]

Hi all,

Can I just check something as I seem to be misunderstanding a bit. When people mention flameout do they mean add the hops once the heat is off or do you cool to 80c and then add the hops and steep for 20-30 mins?

Chris

[ArmChair]

Add the hops at flame out.

The 80c for 20 mins is a steep, different, and very effective

[Matt12398]

They are effectively both flame out but different options. You can either put them in when you turn the elements off or cool to 80 and steep. People argue that you get a stronger aroma from a steep as the volatile hop compounds are less easily evaporated off at the lower temperature.

[Rick_UK]

When you add flameout hops you should leave them to steep for 10-20mins before cooling. I'm not sure how much difference flameout hops make over late boil hops but steeping at 80ish certainly adds more aroma in my experience.

Rick

[Mr. Dripping]

Alpha acids will isomerise at temperatures above 80. So any addition above this temperature will also add bitterness.

[Wezzel]

I tend to start with a lowish IBU (about 30) but add loads of hops at flameout. I throw them in immediately after turning off the boiler and wait 60 minutes before cooling.

I haven't a clue what the true bitterness is and there's no way of finding out but, hey, it works for me.

[BluePanda]

In the GW book some recipes call for adding 'post boil' hops. Earlier in the book it suggests waiting for the temp to drop to 80 degrees before adding them.

Just to clarify - does this mean at the end of the boil, using the immersion cooler straight away until the wort is 80 degrees, adding the hops, letting them steep for 20 mins before continuing with the immersion cooler until cool enough to transfer to the FV. Or do you cool, add the hops and continue cooling.

[Charles1968]

Flameout means put them in at end of the boil. There are a few things to consider:
* AAs keep isomerising down to 80 Celsius, at diminishing rate. It's hard to calculate exact impact on IBUs but the brewersfriend recipe planner has an option to choose "whirlpool" rather than "boil" and suggests guesstimating 10% utilization. For very high AA late boil hops, I sometimes whip out my hop bag at flameout and replace the used hops with aroma hops.
* You want to chill quickly to create cold break, but if you're doing a hop steep you want to give the hops longer to release their flavour. If you're using a fast chiller you might want to take a pause.
* You need to agitate the hops to get the aroma compounds to dissolve into the wort. Don't just let them sit there in the hot wort - stir them or dunk the hop bag.
* You get different aroma compounds extracted all the way down to 50 Celsius. See video in link below, last 5-10 minutes. Linalool is one of they key compounds you want to maximise as it tastes so good. I tend to drip feed my post boil hops, adding 10-15 grams at each 10 Celsius temp drop. I've found I get enough aroma from hops to skip dry hopping, which I'm never comforable doing due to the occasional appearance of dead snails/slugs in my cold break.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qD17ZeTSsE

[Wezzel]

Now that's a good idea - adding some hops every 10 degree temperature drop. Something I'm definitely going to try

[Chrissyr63]

Hi all,

so there are several ways to do it (as usual!).
The first thing that started me thinking was a posts that suggested you start your IC and get down to 80 and then stop and add your 'flavour' hops and steep them for say 20 mins and then start your IC again to finish the chilling.
What I have done in the past was add the hops as I switched off my boiler (electric) and removed the camping mat insulation. Then wait 20 mins before starting my IC to chill down.
So if I follow the 80c addition route do I need to make sure I add enough IBU with the full boil hops as none is going to added by the 80c ones?

Chris

[Charles1968]

Yes, you're losing out on some IBUs. Any recipe you might be following might well have failed to take full account of post boil isomerisation so quoted IBU levels are potentially underestimated. Getting IBUs spot on involves a large element of luck, but fortunately human taste buds can't discriminate increments of less than 6 IBUs so it doesn't matter a huge deal if you're out.

[timbo41]

Just when I thought I had it sussed!!! Along comes a different method! I like the idea of adding late hops incrementally after 80c....whether in practise I ever do it is quite another matter. Now all I need is a foolproof way of preventing the loss to all these late adds

[Wezzel]

It's always better to slightly over hop rather than under hop. Bitterness will fade over time but a bland beer is always a bland beer!