Beer Forum

Justin, I don't know if you were serious about giving the guest some questions in advance but I have a few that I would like to throw out.

From his background as a hop chemist:

What is his opinion on the use of hop pellets/whole hops in his brewing?

Can he explain how he determines the use of hops for bittering and aroma? For example, I know the style guidelines for a pale ale and I can use ProMash to calculate the IBUs for the recipe. But there is a taste and aroma difference in using Cascade hops at say 60 min as compared to Amarillo hops (a higher AAU) at 30 min for bittering.

What is his opinion and experiences with dry hopping or First Wort Hopping?

Any tips that homebrewers can use in the use of hops.

From brewing experience:

How can homebrewers successfully utilize oak in our brewing? How much or little oak in our recipe calculation?

Does he use batch blending in his brewing? If so, how do us schlubs do it?

What yeast does he use?

Because he is a multi GABF/Pro brewer medal winner, does he have tips for homebrewers in entering our beers in competitions?

When is he going to get his bosses to distribute to Jersey?


Again if you want more questions, I have a few more that has been nagging me. It's good ask them now before the drunken show.



Darin

Great questions Darren. I was very serious about sending me questions before the show. Yours will certainly be asked today, and if you have more, post them or e-mail them to me. and yes, get them to me before the middle of the show, when I will most likely be drunk.

justin

I have a great question for tonight that I have been pondering for a while. Hopefully you guys will get to it before you get too drunk to make sense.

In various references you see the Co-Humulone levels mentioned as % of alpha acids.

1. What the hell are they talking about? What are Co-Humulones and how are they related to alpha acids?

2. When deciding on which hops to use and the decision is between two hops that have similar characteristics except that one has a high co-humulone level and the other a low co-humulone level, how do you decide which one is appropriate for a given beer style?

This idea of submitting questions ahead of time is a good one. At this point you guys are sober enough to read the questions and I am sober enough to write them.

Good job on the new website and thanks for the picture of Daniela.

Wayne

What are Matt's techniques for lagering?

What temps does he pitch his yeast? Cool his wort to 45-55 then pitch or pitch at 70? (Ask him as if he was going to homebrew not work on his pro rig)

Recipe formulation: What's new coming out of FW? Where does he start when working on a new recipe?

Since I got to go fly early tomorrow morning, I'm not drinking. I think my passengers would thank me. Have fun, guys!

What effects do you think mash hopping impart to beer, if any? Are there any other unusual hopping techniques that you've tried or would recommend homebrewers experiment with? Are there individual varietal hop aroma oils that might be used that are equally effective as dryhopping? Can you comment on using hop oils for bittering on the homebrew level (i.e. 5 -10 gal. batches)?