You're a homebrewer. When you offer non-brewing friends a bottle of your favorite beer -- the one you brewed to perfection, that absolute nectar of the gods -- do they gasp, grab their throats, and croak, "Wow, that's bitter!"? If so, you are observing a common reaction to the amazing range of flavor and bitterness a homebrewer can achieve with hops. Any true-born hophead will take this as a sure sign of success. The more violent the grimace -- the redder the taster's face -- the bigger the compliment. We love hops. Pushing the hop envelope does not scare us. Give us 80 IBUs or give us death!

But are we alone in our tastes? We brew beer in many different styles. Some of those styles, by definition, are very hoppy, with a great deal of hop bitterness, flavor, and aroma. These can be wonderful beers, but the appreciation of them usually has to be acquired through exposure and experience. While people who are used to mainstream commercial American lagers may not appreciate such styles at their first taste, they will usually grow into them in time. Once they do, they will have opened up a whole range of complex and intensely flavorful beer styles that they will be able to enjoy for the rest of their lives.

The Land Before Hops

The use of hops in brewing is fairly recent, as these things go. Hops have been regularly used in beer for only a few centuries, while the history of fermented beverages reaches back thousands of years. Considering the four primary ingredients in beer -- malt, water, hops, and yeast -- hops are the only ingredient of the four not absolutely necessary to making an alcoholic beverage. True, beer wouldn't be pleasant without hops, but the malt would ferment, alcohol would be formed, and something somewhat drinkable would result. Our remote ancestors had to get along with just such hopless brews.

Fortunately, someone somewhere in Europe made an unlikely discovery hundreds of years ago. Why they thought to try such a thing we don't know, but they discovered that the cones of a wild vine in the forest did amazingly good things when used in the brewing of beer. The cones of the female hop vine (Humulus lupulus) fit into beermaking like a hand into a glove. It was found that hops help to preserve beer, as well as coagulating and removing undesirable proteins. They aid in clarifying the beer, they stabilize the flavor, and they are an important factor in good head retention. Most important, the bitterness, flavor, and aromatics of hops balance the cloying sweetness of malt, making beer a flavorful and enjoyable beverage.

The match between hops and beer is made in heaven. While sipping a beer, a homebrewer might ponder what else those medieval people must have tried adding to their brewing process. After all, if they hit on something as obscure as the cones of that pretty green vine, they must have been trying everything in the forest. The results of the foxglove brew and the nightshade brew were most likely fatal. Those details will never be known, but those early brewers did us all a great favor in finding out that the hop is truly made for brewing!

Even Hopheads Need Balance

There are a great many hop varieties in many different forms available to modern homebrewers, and the effects and blends of bitterness, flavors, and aromatics that can be achieved by a knowledgeable brewer using them is almost unlimited.

Homebrewers tend to be hopheads. That is, we have been exposed to the intense and complex flavors of English bitter, special bitter, India pale ale, old ale, California common, American brown ale, imperial stout, and barleywine -- and we love 'em! But that is not to say we necessarily want hops at the expense of a balanced brew. These beers have a lot of ingredients, including malt and hops, and the blend of flavors and the balance between maltiness and hoppiness is what makes them great. These beers are not delicate, nor are they hard to brew, but they are complex and they must be crafted in such a way that the flavors complement each other.

The balance you create does not mean that you are wimping out of the hophead club. Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. in Chico, Calif., is known for producing hoppy beers of excellent balance and quality. Just like many homebrewers, the folks at Sierra Nevada are true hopheads, and no one has ever accused them of being stingy with the hops. Still, they achieve an excellent result while using large amounts. Steve Dresler, the brewmaster at Sierra Nevada, says balance is the key.

It is vital to know what the body of the beer will be (from malt) so it can be balanced by the base bittering hop addition. Then additional bittering, flavoring, and aromatic hop additions are made throughout the boil to achieve the desired result.

Sierra Nevada beers are great examples of the flavors and complexity that can be achieved with high hopping rates. Sierra Nevada Pale Ale has about four or five times the hops of standard American commercial beers (about 37 International Bittering Units), while the Bigfoot Barleywine achieves an amazing 95 IBUs, balanced by a tremendous amount of malt. Favorite hop varieties for the various Sierra Nevada beers are Cascade, Centennial, Chinook, English Kent Goldings, and Mt. Hood. The brewers at Sierra Nevada are traditionalists and brew with whole hops only. Recently, they have been pleased with Magnum as a base bittering hop, using it to replace Nugget.

