What gives beer it's "mouth fullness" and other general beer questions.

[kuri]

not really sure what im making. was goin to do a normal mead recipe with boiled hops in it and see what comes of it.

I'm very curious to hear how this comes out. It's the exact same thing I am hoping to try at some point, but I'm low on honey at the moment and don't want to get more until I've tasted the results of the last 3 varietals -- orange blossom, alfalfa and goldenrod. (Ok, I've tasted and almost finished the goldenrod, but not the other two.) I've decided to go for the 60 pound pail of honey next time to start experimenting with various yeasts and other things, and a hopped mead is right there on the list. Just want to get the honey I like the most first.

For what it's worth, I'm thinking of only going for the bitterness, and not the flavor or aroma. As part of a dry mead (.996-1.000).

 

[McJeff]

Hey Chev Girl. I read someplace you really liked Fuggle hops. Isn't really know what hops to buy so I got US Fuggle hops. How long did you boil them, I was thinking I would only do 10-15mins.

 

[McJeff]

I'm very curious to hear how this comes out. It's the exact same thing I am hoping to try at some point, but I'm low on honey at the moment and don't want to get more until I've tasted the results of the last 3 varietals -- orange blossom, alfalfa and goldenrod. (Ok, I've tasted and almost finished the goldenrod, but not the other two.) I've decided to go for the 60 pound pail of honey next time to start experimenting with various yeasts and other things, and a hopped mead is right there on the list. Just want to get the honey I like the most first.

For what it's worth, I'm thinking of only going for the bitterness, and not the flavor or aroma. As part of a dry mead (.996-1.000).

We will see, got 8 oz of Fuggle hops, goin to get some honey and start it later. Not sure how big the batch will be but I plan on using D47. Hoping for a FG of 1.010.

 

[Bob1016]

FWIW I know some polish meads use hops along with other herbs/spices. Not sure how long they're boiled though.

 

[mannye]

We will see, got 8 oz of Fuggle hops, goin to get some honey and start it later. Not sure how big the batch will be but I plan on using D47. Hoping for a FG of 1.010.

My 2 cents... I would not boil it until really late and I would add a LOT. Half a pound is a good start. That should give you big aroma and a nice bitterness although Fuggle isn't really a bittering hop but late in the boil will give you massive aroma.

The only hopped mead I've tried is Viking Blod but I think the bottle was skunked somehow as it tasted like sadness and disappointment rounded out by despair. But I've heard rave reviews of this stuff that is flavored with hibiscus and hops (don't know which ones) so I'm going to give it another chance one day.

 

[McJeff]

Hey Chev Girl. I read someplace you really liked Fuggle hops. Isn't really know what hops to buy so I got US Fuggle hops. How long did you boil them, I was thinking I would only do 10-15mins.

good lord, was tryin to type quickly on my phone. sorry

 

[McJeff]

My 2 cents... I would not boil it until really late and I would add a LOT. Half a pound is a good start. That should give you big aroma and a nice bitterness although Fuggle isn't really a bittering hop but late in the boil will give you massive aroma.

The only hopped mead I've tried is Viking Blod but I think the bottle was skunked somehow as it tasted like sadness and disappointment rounded out by despair. But I've heard rave reviews of this stuff that is flavored with hibiscus and hops (don't know which ones) so I'm going to give it another chance one day.

well i bought all the Fuggle my local brew shop had which was 8 oz. I was thinking a 2 gallon batch with that 8 oz of pellets. How long are you thinking i should boil them?

 

[loveofrose]

In my opinion, Vikings Blod just tastes like sadness, disappointment, and buyers remorse. Making your own hibiscus hopped mead is the only way to go. In fact, Fuggles is exactly what I would use!

I may be biased. I did make a beer called Fuggle Yes! because I love them so much...

 

[McJeff]

In my opinion, Vikings Blod just tastes like sadness, disappointment, and buyers remorse. Making your own hibiscus hopped mead is the only way to go. In fact, Fuggles is exactly what I would use!

I may be biased. I did make a beer called Fuggle Yes! because I love them so much...

what are your thoughts on 8 oz of Fuggle in a 2 gallon batch of traditional mead? Longer than a 15min boil?

 

[mannye]

what are your thoughts on 8 oz of Fuggle in a 2 gallon batch of traditional mead? Longer than a 15min boil?

I wouldn't go longer than that. In a one hour boil I would use them at the end. You will be surprised how much aroma you will get out of them. My favorite was always Hallertau. Fruity!

That should be fine for a 2 gallon batch...but then again ALL of my hop experience is with beer. None with mead. So...grain of salt.

Nice to know it wasn't just my imagination on the Viking Blod!

 

[McJeff]

I wouldn't go longer than that. In a one hour boil I would use them at the end. You will be surprised how much aroma you will get out of them. My favorite was always Hallertau. Fruity!

That should be fine for a 2 gallon batch...but then again ALL of my hop experience is with beer. None with mead. So...grain of salt.

Nice to know it wasn't just my imagination on the Viking Blod!

Im too new with boiling hops. But "an hour boil"?"use them at the end"?

 

[BigBossMan]

Im too new with boiling hops. But "an hour boil"?"use them at the end"?

The longer you boil hops, the more you extract the bitterness quality from them and drive away their aroma properties. You can also mix and match. Select one hop for its bittering properties and one for its aromatic properties.

If I boiled 1oz of citra for an hour, I would extract all of its bittering properties and benefit from almost none of its aromatics. If I only boiled it for 30 mins, then I would be at about 50/50 for bitterness and aroma. 15 mins would be about 25/75 bitterness/aroma.

