R. Gibson
Master Brewer
- Joined
- Jul 20, 2011
- Messages
- 67
- Reaction score
- 0
Does anyone know how much bitterness is actually extracted during chilling of the wort? I am working on a new APA recipe, and all of my hops are added during the last 15 minutes of the boil. According to BeerSmith, the IBUs should be about 41, however, I just tasted the wort, and it seemed very bitter to me...I just wonder if there is significant isomerization of alpha acids occurring between flame-out and some unknown temperature at which the isomerization stops occurring? I'm using an immersion chiller, and it probably takes 30-45 minutes to cool to pitching temps...
BeerSmith is saying that my "flame out hops" should be contributing 0.0 IBUs to the beer...but I guess I'm questioning the accuracy of that assumption. Perhaps the flame-out hops are actually contributing as much bitterness as they would if I added them 10 minutes prior to flame out and then used a counter-flow chiller to rapidly cool the wort within a minute or two of flame-out?
BeerSmith is saying that my "flame out hops" should be contributing 0.0 IBUs to the beer...but I guess I'm questioning the accuracy of that assumption. Perhaps the flame-out hops are actually contributing as much bitterness as they would if I added them 10 minutes prior to flame out and then used a counter-flow chiller to rapidly cool the wort within a minute or two of flame-out?