To Boldly Go

Homebrewers go through the same brewing process as commercial breweries, and though the amounts involved are smaller, we can achieve very similar results.

Since hop oils and resins are not very soluble in water, and since the oils and resins contain the bitterness, flavor, and aromatics, a brewer has a lot of control over which hop qualities go into the beer and in what quantities. Bitterness, flavor, and aroma are all extracted by boiling and by exposure times. The flavoring and aromatic character is also driven off by long boiling.

Generally, bittering hops should be introduced at the start of the boil and flavoring hops much later in the boil. Since aromatics are lost very quickly to boiling, most homebrewers introduce aroma hops at the very end of the boil. Complexity can be gained in beer by using multiple hop varieties in different additions at different times. The blend of flavors and aromas that results may be much more interesting than simply using one hop variety in the beer.

It is important to remember that when brewing big beers, you are operating with a sledge hammer. The amounts and flavors are big, and in many ways these beers are easier to brew than the more delicate beer styles. A few hop pellets one way or the other would make a big difference in an American light but no difference at all in a barleywine.

On the other hand the large hop additions in these beer styles make large errors possible, and the important thing is balance. A large amount of malt needs a large amount of hops to balance it, but less hops are needed for a smaller amount of malt.

To formulate your recipes and try out different hops and hopping rates, use widely published recipes, charts, and tables as a starting point. When formulating a recipe, it is easy to estimate what your starting gravity will be based upon the amount of malt extract or grain you are using. Once the expected starting gravity is determined, look at published recipes and tables in homebrewing books for beers of the same hoppy style and in the same gravity range to see what hops and amounts they are using. Then, adapt those varieties and amounts to your beer. Stay generally within hop groupings for authenticity: English hop varieties for English styles, German hop varieties for German styles, and so forth.

If you want to keep your beer reasonably tame, keep the total bitterness of the hop bill roughly the same by taking alpha acid percentages and boiling times into account, and you can't go wrong. The hops will balance the malt in your beer, and the blend of hop flavors and aromatics you have created will be unique.

If you enjoy extreme levels of hop bitterness, flavor, and aromatics in your homebrew, don't be afraid to go for it! Hops are great, it's your beer, and whose enjoyment should you be brewing for anyway, huh?

Published recipes and tables show hopping rates that will please the majority of beer drinkers; they are aimed at the middle of the bell curve of hop appreciation. If you like hops a lot, and if you find yourself far from the center of that bell curve, homebrewing is your way to go. In fact homebrewing is your only way to go because you sure aren't going to find many commercial beers that fit your taste preferences.

In general you can double bittering hop additions near the start of the boil. You can triple flavoring hop additions near the middle of the boil. You can quadruple aroma hop additions at the end of the boil. Boosting the hops in this way will produce beers of intense hoppiness -- throat-grabbing, knee-crawling bursts of hop experience, and by golly, some of us will love them!

Recipes

For each recipe there is a standard hoppy version and a way hoppy version, that pump up the recipe's Homebrewing Bitterness Units. HBUs are a simple way to keep track of hop bitterness in five gallons of homebrew. HBUs are the ounces of hops used multiplied by the alpha acids in those hops. IBUs take boiling time into account as well.

Standard Hoppy Recipes

Ozarks Special Bitter
5 gallons, extract with specialty grains

30 IBUs, 20.9 HBUs

Ingredients:

• 1 oz. roasted barley
• 0.5 lb. crystal malt, 40° Lovibond
• 3.3 lbs. unhopped amber malt extract syrup
• 3 lbs. unhopped amber dry malt extract
• 0.5 oz. Northern Brewer hop pellets (8% alpha acid), for 50 min.
• 1 oz. Cascade hop pellets (5.9% alpha acid), for 20 min.
• 2 oz. Kent Goldings hop pellets (5.5% alpha acid), 1 oz. for 10 min., 1 oz. for steeping
• 1/2 tsp. Irish moss
• 2 packs of Doric dry yeast or 1 pack Wyeast 1098 (British Ale)
• 3/4 cup corn sugar for priming

Step by Step:

Steep crushed specialty grains in 6 gal. cold water and heat brewpot. Remove grains at 170° F. When brewpot comes to a boil, add extracts and Northern Brewer hops. Boil 30 min. and add Cascade hops. Boil 10 min. more and add 1 oz. Kent Goldings hops and Irish moss. Boil 10 min. more and add 1 oz. Kent Goldings hops and immediately turn off heat and cover pot. Total boil time is 50 min. Let covered pot steep for 10 min. Cool the wort to below 75° F and siphon into the primary fermenter, splashing while siphoning. Pitch yeast. Ferment at 60° to 70° F until complete, prime, and bottle. Age six weeks before using.

