A) What are your preferred hops for bittering an IPA and why?
B) Are there any combinations of hops (or types of hops) that work particularly well together for flavor/aroma? Any combinations that you’ve tried that don’t work well together?
Word around the kettle seems to profess the following two truisms:
- High-alpha hops are continually developed and made accessible.
- Long hop boil time destroys any flavor/aroma contribution and leaves only bitterness.
So, for bittering additions, why would anyone use anything but the cheapest most high alpha hop they can get their hands on?
Assuming that there is some good reason for not always using a super-high-alpha bittering hop, what else should be considered? What, besides bitterness, is transferred into the final beer if not flavor or aroma?
Obviously I’m not Mitch, but have you ever tried dry hopping at fermentation temps? Dry hopping cold leads me to the flavors you are talking about, especially with whole hops.
I’d like to piggyback this question as well with respect to dry hopping temperature as it relates to hop essential oils ratios. I usually dry hop in keg for a period close to fermentation temperature, but I would like to know how these variables effect aroma over ranges from near freezing to room temp.
Thanks
One more question:
Do you have any techniques to favor certain flavors/aromas over others from a type of hop in the finished beer. Specifically, is there a way to get that great tangerine character out of Summit without getting the onion/feet/cheese character. Another example would be for hops like Cascade or Amarillo that have both floral and citrus qualities, is there a way to adjust the balance towards either floral or citrus in the finished beer?
Hi Mitch!
Thanks for taking the time to answer our questions! I’ve been home brewing for a couple of years on the same system. I’m producing 5 gallon batches currently, and I’m thinking of upgrading my setup to brew bigger batches. I think you’re experience brewing on many different size systems would help me.
My question is multi-part, but all parts revolve around scaling up recipes. First, on a personal level, if I were to upgrade to a system that is capable of producing batches three times the size I am currently producing is scaling up my recipes as simple as multiplying my ingredients by three? What are the common problems that I should be prepared for when scaling up recipes to larger systems? What size of a pilot system do yo use at Stone to test new recipes? And, lastly, how do you go about formulating recipes from a homebrew system to brew on your full scale production brew house… is it all about proportions and percentages or are there limiting factors too?
Thanks again!
Mitch must be busy eh? Hope he gets a chance to answer some good questions here.
Hello and thanks to Mitch for taking the time to answer questions for the homebrewing community! Also, thank goodness Stone is finally in Iowa!
Here is my question. I can not seem to make an IPA that is even close to commercial levels and I always seem to get the same flavor profile; a kind of dirt flavor with a nasty bitterness. I have tried different water, malts, hops, mash temps and hop addition times. I am shooting for a nice dank or resinous IPA and have been using Simcoe, Centennial, Chinnok and CTZ mostly. I am pretty confident that the hops are not the problem as I have used from several different sources. I am also pretty solid on my fermentation temps. I usually just toss my pellets into the boil and ferment for 2 weeks or so. My last 2 ideas are to bag my hops and to rack off the trub as soon as the bulk of fermentation is done, any other helpful hints?
Thanks again, Chad
I have often wondered how close to reality the hop bitterness is calculated for historical IPA’s. You mentioned at one point in your book that Americans sometimes heated the hops too much when drying them, but moisture content is important when calculating the weight of hops in any recipe. Also, it said that sometimes fresh hops were used, but I assume you meant hops that weren’t already used in the recipe, not actually fresh or “wet” hops. Cold storage wasn’t available for the most part, so the bitterness would decrease over the season. I also read that brewers sometimes removed hops from the boil after certain times because they thought it would add harsh flavors.
Do we pretty much assume that all the hops in the 1800’s were about the same alpha acid percentage and fairly low - 3 or 4?
So when the historical brewer’s log says 5 pounds per barrel, just how much hop flavor or bitterness is that really?
Albeit not likely … I would like Mitch’s feedback on hops in Arrogant Bastard. The CYBI and other “standard” recipes call for Chinook. The Craft of Stone Brewing, absent of A.B, references a lot of non-Chinook hops for the hoppy beers.
