Finally delivered the writeup - a day late - boo me. But here you guys go - read through and tell us what you think. Is this something worth doing?
Thanks for doing this, Drew. I think (like most things here) I need to try a steep @ 120F and compare for myself. Kudos !
Cool beans!
My idea of 120F whirlpool vs dryhop is not that I think they would be a 1:1 trade and identical results. The idea is that a 120F aroma addition, then tell fined crystal clear, may end up with an overall prettier beer that has acceptable aroma, when compared to a dry hopped hazy version. It would be entirely a hedonistic side by side overall comparison.
Jim, modified the statement about your gals at the end of the writeup.
Interesting stuff. In the past, I experimented with flameout vs <180F for the whilrpool addition and found the <180F left a much better, bolder aroma. I had never even considered 170F vs 120F. My next thought is to try both in an IPA. Maybe something like FWH/60/5/170F for 20 mins/120F for 20 mins.
I am planning a “Blonde IPA” in the near future (inspired by Pfriem).
I just did my own similar experiment, but I chose a hop stand at 140* because I knew that the oil that boils at the lowest temperature (myrcene), does so at 145*. Adding weight to this is the fact that myrcene is the oil that has the flavors that are the most popular with me, and as far as I can gather, the rest of the brewing / beer consuming public.
So that is why I chose 140*. I don’t know yet how it will turn out, because today is dry-hop day. I’ll report back when the beer is done. I also did not do a control batch. So I guess it wasn’t much of an experiment other than to decide if I like the result or not.
I may give that a shot too, Steve. Thanks.
If you really want to assess the whirlpool effects, you might want to skip dry hopping.
An excellent point Denny. I want to make good beer more than I want to experiment I guess. So I think the only context in which I can say my brew is an experiment is to say that I changed one variable, and I’ll decide whether I like it or not.
Totally understandable! Although you may want to sample some before dry hopping
Steve, based on my most recent IPA, you can get excellent hop aroma from a cooler whirlpool addition. I haven’t done a side by side vs. dry hops yet, but you may want to take a sample before dry hopping to see if it’s what you’re looking for.