Here is a guide to the different hop varieties.

http://www.homebrewstuff.com/hop-profiles

Citra is a good dual purpose hop. Very fruity/citrusy.

 

[loveofrose]

what are your thoughts on 8 oz of Fuggle in a 2 gallon batch of traditional mead? Longer than a 15min boil?

Wow. I personally wouldn't do that. That would give 219 IBU (International Bittering Units). Most IPAs are less than half that! I would keep the IBUs in the 10-20 range for a traditional mead. Too much and you won't taste any honey.

Hops are used in beer to balance out the malty sweetness. So the more sweet the beer/mead, the more IBUs you need to balance out the sweetness.
For example (Assuming 2 gallons):
1 oz Fuggles for 15 minutes = 27 IBU
1 oz Fuggles for 10 minutes = 20 IBU
1 oz Fuggles for 5 minutes = 11 IBU
1 oz Fuggles for 1 minutes = 2 IBU

27 IBUs would be fine for a mead with a FG of say 1.02, but a FG of 1.000 would be better with 11 IBUs.

You can also dry hop if you just want aroma and no bitterness. It really depends on what you want in your mead!

 

[BigBossMan]

what are your thoughts on 8 oz of Fuggle in a 2 gallon batch of traditional mead? Longer than a 15min boil?

Also, how much water will you be boiling it in? I'm assuming you'll be boiling the water first and then adding the honey after it cools down some. Entering in 2 gallons of water and 4 lbs of honey in my beer making program along with 8 ounces of Fuggles for a 15 min boil gives you 132.21 IBUs (International Bittering Units). That is insanely bitter. Most hoppy India Pale Ales are in the range of 40-60 IBUs. Even an Imperial IPA tops out at 120 IBUs.

 

[BigBossMan]

Wow. I personally wouldn't do that. That would give 219 IBU (International Bittering Units). Most IPAs are less than half that! I would keep the IBUs in the 10-20 range for a traditional mead. Too much and you won't taste any honey.

Hops are used in beer to balance out the malty sweetness. So the more sweet the beer/mead, the more IBUs you need to balance out the sweetness.
For example (Assuming 2 gallons):
1 oz Fuggles for 15 minutes = 27 IBU
1 oz Fuggles for 10 minutes = 20 IBU
1 oz Fuggles for 5 minutes = 11 IBU
1 oz Fuggles for 1 minutes = 2 IBU

27 IBUs would be fine for a mead with a FG of say 1.02, but a FG of 1.000 would be better with 11 IBUs.

You can also dry hop if you just want aroma and no bitterness. It really depends on what you want in your mead!

Beat me to it. That's what I get for walking away from my desk in mid-post.

 

[skunkboy]

Also, how much water will you be boiling it in? I'm assuming you'll be boiling the water first and then adding the honey after it cools down some. Entering in 2 gallons of water and 4 lbs of honey in my beer making program along with 8 ounces of Fuggles for a 15 min boil gives you 132.21 IBUs (International Bittering Units). That is insanely bitter. Most hoppy India Pale Ales are in the range of 40-60 IBUs. Even an Imperial IPA tops out at 120 IBUs.

I think the theoretical limit on IBU's is something like 100

As reference material : http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f128/there-limit-ibus-you-can-get-wort-273482/

 

[mannye]

What? Wait. Lemme see here.....

Oh yeah. I used two oz in the boil for bittering and 2 for aroma. But I always used flowers never pellets.


Sent from my galafreyan transdimensional communicator 100 years from now. G

 

[kuri]

I've gone as high as 216g of hops in an Imperial IPA and been perfectly happy with that amount, though it was on the edge. The OG was 1.081 and the FG 1.011. Only 20g were boiled for an hour. The rest were added in equal portions with 20, 10, 5 and 1 minute(s) left in the boil. However, that was in a 5 gallon batch. Your 8 oz. of Fuggles in 2 gallons is over 2.5 times this hopping rate. Plus, you are thinking of boiling the hops in water rather than in a high gravity wort, which means the IBU extraction rate will likely be much higher. Add to that the fact that the underlying mead flavor is much more subtle than a beer flavor would be and I think that you are asking for disaster by adding a full 8 ounces. I think you will be better off -- especially if this is your first time adding hops to a mead -- to go with 1 ounce boiled for a short amount of time (10 to 15 minutes).

 

[skunkboy]

Actually even dry hopping gives you some bitterness, just not as much as boiling the same hops for 5 to 60 minutes.

Bone dry mead and hop bitterness sounds like something you might want to do a 1 gallon batch of to test first.

I've had hopped coffee mead, and that was so oddly bitter in was basically undrinkable, even by my fellow mead drinkers who like coffee...

 

[McJeff]

Wow. I personally wouldn't do that. That would give 219 IBU (International Bittering Units). Most IPAs are less than half that! I would keep the IBUs in the 10-20 range for a traditional mead. Too much and you won't taste any honey.

Hops are used in beer to balance out the malty sweetness. So the more sweet the beer/mead, the more IBUs you need to balance out the sweetness.
For example (Assuming 2 gallons):
1 oz Fuggles for 15 minutes = 27 IBU
1 oz Fuggles for 10 minutes = 20 IBU
1 oz Fuggles for 5 minutes = 11 IBU
1 oz Fuggles for 1 minutes = 2 IBU

27 IBUs would be fine for a mead with a FG of say 1.02, but a FG of 1.000 would be better with 11 IBUs.

You can also dry hop if you just want aroma and no bitterness. It really depends on what you want in your mead!

hahah omg glad I asked. But really one oz for a 2gallon batch will do it? I had planed on using half the water to boil in