Hop Bitterness

[alwilson]

Hi All

Im working on an export stout recipe for a 100 litre brew length.

Bittered to 62 ibus - all from first wort hop additions.

Does it matter what hop provides the bitterness? I calculate ill need 570g of fuggles (about 20 quid) to get to 62 IBUs but only 165ish of say columbus.

Whats better? Is there a difference?

Chheers!

Alex

[trucker5774]

Others may say different, but I usually use the "strongest" hop I can find and less of it. I tend to do pale ales though with lots of late hops. I haven't noticed any difference in the beers I make, whichever full boil hops I use.

[Lewy]

bump
Any other thoughts from forum old-hands on this one? Was wondering this myself, doing an APA next
cheers
Lewy

[WallyBrew]

bump
Any other thoughts from forum old-hands on this one? Was wondering this myself, doing an APA next
cheers
Lewy

Seeing this has spurred me into action so hopefully you can make use of the following:

Your pale ale number 1 - bitterness = 32.9

Your LP clone - bitterness = 28.0 and the colour = 28 EBC

The LP is still conditioning..........

[Graham]

Umm - WallyBrew - We have to talk.

If you are interested, PM me an e-mail address and I'll send you the nearly finished chapter on hops for my new book. I know that it is going to be controversial, seriously controversial, when it hits an unsuspecting public, but controversy is the only way that things progress. It pooh-poohs just about every established home brewing myth and, sometimes, commercial brewing myths surrounding hop utilisation. I would appreciate your comments before I slip my neck into the inevitable noose that is doubtless in front of me.

[Wolfy]

Does it matter what hop provides the bitterness? I calculate ill need 570g of fuggles (about 20 quid) to get to 62 IBUs but only 165ish of say columbus.

Whats better? Is there a difference?

The short answer is 'yes', the longer answer is 'how do you want to balance cost V's small and perhaps unnoticeable differences in flavour'.
But the best answer is "it depends on what hops you are using, what the recipe is and what style of beer you are making".

Since you mentioned Fuggles, I'll assume you are brewing some sort of UK Ale, and so there is no way I'd want to throw a bunch of Chinook (as one example) as a bittering addition.
However, there are some hops like Challenger and Target that have been bred to have a high AA% value, but still have similarity to what you'd usually find in such beers.
Other hops are said to to be 'neutral' or 'clean' bittering hops, such as Galena and Northern Brewer, those should be virtually un-noticed when used as bittering additions.

Obviously using higher AA% hops means you need less, so they are 'better' in terms of cost (which is why many such varietys of hops were bred), however some may not be may not be suitable if they have characteristics that do not suit your beer. Some people would say that the 'better' option is to use the lower AA% 'traditional' hops like Fuggles all the way through, but I think most people try to find a balance between using appropriate bittering hops and the quantities (and cost) required.

[simple one]

Umm - WallyBrew - We have to talk.

If you are interested, PM me an e-mail address and I'll send you the nearly finished chapter on hops for my new book. I know that it is going to be controversial, seriously controversial, when it hits an unsuspecting public, but controversy is the only way that things progress. It pooh-poohs just about every established home brewing myth and, sometimes, commercial brewing myths surrounding hop utilisation. I would appreciate your comments before I slip my neck into the inevitable noose that is doubtless in front of me.

Come on!!! Spill the beans!

[Trunky]

[Graham]

Come on!!! Spill the beans!

Too complicated! And there is a lot more than just the hops chapter that is going to cause the crap to hit the fan. Just sit back and smile while I have to do an awful lot of ducking and diving later this year, to avoid the rotten eggs and tomatoes.

When you were at school they no doubt taught you Boyle's law, several of Newton's laws, maybe Stoke's law, and certainly Ohms law. Well, in the near future they will also teach Wheeler's law in schools, that being: Any beer that has a fixed EBU/OG ratio will also have a fixed utilisation percentage irrespective of what the original gravity might be; irrespective of what the bitterness might be, and irrespective of anything Glen Tinseth might wish to say on the matter.

If you wish to know how I came up with this ground-breaking law - it is the voices - the voices in my head - they talk to me you know - they tell me things - they tell me things that I would never be able to work out for myself - they are talking now - they are saying "stop this stupid drivel and get yourself off to bed".

[alfie09]

which new book is this then? the one realesed september? cant waitttttttttttt

[simple one]

Come on!!! Spill the beans!

Too complicated! And there is a lot more than just the hops chapter that is going to cause the crap to hit the fan. Just sit back and smile while I have to do an awful lot of ducking and diving later this year, to avoid the rotten eggs and tomatoes.

When you were at school they no doubt taught you Boyle's law, several of Newton's laws, maybe Stoke's law, and certainly Ohms law. Well, in the near future they will also teach Wheeler's law in schools, that being: Any beer that has a fixed EBU/OG ratio will also have a fixed utilisation percentage irrespective of what the original gravity might be; irrespective of what the bitterness might be, and irrespective of anything Glen Tinseth might wish to say on the matter.

If you wish to know how I came up with this ground-breaking law - it is the voices - the voices in my head - they talk to me you know - they tell me things - they tell me things that I would never be able to work out for myself - they are talking now - they are saying "stop this stupid drivel and get yourself off to bed".

Sounds good. I don't mind which mental state the practice comes from, as long as it works. So I guess this will all get a long explanation in the forth coming book?

[Graham]

Sounds good. I don't mind which mental state the practice comes from, as long as it works. So I guess this will all get a long explanation in the forth coming book?

Oh yes! 20,000 words of it. The hop chapter is a third of a novel in itself - as long as CAMRA do not chop half of it out.

[simple one]

Sounds good. I don't mind which mental state the practice comes from, as long as it works. So I guess this will all get a long explanation in the forth coming book?

Oh yes! 20,000 words of it. The hop chapter is a third of a novel in itself - as long as CAMRA do not chop half of it out.

Looking forward to it. Do you not get authors rights on what gets printed?

[Wolfy]

When you were at school they no doubt taught you Boyle's law, several of Newton's laws, maybe Stoke's law, and certainly Ohms law. Well, in the near future they will also teach Wheeler's law in schools, that being: Any beer that has a fixed EBU/OG ratio will also have a fixed utilisation percentage irrespective of what the original gravity might be; irrespective of what the bitterness might be, and irrespective of anything Glen Tinseth might wish to say on the matter.

You know, I almost believed you were on-to something ... but when you suggested that (home) brewing laws would be in school ... I had to concede that it must indeed be the voices that you are hearing.

[WallyBrew]

Umm - WallyBrew - We have to talk.

If you are interested, PM me an e-mail address and I'll send you the nearly finished chapter on hops for my new book. I know that it is going to be controversial, seriously controversial, when it hits an unsuspecting public, but controversy is the only way that things progress. It pooh-poohs just about every established home brewing myth and, sometimes, commercial brewing myths surrounding hop utilisation. I would appreciate your comments before I slip my neck into the inevitable noose that is doubtless in front of me.

Oh yes! 20,000 words of it. The hop chapter is a third of a novel in itself - as long as CAMRA do not chop half of it out.

So it's fiction then?

I prefer fact but I can do fiction.

However, should it be in the style of JK Rowling or Agatha Christie It'll be put down by page 2 never to be picked up again.

pm sent