9 replies to this topic

[Fatman]

I'm wondering if my Saaz are bad, whether through improper storage, or no good from the start.Last summer, I bought a pound of imported Saaz from hopsdirect. I made a bo-pils, and used my foodsaver to vacuum seal the rest and stored in my freezer. I hopbursted the bopils, and got no bitterness or aroma in the finished beer. I figured it was my poor hopbursting technique. Now, I brewed pretty much the same recipe again with hops from the same order, without hopbursting (60 min & 10 min additions), and then dryhopped with an ounce in the keg at room temperature for a week. crashed, and carbed. The bitterness is weak (should have been 40 IBU, tastes like maybe 20), and there is no hop aroma.I'm trying to figure out what went wrong. What are y'all's experiences with the imported hops from hopsdirect. I have nothing but good things to say about the domestic hops I've purchased there. (Or does something else jump out at ya about what I did?)

[Slainte]

Sounds like bad hops. Were they pellets or leaf? How do they look and smell? You never mention the quality of the hops.

[MyaCullen]

I'm wondering if my Saaz are bad, whether through improper storage, or no good from the start.Last summer, I bought a pound of imported Saaz from hopsdirect. I made a bo-pils, and used my foodsaver to vacuum seal the rest and stored in my freezer. I hopbursted the bopils, and got no bitterness or aroma in the finished beer. I figured it was my poor hopbursting technique. Now, I brewed pretty much the same recipe again with hops from the same order, without hopbursting (60 min & 10 min additions), and then dryhopped with an ounce in the keg at room temperature for a week. crashed, and carbed. The bitterness is weak (should have been 40 IBU, tastes like maybe 20), and there is no hop aroma.I'm trying to figure out what went wrong. What are y'all's experiences with the imported hops from hopsdirect. I have nothing but good things to say about the domestic hops I've purchased there. (Or does something else jump out at ya about what I did?)

I had a lb of WGV from them that was horribly cheesed 2 years ago, I complained (a real rarity for me) they sent me a free lbs of Willamete to replace it

[BarelyBrews]

We need some more info on this .What batch size? how did you come up with 40 IBU's? i plugged in Saaz on Tastybrew and (60/10/DH gave me an IBU of 19).That was using the computer stats of 3.5 because you did not share that info with us. I maxed out the sugar on the charts( what was your starting sugars?)As Slainte stated were they pellets or leaf? Lots of variables.

[Fatman]

Leaf hops, 5.1% AA, 99% green, but a noticeably deeper green and more stems than domestic hops I've gotten from hopsdirect in the past. They smelled OK (no cheese or other off aroma), but compared to what I usually brew with (Centennial, Amarillo, Willamette) the aroma was very light - at the time, I figured it was just a milder hop.Batch 1 (hopbursted, but no hop character at all):5.5 G batch9.8 lbs Belgian PilsO.G. 1.048Saaz Leaf 5.1 15 min 5 oz.Saaz Leaf 5.1 5 min 0.5 oz.Saaz Leaf 5.1 1 min 0.5 oz.41 IBU (Tinseth)4L starter of WLP 802F.G. I forgot to write it down, but I'm sure it was betweeen 1.015 and 1.010Lager 4 weeksNo dry hopBatch 2 (slight bitterness, no aroma)6.5 G batchBelgian Pils 9.8 lbs.CaraPils 1 lbs.(Hop AA's reduced by 10% to account for 1 year in freezer)Saaz Leaf 4.6 60 min 2.6 oz.Saaz Leaf 4.6 10 min 1 oz.41 IBU (Tinseth)O.G. 1.045 (oxygenated)3L starter of WLP 802F.G. 1.012Lager 4 weeksClear with gelatinDry hop in keg 1 week at 68(this batch was too big - real high efficiency brew day, so some of the wort went into a .5 gal jug and was fermented with a test tube's worth of WLP001 at room temp, result was tasty, but also tasted similarly light on the IBUs)

[Jimmy James]

One thing I always noticed with leaf hops is the glands tend to fall out of the cones and accumulate in the bottom of the bag. I always wondered if this would mean more variability in my brews depending on how many of the little glands made it into the kettle. At any rate, you should have achieved the 40 IBU you were looking for with that recipe unless something went wrong.

[Fatman]

Upon further review, I've decided to blame the hops. There may not even be 20 IBU's in there. Poor hop flavor/aroma - possibly my fault. No hop flavor/aroma - gotta be the hops. I'm no great brewer, but to get nothing from the same hops twice - I'm not that bad.What do you think Blue Board, how should I fix this - trying to get 4 fresh kegs on tap for May 1.1. Buy isometerized alpha acid extract - pricey and hard to find2. Make hop tea (ala https://forum.northe...php?f=1&t=84518) - seems a bit risky, especially with a Pils3. Dry hop again (got US Hallertau on hand) - might fix aroma, but not bitterness4. Screw it, brew MLPA

[MyaCullen]

Upon further review, I've decided to blame the hops. There may not even be 20 IBU's in there. Poor hop flavor/aroma - possibly my fault. No hop flavor/aroma - gotta be the hops. I'm no great brewer, but to get nothing from the same hops twice - I'm not that bad.What do you think Blue Board, how should I fix this - trying to get 4 fresh kegs on tap for May 1.1. Buy isometerized alpha acid extract - pricey and hard to find2. Make hop tea (ala https://forum.northe...php?f=1&t=84518) - seems a bit risky, especially with a Pils3. Dry hop again (got US Hallertau on hand) - might fix aroma, but not bitterness4. Screw it, brew MLPA

If the beer is otherwise ok, you might consider getting some isohop extract and following the directions to bring up the beer to your desired bittering level, and then lightly dry hopping with that Hallertauer. I would not try the hop tea route, I have never heard anyone say they have succeeded with it. Another option is to do a 5 gallon batch of a light light beer in the same grain bill, but use a clean bittering hop such as Magnum and triple the bittering hops and ferment it out dry, and blend it into the disappointing batches, followed by a dry hop in the blended batches.

[Fatman]

If the beer is otherwise ok, you might consider getting some isohop extract and following the directions to bring up the beer to your desired bittering level, and then lightly dry hopping with that Hallertauer. I would not try the hop tea route, I have never heard anyone say they have succeeded with it. Another option is to do a 5 gallon batch of a light light beer in the same grain bill, but use a clean bittering hop such as Magnum and triple the bittering hops and ferment it out dry, and blend it into the disappointing batches, followed by a dry hop in the blended batches.

Isohop was probably the best idea, but it's some pricey stuff, and appears to be pretty hard to find. I went with option 5 (option 4, MLPA, is my backup) - I dumped in the last 2 bottles (16 oz.) of my old Pliny the Elder clone - old enough that the aroma had faded, but still with a strong measure of hop bitterness, and then added an ounce of U.S. Hallertau. I shook it up and I'll let it sit at room temperature for a week. I guess it's technically a blend, though a weird one.

[MyaCullen]

Isohop was probably the best idea, but it's some pricey stuff, and appears to be pretty hard to find. I went with option 5 (option 4, MLPA, is my backup) - I dumped in the last 2 bottles (16 oz.) of my old Pliny the Elder clone - old enough that the aroma had faded, but still with a strong measure of hop bitterness, and then added an ounce of U.S. Hallertau. I shook it up and I'll let it sit at room temperature for a week. I guess it's technically a blend, though a weird one.

it'll be beer!