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Hop age

ghwren

Master Brewer
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Jan 17, 2010
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Any chance we can get the hop age moved from a global to individual hop age? Most of the hops are harvested during a short period that can be represented as a crop year. Currently if you use hops from different seasons you have to change each hop addition as a single age change affect all hops. I enter each new hop by duplicating the original BrewSmith listed hop to get the notes, then I edit the acids i.e. Cascade 2009. This would be a great place to edit in the crop year. A link to the brew log calendar to auto update the hop age would be sweet.
 
If we use the Hop Age calculator/tool to degrade the AA% due to aging and storage, what is the best start date to use?  The annual crop date? Some stores put months/years on the package that don't seem related to the crop year.  I have some plugs that say 4-08, and I assume they came from 2007's crop year and April was when they were plugged.   

Don't raw hops sit in bales somewhere before they are processed into their final form and packaged?  I assume those days in storage are not in optimal conditions due to the large quantities. 

And when is the AA% on the package calculated?  From the initial tests on the bale at Hop Union, or when packaged by LD Carlson or Crosby Baker? 
 
MaltLicker said:
If we use the Hop Age calculator/tool to degrade the AA% due to aging and storage, what is the best start date to use?  The annual crop date? Some stores put months/years on the package that don't seem related to the crop year.  I have some plugs that say 4-08, and I assume they came from 2007's crop year and April was when they were plugged.    

Don't raw hops sit in bales somewhere before they are processed into their final form and packaged?  I assume those days in storage are not in optimal conditions due to the large quantities.  

And when is the AA% on the package calculated?  From the initial tests on the bale at Hop Union, or when packaged by LD Carlson or Crosby Baker?  

All good questions, but we have to start somewhere. Unfortunately you will only know how you store your hops. Just the fact I can track a poor storage hop like centennial from 2008 that doesn't affect all the rest of my hops would be great. I like to buy bulk as soon as I can after harvest then vacuum pack/freeze.
 
Hay i know that the Brewer's Lair has added a new calculator for the people to predict decreases in the alpha acid content of your hops based on their age and storage condition. We have to  input the original alpha acid content in percent and then, our input  place percent loss rating at 6 months, the storage temperature, the storage conditions, and the storage age of your hops in days.
 
hico said:
Hay i know that the Brewer's Lair has added a new calculator for the people to predict decreases in the alpha acid content of your hops based on their age and storage condition. We have to  input the original alpha acid content in percent and then, our input  place percent loss rating at 6 months, the storage temperature, the storage conditions, and the storage age of your hops in days.
ProMash does a great job handling hop age. When I formulate a recipe, I can take an individual hop and insert the predicted alpha acid content for that hop alone. It doesn't change the other ten hops I have. I need a tool I can use in a recipe, not from other sources. I'd still be using ProMash if the updates promised by JD back in 2006 came through. Unfortunately he's had to focus on other more important issues.
 
How about hop age being tied to the recipe?  It would be nice to keep the current functionality to compare hops.  It would be nice to add an automatic alpha acid reduction when the hop is added to a recipe.  The crop year, or "packaging" date could be entered with the hop, and the age/degradation calculated automatically by the program when the hops are added to a recipe.  The calculation is only needed when the hop is added to the recipe.  Re-opening a recipe retains the original degradation figures.  Crop year (or packaging date), original alpha, adjusted alpha, and age could be displayed in the printed recipe.  Keep the crop year or packaging time simple; one date or year can be entered; repackaging options are not necessary and only complicate the calculations.
 
donniestyle said:
How about hop age being tied to the recipe?  It would be nice to keep the current functionality to compare hops.  It would be nice to add an automatic alpha acid reduction when the hop is added to a recipe.  The crop year, or "packaging" date could be entered with the hop, and the age/degradation calculated automatically by the program when the hops are added to a recipe.

This would be a great addition. I order whole hops as close to the harvest as possible, vacuum seal and freeze. They can easily last for more than one brewing year. Currently if you change the hop age for one hop, it changes all of them. It's a PITA going back to ProMash just to get a hop age product and edit it in as a new hop.
 
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