I just got some Tettnang and Crystal hops that are 2.1% and 2.5% AA respectively. I was expecting something closer to 4.5% or so. I was planning on doing some German style beers with the Tettnang but it doesn’t seem worth it to use them for anything but very late kettle additions. Does anyone use hops with this low of AA% for bittering? I am not used to using anything less than 6-7% at all…
My last two batches of crystal have had a lower AA than expected. Current batch is 2.2% and the previous was somewhere in the high 2’s. I used to get it in the low 4’s. The earliest I use Crystal is around 20 minutes, so I sub it ounce for ounce. Sub out a good bittering hop if you are concerned with too much hop material in the kettle.
I don’t bitter with super low AA hops. I use something like Magnum or Perle @ 60 and save the noble hops for late in lagers, and bitter with Warrior, Columbus, or Magnum in ales (depending on style).
Same here - I’d use Perle or Magnum to bitter, but you could toss in a half ounce or so of the low alpha hop to go along for the ride. Or use as FWH in addition to a higher alpha bittering hop.
Thanks. That was what I was thinking. I use Magnum a lot so I will probably just stick with that. I do have some Northern Brewer to which I suppose would work.
Believe it or not, you will get quite a lot of flavor from bittering additions of low-alpha hops, especially German-style hops. I love to use German-style hops like Hallertau and Mt. Hood and Liberty and Tettnang for bittering purposes, as they add a lovely elegant German spiciness to any beer. In fact I almost exclusively use them for bittering and find that I don’t get nearly the same elegance when added later to the boil. I find that the wonders of these hops require longer, not shorter, boil time. Experiment and see for yourself.
The best Czech Pils I made used 2.5% (if I remember correctly) Saaz hops. That was a crap ton of hops to get 35 IUB’s, but it was excellent.
I use low alpha to bitter all the time. I find I am quite fond of the kind of bitterness I get with a large addition of low alpha hops to bitter. More so than something clean like Magnum.
Well I am brewing a kolsch next. Maybe I will abandon my recipe idea and do one large FWH addition of low alpha Tettnang up to 20-25 IBUs
I just did a Kolsch with an ounce of Saaz FWH and .5 Mt Hood @60 min for ~25 IBUs and I love it.
Yeah, I wasn’t very specific - I’ve used a noble fwh only addition for kolsch and cream ale (as the only bittering addition), but for Pils and other hoppy lagers, I normally use Perle or Magnum.
Low alpha hops for bittering is expensive in the long run. I’ve typically used the high alpha hops, especially Magnum for bittering, along with low alpha hops at 15-20 min for the hop oils, character and flavor. In fact, I’ve read that some breweries do the same to hold down costs. However, some of you have noted that you like the character of beer using low alpha hops for bittering. Aren’t you at risk of getting a grassy flavor using so many hops? This would be a good challenge to find out which way tastes best. Or, would the two differing versions be similar?
Cheers,
It’s not expensive if you grow your own! Homebrewers can easily do this. Part of this is the fear of using homegrowns for bittering because you don’t know the exact alpha acid. So guess on the alpha, experiment and refine your estimate! I use my homegrowns for bittering ONLY, and I get great results. Doesn’t taste grassy either, although I must say my homegrowns are usually around 5-7% alpha, so they’re not necessary “low alpha” depending on your definition.
Experimentation is the best way to decide for yourself whether you’re doing the right things with your ingredients and your process. Don’t ever just accept one person’s or a thousand peoples’ rules of thumb without question. Question everything, try everything, and be the guy who has fun learning and makes better beer because of it.
Some of my favorites have been all Saaz, all HM, or all EKG.
To the extent that there is a vegetal character coming through, it may be part of the flavor contribution they are enjoying out of their bittering addition.
I believe the beers referenced here are lagers with a bittering addition and then small late additions–at least compared to the late additions of an IPA. It’s probably well below the threshold to produce noticeable grassy flavors. Even using very low AA hops you’re not getting anywhere near the vegetable content in these beers that you would get in an IPA, especially at the rate some people unload hops into their hoppy ales.
Thanks for the input. It makes sense using low alpha hops on a low IBU beer is below the threshhold for grassy flavors to come through. I’ll keep this in mind on my next batch.
Cheers,
Well this thread has convinced me to give it a shot since I am brewing a kolsch with low IBUs. I am going to use 1.5 oz FWH of 2.1% Tettnang and throw in a bit of N. Brewer to get me around ~22 IBUs.
I have decided to go with a more traditional kolsch instead of my ‘americanized’ version. My brewing has been slowly shifting toward more simple and more traditional which I thought would never happen…
Go for it! You won’t be sorry. 