Hop efficiency vs (gravity or fermentables)?

[Corcis]

I've got some ideas to better educate myself about how different factors affect taste this summer and came up with a couple ideas that will be pretty easy and cheap to execute. I'm planning on doing and figuring out partial mashes for my beers, as it seems a logical step between all grain and extract.

One of the ideas I had was to run four batches based on the same recipe, but to do my mash-in at different temperatures. From what I can gather, this will affect the fermentability of my wort, but not necessarily the gravity. I'm planning on running them as 3 gallon batches and adding the amount of liquid malt extract necessary to reach 1.040sg to each near the end of the boil.

From what I've been able to find, hop efficiency is affected by the gravity of the wort. I'm curious if it is at all affected by the fermentability of the wort. Basically, without knowing whether the fermentability will affect the hop efficiency, I don't have a good way of predicting the outcomes. Granted, at this small a scale, it may not be much of a difference, but it may also be *the* difference. If hop efficiency correlates positively with ferementability, then the beer should wind up more bitter as it is more alcoholic; if it interacts inversely, the beer would be less bitter as it is more alcoholic.

Whatever the case, I'll be taking the chance this summer to test this out. It would be nice to have a more educated hypothesis before heading into it, though.

 

[Fox Hill Mead]

I assume you will "measure" the hop efficiency subjectively? That is, by tasting it?

If so, I suspect the overriding factor will not be the alcohol difference in your batches, but the sweetness left in the beers.

2 beers start at 1.040. One ends at 1.008 and the other at 1.014 due to different mash temps. You taste and conclude that the 1.008 beer had higher hop efficiency (it will almost certainly taste more bitter). But that's just due to the fact that the 1.014 beer is much sweeter and masks the bitterness.

 

[Corcis]

Just the kind of response I was looking for.

Yes, hop efficiency will be subjectively measured against other beers in the batch.

I'm aiming for 3 gallon batches because, from what I've read, partial mashing with a 2 gallon drink cooler will be capable of generating most of the fermentables for that size of a batch. A relatively small addition of malt extract will ensure it's at least somewhat fermentable.

Maybe I should run a 4x3gal series with different hoppings first. That seems like it'd be more generally useful and much quicker to prepare - I could probably do it in a weekend, if not a day.

 

[Vino]

Isn't a Partial Mash usually made up of a small amount of grains mashed, with the majority of the fermentables provided by extract (liquid or dry)?

If you only add a small amount of extract to the end of the boil to attain a target OG, it would be considered an All-grain.

 

[akueck]

Nope, that's a partial mash. Some sugars from a mash, some from premade extract. All-grain is by definition only grain. In between partial mash and full extract is the "extract + grains" region where you add specialty grains for color and flavor but do not derive much sugar from them. Usually this kind of brewing does not involve mashing at all (just steeping), though on occasion I have used a specialty grain that benefited from being mashed alongside base malt (raw oats, e.g.).

As far as I know the fermentability won't affect the hop utilization, but as mentioned it will affect the flavor through the sweet/bitter balance. It would be a really neat experiment to try and match the hoppiness in each batch and then compare them strictly by final gravity.

 

[Vino]

Nope, that's a partial mash. Some sugars from a mash, some from premade extract.

I guess I always assumed that John Palmer was a good source of reference, he describes a partial mash as "Use a small mash to provide wort complexity and freshness, but use a can of extract to provide the bulk of the fermentables."

In any case it's just semantics.

Also, besides the sweet bitter balance you most likely will have a noticeable difference in the body of the beer as the mash temperature is increased.

Keep us posted with your results, it's very interesting.

 

[akueck]

I guess I always assumed that John Palmer was a good source of reference, he describes a partial mash as "Use a small mash to provide wort complexity and freshness, but use a can of extract to provide the bulk of the fermentables."

In any case it's just semantics.

I think I draw the line at "mash". Anything where you need to mash the grain can be a partial mash. Steeping is extract + specialty. Example: using crystal malt alone would not be a partial mash, but adding a small amount of 2-row would be.

 

[Vino]

Actually I have to make a correction, John Palmer describes a Partial Mash as "half extract, half malted grain"...I can't believe that adding an ounce or two of extract to a full boil all-grain recipe would make it a Partial Mash.

The great thing about this forum is we can disagree.

Now I think I'll go home and have a beer...maybe one of my all-grains

 

[akueck]

Actually I have to make a correction, John Palmer describes a Partial Mash as "half extract, half malted grain"...I can't believe that adding an ounce or two of extract to a full boil all-grain recipe would make it a Partial Mash.

Yeah, you're probably correct. The important thing is: it's all beer. ;D

None for me tonight though, I had a glass of some very tasty pink wine from Lazy Creek (Anderson Valley).