Hi all,
I'm not a big user of online forums/SM, so forgive me if I don't respond quickly.
First of all, big up to Edward
.
Now I'm a noob, but I've read a lot of sources and just wanted to pop my tuppence worth into the boiling argument/discussion.
I tried a few times with my bag of medium ground and was getting nothing - my assumption being because I already have a high alcohol tolerance... Anyway, I used to make a lot of home brew, so have some experience with getting the most out of the smallest amount of expensive ingredients. With beer, the hops go in at the end of the boil for 10-15 minutes. It is a rapid boil, so there is a lot of movement. The reason they go in for a relatively short time at the end is that you are trying to get maximum efficiency and pull out all the nice voc compounds from the hops (voc's give you flavour, scent and preservatives, dry hopping after the boil is a different story) without spoiling them and ending up with a grass flavoured brew. Anyway, lactones are a voc, they boil around 250 degrees c so it's the same type of compound you're trying to get from hops, and there's no way you're going to boil them off in water. And boiling for up to 15 minutes is unlikely to alter any of the characteristics you're after - ie. maximum extraction. The longer they're in the boil, the stronger the flavour, which ties in with a lot i've read.
Traditional brewing in lukewarm water wasn't touching the sides. I figured that a gentle boil followed by kneading would do the trick (in a beer boil the aggressive boiling would create enough movement to effectively knead it for you). Brought 4 tbsp and 500ml water just to a gentle boil, poured into my strainer (an old hop bag), took the dog for a walk while it cooled, then gave it a good twist/knead, probably about 5 minutes. The juice coming out was noticeably greasier. Whoaaahhhhh. That.Hit.The.Spot.
Not wanting to cause any arguments (if you can argue in this state), but I just thought this might help to have a go for any new drinkers who aren't feeling it. It's not traditional, but hey if it helps. It still tasted foul (and probably worse from what I've read), but it put me right through the RT barrier.
Cheers,
Dan
I'm not a big user of online forums/SM, so forgive me if I don't respond quickly.
First of all, big up to Edward
.Now I'm a noob, but I've read a lot of sources and just wanted to pop my tuppence worth into the boiling argument/discussion.
I tried a few times with my bag of medium ground and was getting nothing - my assumption being because I already have a high alcohol tolerance... Anyway, I used to make a lot of home brew, so have some experience with getting the most out of the smallest amount of expensive ingredients. With beer, the hops go in at the end of the boil for 10-15 minutes. It is a rapid boil, so there is a lot of movement. The reason they go in for a relatively short time at the end is that you are trying to get maximum efficiency and pull out all the nice voc compounds from the hops (voc's give you flavour, scent and preservatives, dry hopping after the boil is a different story) without spoiling them and ending up with a grass flavoured brew. Anyway, lactones are a voc, they boil around 250 degrees c so it's the same type of compound you're trying to get from hops, and there's no way you're going to boil them off in water. And boiling for up to 15 minutes is unlikely to alter any of the characteristics you're after - ie. maximum extraction. The longer they're in the boil, the stronger the flavour, which ties in with a lot i've read.
Traditional brewing in lukewarm water wasn't touching the sides. I figured that a gentle boil followed by kneading would do the trick (in a beer boil the aggressive boiling would create enough movement to effectively knead it for you). Brought 4 tbsp and 500ml water just to a gentle boil, poured into my strainer (an old hop bag), took the dog for a walk while it cooled, then gave it a good twist/knead, probably about 5 minutes. The juice coming out was noticeably greasier. Whoaaahhhhh. That.Hit.The.Spot.
Not wanting to cause any arguments (if you can argue in this state), but I just thought this might help to have a go for any new drinkers who aren't feeling it. It's not traditional, but hey if it helps. It still tasted foul (and probably worse from what I've read), but it put me right through the RT barrier.
Cheers,
Dan
