Brewsci.com

Today we continue our most popular weekly post series “Hop of the morning”. Hop of the Morning was created to help us as well as our loyal and adoring fan base better understand the ingredients that go into beer and the terminology used to distinguish one hop from another. Hop profiling, if you will.  Each week we give a detailed description of one variety of hops and highlight a small part of that description and explain what it tells us about the flavor effects of that hop.

This week we will be taking a closer look at Alpha Acids. Alpha Acids are the main bittering agent found in hops. These acids are released from the female portion of the hop vine (proving that all females are bitter … or that all males are useless). At the base of the flower are small yellow lupulin glands that contain the Alpha Resins. Alpha Acids are insoluble in water and not particularly bitter in their natural state on the hop cone. It is not until the Alpha Acids are boiled that the resin becomes bitter and water-soluble adding that distinct bitterness to the young beer (also called wort). This change in solubility and bitterness comes from a chemical rearrangement of the molecules in the Alpha Acid called an isomerization. Because the bitterness is achieved by a chemical reaction, you can increase the bitterness of your beer by increasing the overall isomerization of the Alpha Acids by boiling your wort for a long time. The alpha acid utilization in your boil starts off fast with 94% of Alpha Acids isomerized in the first 45 minutes of the boil. The rate slows in minutes 45 to 90 with about 5% of the total alpha acids being converted to a usable form. After 90 minutes there is less then 1% unused Alpha Acids in the boil. This is why most hops used for bittering beer are boiled for 60 minutes maximizing hop isomerization against the energy cost of propane to power your stove top.

Mount Hood Hops

Pedigree A triploid seedling of the German Hallertauer variety
Cone-Structure Medium-size and fairly compact
Lupulin Moderate amount, yellow in color
Aroma Mild, somewhat pungent
Alpha Acid 5.0 – 8.0% w/w
Beta Acid 5.0 – 7.5% w/w
Cohumulone 22 – 23% of alpha acids
Storageability 50 – 60% alpha acid remaining after 6 months storage at 20°C
Total Oil 1.0 – 1.3 mls/100 grams
Myrcene 55 – 65% of whole oil
Humulene 15 – 25% of whole oil
Carophyllene 7 – 10% of whole oil
Farnesene <1% of whole oil
General Trade Perception Perception Aroma variety with marked similarities to the German Hallertauer and Hersbrucker varieties. Most popular hop in the triploid Hallertau breeding program, partly due to the fact it was the first one released.
Possible Substitutions Crystal, French Strisselspalt, Hersbrucker
Typical Beer Styles Lager, Pilsner, Bock, US Wheat, Alt, Munich Helles
Typical Hop Use Aroma

Information taken from: brew-monkey.com

This week marked the 50th anniversary of the aluminum beer can, as reported by packagingdigest.com.

The can has come a long way

Cans are not just the home of Bud, Coors, and PBR.  In fact, cans are seeing a renaissance in craft brewing with breweries like Maui Brewing and 21st Amendment choosing to can over bottling their product.  I poured for both of these breweries at the GABF.  They touted cans for their superiority in weight, light blocking, and cooling down once placed on ice or in a fridge.

-Matt

This is the first installment of a series of blog posts that will help our readers get to know the ingredients found in beer.  According to the Classic German beer law 4 ingredients are found in beer: Grains, Hops, Yeast and Water.  The first ingredient we will share with you is Hops.  Hops are the natural preservative that is found in beer that also provides the bitter taste that, when properly balanced (sometimes not so balanced) with the the malted grains, produces an amazing craft beer.  In addition to giving the the beer its bitterness, hops do a lot more for the profile of a beer and hopefully this series of posts will showcase just that.  Each post will be structured with a short intro similar to this one outlining some sort of fun hops information and then a short description of a particular hop used in brewing.

Seasoned brewers may be able to understand all of the information in this hop description right from the start.  But for most of us this is not the case.  The goal of this series is turn each of us into a true scientifically informed hop head.

Kent Goldings

Pedigree The Goldings are the traditional Old English hop.
Cone-Structure Fairly loose and lax, medium to large in size.
Lupulin Quite small amounts, pale yellow in color.

Flavor profile:  spicy/ floral, earthy

Aroma Gentle, fragrant and pleasant

Alpha Acid 4 – 5.5% w/w
Beta Acid 2 – 3.5% w/w
Cohumulone 20 – 25% of alpha acids
Storageability 65 – 80% alpha acids remaining after 6 months storage at 20°C
Total Oil 0.6 – 1.0 mls/100 grams
Myrcene 20 – 26% of whole oil
Humulene 42 – 48% of whole oil
Carophyllene 12 – 16% of whole oil
Farnesene <1% of whole oil
Use: The classic English Ale hop which has been used extensively in kettle hopping and for dry hopping.
Possible Substitutions US Golding, Whitbread Golding, UK Progress
Typical Beer Styles All English style Ales, Belgian-Style Ales
Typical Hop Use Aroma

Information taken from brew-monkey.com

I think I might hate capitalism.   I know this is ‘unamerican’ and all.  But the constant desire to increase next quarters profits doesn’t seem to ever get us anywhere.  Strive to make a better product and money will follow.   Strive to to make more money and you end up with the current financial situation and screwing over the people that helped your company stock pile cash.  Apparently the same happens at breweries, too.  It sounds like Budweiser might take a few steps down (if that is possible) thanks to the InBev buyout.

I think that the goal should of any company should strive to make the best X or do X better than all others.  Not do X for 6 cents less than the other guy.  But what do I know?  I’m probably just drunk.

This past Sunday we brewed our first Saison, which shall henceforth be referred to as the White Flag French Saison in ‘honor’ of the great nation of France.  Here’s a quick recap of the days events:

9:30am get Joe out 0f bed

10:00am head to Beer, Beer, and More Beer in Concord to load up on supplies

11:00am stop at Bakesale Betty’s for vittals (if you ever have the chance to eat here do it)

12:45am start brewing and set goal of not spilling or breaking anything

12:49am spilled several gallons of water on the floor

1:15pm placed 7 lbs pilsner malt, 6lbs Belgian Pilsner Malth, 1lb Munich Malt into Mash tun.  Fill with 152 degree water for 1 hour

2:15pm transfer wort into brew pot.  Add more water (sparge) into mash tun to remove the remaining sugars

2:30-3:30pm Boil for 1 hour to reduce total amount of liquid and get a higher sugar content

4:30pm Added first hops addition

5:00pm Added aroma hops and irish moss to increase clarity.  Nearly had a boil over as we left the pot unattended to deal with moving a car from the driveway

5:12pm start chill with our homebuilt wort chiller

5:48pm into the carboy with a blend of two Saison yeast strains