Crafting The Perfect Rolling Hop Beer: A Brewer's Guide

Hops are an essential ingredient in beer, adding bitterness, flavour, and aroma, as well as acting as a natural preservative. They are typically added to wort in three stages during the boil: bittering, flavour, and aroma. However, some beers may have only one addition, while others may have up to five or six. The timing of hop additions is crucial, as it determines the amount of bitterness, flavour, and aroma in the final beer. For example, bittering hops are added at the beginning of the boil and boiled for 60 minutes to extract bitterness, while aroma hops are added during the last 5 minutes of the boil or at flame-out to maximise aroma. Additionally, rolling a beer before opening it can help break up the sediment, mixing the sediment, haze, and juicy flavours.

Hops are added to the wort in three stages: bittering, flavouring, and aroma

Hops are added to the wort during three key stages of the brewing process: bittering, flavouring, and aroma.

Bittering

Hops are added to the wort once it has been collected in the kettle and a rolling boil has been achieved. The hops are boiled for around 60 minutes, though some recipes may call for as little as 30 minutes. All beers include bittering hops to balance the sweetness of the malt and prevent the beer from tasting overly syrupy. Hops also act as a natural preservative, helping the beer to stay fresh for longer.

Flavouring

Flavouring hops are added with 15-30 minutes remaining in the boil. During this time, very little bitterness will be extracted from the hops, but the crisp, hoppy flavour will be imparted.

Aroma

Aroma hops are added during the last 5-15 minutes of the boil, or at flame-out (when the kettle is removed from the heat). The hop oils that give the beer its aroma are extremely volatile and will be driven off in the steam of the boil almost immediately, so a short boiling time is essential to maximise the aroma.

Rolling Hops

The process of "rolling" a beer is unrelated to the three stages of hop addition. Rolling a beer involves gently rolling the can or bottle on a table before opening it. This is often done with hazy New England IPAs to break up the sediment and mix the flavours, creating a more consistent and flavourful beer.

Hops are the flowers of the hop plant Humulus lupulus

The hop plant is dioecious, meaning it has separate male and female plants. The female flowers, known as hops, are cone-shaped and used for preserving and flavouring beer. They are formed in clusters at the tips of the plant's stalks and have no petals but long styles. In contrast, male flowers form clusters with up to 100+ flowers, each having five spreading sepals and short stamens.

The hop plant is cultivated commercially, particularly for brewing beer. The female flowers, or hops, contain secondary metabolites, flavonoids, oils, and polyphenols that impart unique flavours and aromas to beer. The bitter flavours in hops are due to acids composed of prenylated polyketides, a group of secondary metabolites that significantly impact the taste of hop-based products.

The process of brewing beer with hops involves boiling the hops with the wort (sugar-rich liquid produced from malt) before cooling and adding yeast to initiate fermentation. The type and use of hops in brewing can vary, with some hops being used primarily for bittering, while others are used for aroma. Bittering hops have higher concentrations of alpha acids and contribute most of the bitter flavour in beer. On the other hand, aroma hops have lower alpha acid concentrations and are added to the wort later in the process to impart hop aroma and flavour without excessive boiling, which can evaporate the essential oils.

Hops are poisonous to dogs

Hops toxicity is treatable, but immediate veterinary attention is required. At the veterinary clinic, the veterinarian will take steps to monitor and safely bring down the dog's body temperature. If the dog is not showing any symptoms yet, it is best to call a veterinarian for advice.

It is important to keep any brewing materials or ingredients out of the reach of dogs. Used hops should be double-bagged and placed in a sealed, dog-proof garbage can. Disposing of used hops as garden mulch or compost can be dangerous for any dogs in the neighbourhood.

The exact mechanism of hops toxicity in dogs is not known, and there is no known safe dose of hops for dogs. All versions of the plant seem to be toxic, even in small doses. Some breeds, such as greyhounds, retrievers, and Saint Bernards, are more susceptible to hops poisoning. However, hops toxicity can occur in any dog, and any quantity of hops should be considered poisonous to a dog.

Hops are grown on trellises made from strings or wires

Hops are a climbing plant, and when grown commercially, they are trained to grow up trellises made from strings or wires. This support allows the plants to grow significantly taller with the same sunlight profile, and also frees up energy that would have been required to build structural cells, allowing it to be used for crop growth instead.

Hop plants can grow up to 20 feet high and need a trellis to grow vertically, as they cannot lay on the ground. Commercial hops in the Pacific Northwest of the United States are produced on a 15-foot-high trellis system. Smaller-scale growers can also string plants from a balcony, eaves, or along a fence.

The most basic trellis uses twine and wooden posts, but some people use stainless steel wire instead of twine and the sides of houses or fences instead of wooden posts. The IBEX Hops Growing System is a popular premade option that uses stainless steel wires and can rotate downward for easy harvesting.

When growing hops, it is important to choose an area with sufficient vertical space and full sunlight, as well as some protection from wind. Strong winds can damage or break the plants. The soil should also be well-drained, as hop roots will not tolerate standing water.

To grow hops, the roots send forth new bines each spring that are started up strings from the ground to an overhead trellis. The cones grow high on the bine and are harvested at the end of the summer.

Hops are harvested at the end of summer

The cones are picked by hand, which is a tedious task, and it can take a while to harvest them all. The cones are fragile, so they must be handled with care. Once picked, the hops are dried. This is a critical step in preserving the quality and flavour of the hops. Commercial kilns dry hops using high-powered heaters and fans to achieve the goal of less than 10% moisture by weight, which can take 6-8 hours. Alternatively, hops can be air-dried by spreading them out on a screen or mesh material that allows good airflow. This method can take a few days.

After drying, the hops are stored in an airtight container, such as a vacuum-sealed bag or a mason jar. Properly dried and stored hop cones can last for up to a year, but it is best to use them as soon as possible for the freshest flavour and aroma.

Frequently asked questions