Bitterness in beer - Beer flavour

8 important questions on Bitterness in beer - Beer flavour

What mainly determined the taste profile of beer?

The addition of hops

What is the purpose of adding hops?

  • Earlier days: antimicrobial compounds (or bitter acids) helped persevering the beer
  • Adding flavour to the beer: bitterness, floral (citrusy) notes

Why is the heat treatment during brewing important for the bitterness?

It aids extraction of bitter acids, contributing to the bitter flavour needed to offset the sweet barley malt.
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What is the disadvantage of adding hops during brewing? And how can this be solved?

The volatile citrusy aromas are lost upon heating. One way to solve this and to alter the aroma of beer is to add the hops at later stages of brewing (e.g. In the last 5-10 min of the boil). However, still significant losses of the citrusy aromatic oils are encountered.

How is it called when hops are added after the fermentation?

Dry hopping

What is dry hopping?

Adding hops after fermentation. It is used for preparation of Indian Pale Ale (IPA) and other hoppy beers.

What are IPAs characterised by?

Their hop content, which gives them a longer shelf life than other types of beer.

Are IPA beers bitter?

Not that much. Dry hops add little bitterness to beer, as the heat treatment is essential to develop modified bitter acids which are more bitter.

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