Membership questions? Log in issues? Email info@brewersassociation.org

Author Topic: Understanding hop oil content with relation to flavor / aroma contribution  (Read 2690 times)

Offline jmitchell3

  • Cellarman
  • **
  • Posts: 59
Does the essential oil content of a hop (often expressed as mL/g) offer a reasonable basis for comparing how much aroma/flavor contribution a hop might add to a beer compared to another hop?

For example, Cascade hops generally have total oils of between .8 and 1.5 mL per 100g, while Australian Galaxy hops have between 3.0 and 5.0 mL per 100g.

All else being equal, does this generally mean that I need 3 times as much Cascade by weight as Galaxy per addition to ensure that each hop is having an equal contribution to flavor/aroma?
« Last Edit: October 13, 2014, 05:13:10 pm by jmitchell3 »

Offline hopfenundmalz

  • Global Moderator
  • I must live here
  • *****
  • Posts: 10678
  • Milford, MI
Yes, and no. The total oil gives you some indication. Galaxy and Citra are high. What the total oils does not tell you is what aromas are there, and what aromas will be produced after the yeast have fermented the beer. Some aromas from the hops increase during fermentation. If you read Stan Hieronymus's book Hops, you will get some of that information, and there is more on his blog. You also will find that not everything is known yet.

Stan's blog.
http://appellationbeer.com/blog/
Jeff Rankert
AHA Lifetime Member
BJCP National
Ann Arbor Brewers Guild
Home-brewing, not just a hobby, it is a lifestyle!

Offline 69franx

  • Official Poobah of No Life. (I Got Ban Hammered by Drew)
  • *********
  • Posts: 3210
  • Bloatarian Brewing League
Thanks for posting the link to Stan's blog. I don't think there is enough time in my work day to keep up on here, on his blog, and get my work done, but I'm going to have to try!
Frank L.
Fermenting: Nothing (ugh!)
Conditioning: Nothing (UGH!)
In keg: Nothing (Double UGH!)
In the works:  House IPA, Dark Mild, Ballantine Ale clone(still trying to work this one into the schedule)

Offline erockrph

  • I must live here
  • **********
  • Posts: 7788
  • Chepachet, RI
    • The Hop WHisperer
I think hop oil content is a good way to ballpark how much hop flavor/aroma a particular variety will give compared to another. I haven't seen a linear increase in flavor, however, when trying to adjust hop quantities in a recipe, so there is definitely a lot of trial and error.

One example is Motueka. I love the flavor and aroma of this hop, but the oil content is fairly low (0.8 mL/100g). But you can't simply use 3 times as much to get it to hold its own in a blend with something like Citra or Nelson (trust me - I've tried).

The thing is, there are multiple hop oils in each variety, and each one has different flavor thresholds. As you increase the amount of the hop used, you are also potentially changing the flavor profile.

Having said all that, oil content is a good way to ballpark a recipe as a starting point.
Eric B.

Finally got around to starting a homebrewing blog: The Hop Whisperer