[Joe_Beer]

I've been reading up about hop stands and the temperatures involved. It looks like 170F for 30 minutes is pretty popular. One question I have -- do you chill the wort down to 170 first and then add the hops, or just add them at flame out and start a timer for cooldown to 170?

[HighVoltageMan!]

I cool down to 170 before adding hops to avoid isomerizing any alpha acids. You'll still get bitterness from the hops, but at a lesser rate. Usually the temperature drops, sometimes by 10 degrees, it's not a problem at all.

[erockrph]

There is no one right answer.  I've done hop stands anywhere from 190F down to 120F. The hotter the temps the more flavor you will extract,  but you will also add more bitterness  from isomerization as well.

I prefer the result from a hot hop stand, so I hold mine at 190F in IPAs where the IBUs won't matter. For other beers where I want to control the bitterness more I target 150-170F.

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[Joe_Beer]

Thanks all. Failed to mention this is an IPA so I'll give 190 a shot. I like bitter

[neuse]

This paper https://alchemyoverlord.wordpress.com/2016/03/06/an-analysis-of-sub-boiling-hop-utilization/ has some good information about the rate of hop isomerization at various sub-boiling temperatures. I use it to estimate the bitterness contribution of the hop stand, depending on the temperature used. I've found it to be very helpful. I back off on the normal bitterness hop additions to get the IBUs I want.

[BrewBama]

http://www.beerborg.com/index/hop-stand-bittering-units-hsbus/

“On an episode of Basic Brewing Radio (Dec. 13, 2018) , James Spencer introduced a way for individual brewers to calculate hop bitterness that he calls Hop Stand Bittering Units (HSBUs). As he explains in the podcast this is a way to consistently estimate the amount of bitterness you get from hops when they are added as a hop stand to your wort. This formula is dependent on your process and system and is a benchmark for you as an individual brewer to determine how much bitterness you are adding to your beer across batches. Your HSBUs will be unique to you and your process and is merely a gauge for your personal use to determine hop stand bitterness. Things you also need to keep in mind when using this formula are temperature of the wort and the duration or how long the hop stand is. So a higher temperature or a longer hop stand may yield more bitterness. So if you’re trying to determine a baseline make sure that your temp and duration are consistent across batches.

According to James, the basic formula is to multiply the number of ounces or grams of hops by the alpha acid percentage then divided by the volume of wort. Let’s say you always do your hop stand at 190F (87.7C) for 30 minutes. So if you had 1 oz (28 g) of Cascade hops with an Alpha Acid (AA) of 7% that you were going to add as a hop stand to 5 gallons (18.9 L) of wort the formula would be:

English: 1 oz X 7 AA = 7 | 7 divided by 5 gallons of wort = 1.4 HSBUs
Metric: 28 g X 7 AA =196 |196 divided by 18.9 liters of wort = 10.37 HSBUs

Likewise if you had 2 oz of Citra hops with an AA of 17.5% the formula would be:

English: 2 oz X 17.5 AA = 35 | 35 divided by 5 gallons of wort = 7 HSBUs
Metric: 56 g X 17,5 AA = 980 | 980 divided by 18.9 liters of wort = 51.85 HSBUs

With this formula you can now accurately calculate the amount of bitterness you add during a hop stand to any batch of beer.

If you find that the bitterness is too much or too little you can simply increase or decrease the amount of hops for the hop stand from batch to batch until you find the sweet spot for the desired bitterness. You could also tweak the bitterness by increasing or decreasing either the temperature or duration of the hop stand.”


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[erockrph]

The problem with using a strict IBU calculation for hop stand bitterness is that it doesn't factor in the contribution of tannins and other contributions to bitterness that are typically increased by extended contact of large hop additions with hot wort. And I also find that while measured IBUs may be high from a long, hot hop stand, they don't always taste as bracing as a traditional 60 minute addition. I sent a beer out for analysis that only used a 90 minute hop stand addition, with no other hops. It measured 98 IBU, but it tasted closer to 50 to my palate.

I firmly believe that not all IBUs are directly equivalent from a sensory perspective, and also other factors come into play in a beers bitterness. This is one area where the best way for repeatable results is experience on your own system.

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[trapae]

I chill to 170, the add hops and whirlpool at 170 for 30-45 min (while sterilizing and putting together my fermenter), then chill all the way down to pitching temperature and transfer.  I’m happy with the results.

[EnkAMania]

I do 185 for 20 minutes.  I just let it naturally drop, takes about 15 minutes (10 when the garage is really cold)  I run the pump for the first 10 minutes.