Maximizing Hop Flavor and Aroma - The Importance of Hops
In recent years, this love of hops hasn’t gone away, but rather evolved. IPAs remain remarkably popular, but the focus seems to have shifted away from bitterness. NEIPAs (New England IPA), juice bombs, hazy IPAs, SMaSH (Single Malt and Single Hop) beers – call them what you want, these “styles” have all evolved to feature hop flavour and aroma over bitterness. our goal is to get as much of that juicy flavour and aroma into a product that is still relatively clear. Here are some of the techniques we’ve experimented with that have worked well for us.
First, it seems prudent to relate some of our thoughts on yeasts and malts which, though not directly related to hops, often serve to accentuate or highlight hop perception. check mash temperature with probeTypically, when we brew to feature hop flavour and aroma, we mash at around 65-66°C (149-151°F) for high fermentability; we choose a neutral yeast that’s quite attenuative; we pitch a big starter; and we ferment on the cool end of the yeast’s range. Our goal is to keep yeast flavours from competing with the hops and to brew a beer that finishes around 1.008 to accentuate the hops through dryness. We’ve found that it’s really easy for stewed malts (crystal/caramel malts) to overwhelm the palate and dominate bright hop flavours.
At the same time however, if a juicy NEIPA is what’s in sight, then some sweetness, through higher finishing gravities and malt selection, can compliment the fruity profile that brewers want in a hazy IPA. Yeast can also help here. The high temperatures at which some Kveik yeasts are used develop some wonderful fruit flavours. Be aware, however, that with a Kveik yeast and lots of hops, the goal should be a hazy IPA, because it likely won’t clear even with finings.
In turning to the hop end of the equation, the first, and probably most obvious, suggestion is to use more hops! If the goal is big hop flavour and aroma, it takes big hop additions – and hops are expensive, so prepare for a beer that costs more to produce. However, just dumping more hops in without thinking about how they’re being used isn’t particularly effective.
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