Crossing the fingers and holding my breath …
GOOD LUCK, You won’t get any info on AB. That is classified/off limits. You might as well start breathing. They have gradually changed their hops over the years. Early on they used Chinook a lot, especially as a bittering hop. The only thing that is certain is that from everything they have said is that AB has not changed over the years. If you look at their early recipes to now their bittering hops have gradually changed over time, but generally the flavor hops remain the same…
From the original post…“Answers will be posted on Nov. 12.”
Some of the best IPA’s I’ve had are not overly bitter (at least to my palette). Conversely, some of the WORST ones I’ve had ARE overly bitter! To me, the real genius of an IPA lies in linking up a substantial, complex (yet background) malt profile with a layered, pleasant, and aggressive hop profile. Just an example, and I know it is marketed as an APA, but Dale’s is a great example of this. If googled, you can find dozens of amateur video reviews of this beer, relishing its ‘hoppiness’. While it is ‘hoppy’, I think the reason it sells so well, drinks so well, and INTRODUCES so many people to the category so well, is that its malt background balances out a great hop bouquet.
Are there any key processes or malts that brewers (particularly on a homebrew scale) could/should play with to get these types of results? Melanoidin? Biscuit? Base of Marris Otter?
Great job on the “Enjoy By” IPA btw!
Cheers-
I just brewed a Black Double IPA using Carafa III at 5.4% of grist; a base of Maris Otter, some crystal and what-not, and what I deemed to be a ridiculous hop schedule (over half a pound spread out over 5 minute intervals for a 60-minute boil). It’ll get 2 dry-hop charges over a 10-day period as well.
Thinking that this should first be a double IPA, then it should be black, I tried to keep the dark malt at a level where it would just make the beer dark, but not too “roasty” so as not to compete with the hops.
When I was done collecting the wort, it was quite dark and it smelled a bit more roasty than I thought it would, but not too roasty (not quite stout-like), in my opinion.
With enough hops and what I hope turns out to be a balanced malt background and considering the dark malt was only 5.4% of grist; will the slight roasty character I smell now mellow in the fermenter or otherwise fall to the background where it should be?
Wow, I TOTALLY missed that part. Never was the best at reading comprehension…
Mitch,
First off, thank you for a very fun and insightful read! Love the book! Second, thanks for making bad ass hoppy beers! Can’t wait until they hit the Nebraska market someday, but Iowa and Missouri will do for now ;D.
A couple of questions:
1. Can you elaborate on the hop additions used in the recipe section of the book? I know they are calculated by weight, so when you say for example in the Ruination recipe “62.5% Columbus at the start of the boil, then add 37.5% Centennial during the whirlpool,” that should be 62.5% of the hop mass is Columbus at 90 minutes and then the remainder of the mass is centennial at flameout/WP. Is this something where we just need to put it into our software of choice and fudge around with the numbers? This doesn’t seem to take into account changes is AA% on a yearly basis. I understand the issues with utilization, you mention, based on equipment. Is there a way you can take us back to middle school and do an example/demonstration of the hop calculations for a recipe based on the parameters in the book? 
2. Can you take us through the process of designing/building a malt/grist bill and hop selection and additions for your 2 new latest hoppy beer releases (or any beer for that matter): Ruination 10th Anniversary and “Enjoy By?” How do these beers differ from the original Ruination or the regular IPA in Stone’s portfolio? Did you incorporate some of the info you learned while researching IPAs into these 2 newest releases? What are you looking for in the finished product in beers like this?
Thanks again and cheers!
Brian Hoesing
I’m waiting with bated breath!
I’ve beenso busy I missed what day it was! I’ll check into what’s up.
Thanks
Hi All,
Thanks for your patience! Mitch will be posting his answers tomorrow morning (Wednesday) first thing (Pacific)- sorry for the delay. You all had some great questions and I know he’s looking forward to answering them for you.
Cheers~
KRISTI SWITZER
Publisher, Brewers Publications
PO Box 2072 | Georgetown, TX 78627
(512) 863-5227 | Kristi@BrewersAssociation.org | Twitter: @beerbooks
New Release: IPA: Brewing Techniques, Recipes and the Evolution of India Pale Ale by Mitch Steele
Coming in December: For the Love of Hops: The Practical Guide to Aroma, Bitterness and the Culture of Hops by Stan Hieronymus