OG = 1.051
FG = 1.012

Extremely Imperial Stout
5 gallons, partial mash

58 IBUs, 24.6 HBUs

Ingredients:

• 11.5 lbs. British pale malt
• 1 lb. crystal malt, 90° Lovibond
• 1 lb. chocolate malt
• 1 lb. roasted barley
• 3 lbs. unhopped light dry malt extract
• 0.5 oz. Chinook hop pellets (12% alpha acid), for 60 min.
• 1.5 oz. Perle hop pellets (7.4% alpha acid), for 30 min.
• 1.5 oz. Willamette hop pellets (5% alpha acid), 1 oz. for 15 min., 0.5 oz. for steeping
• 1/2 tsp. Irish moss
• 2 packs Doric yeast or 1 pack Wyeast 1056 (American Ale)
• 3/4 cup corn sugar for priming

Step by Step:

Crush all grains together. Use your favorite mashing technique, infusion, stove-top, or whatever matches your equipment. Strike in at 158° F, cover, and hold for 60 min. Sparge with 175° F water to yield 6 gal. in the brewpot.

Heat in brewpot. When boil starts, add extract and Chinook hops. Boil 30 min. and add Perle hops. Boil 15 min. more and add 1 oz. Willamette hops and Irish moss. Boil 15 min. more. Add 0.5 oz. Willamette hops and turn off heat. Total boil is 60 min. Cool the wort to below 75° F. Siphon into the primary fermenter, splashing while siphoning. Pitch yeast.
Ferment at 60° to 70° F until complete, prime, and bottle. Age six weeks.

OG = 1.087
FG = 1.025

Way Hoppy Recipes

Ozarks Special Bitter
5 gallons, extract with specialty grains

47.3 HBUs, about 60 IBUs

Ingredients:

• 1 oz. roasted barley
• 0.5 lb. crystal malt, 40° Lovibond
• 3.3 lbs. unhopped amber malt extract syrup
• 3 lbs. unhopped amber dry malt extract
• 1 oz. Northern Brewer hop pellets (8% alpha acid), for 50 min. (8 HBUs)
• 2 oz. Cascade hop pellets (5.9% alpha acid), for 20 min. (11.8 HBUs)
• 2 oz. Kent Goldings hop pellets (5.5% alpha acid), 2 oz. for 10 min. (11 HBUs), 3 oz. for steeping (16.5 HBUs)
• 1/2 tsp. Irish moss
• 2 packs of Doric dry yeast or 1 pack Wyeast 1098 (British Ale)
• 3/4 cup corn sugar for priming

Step by Step:

Steep crushed specialty grains in 6 gal. cold water and heat brewpot. Remove grains at 170° F. When brewpot comes to a boil, add extracts and Northern Brewer hops. Boil 30 min. and add Cascade hops. Boil 10 min. more and add 1 oz. Kent Goldings hops and Irish moss. Boil 10 min. more and add 1 oz. Kent Goldings hops and immediately turn off heat and cover pot. Total boil time is 50 min. Let covered pot steep for 10 min. Cool the wort to below 75° F and siphon into the primary fermenter, splashing while siphoning. Pitch yeast.

Ferment at 60° to 70° F until complete, prime, and bottle. Age six weeks before using.

OG = 1.051
FG = 1.012

Extremely Imperial Stout
5 gallons, partial mash

50.5 HBUs, about 110 IBUs

Ingredients:

• 11.5 lbs. British pale malt
• 1 lb. crystal malt, 90° Lovibond
• 1 lb. chocolate malt
• 1 lb. roasted barley
• 3 lbs. unhopped light dry malt extract
• 1 oz. Chinook hop pellets (12% alpha acid), for 60 min. (12 HBUs
• 2.5 oz. Perle hop pellets (7.4% alpha acid), for 30 min. (18.5 HBUs)
• 4 oz. Willamette hop pellets (5% alpha acid), 2 oz. for 15 min. (10 HBUs), 2 oz. for steeping
• (10 HBUs)
• 1/2 tsp. Irish moss
• 2 packs Doric yeast or 1 pack Wyeast 1056 (American Ale)
• 3/4 cup corn sugar for priming

Step by Step:

Crush all grains together. Use your favorite mashing technique, infusion, stove-top, or whatever matches your equipment. Strike in at 158° F, cover, and hold for 60 min. Sparge with 175° F water to yield 6 gal. in the brewpot.

Heat in brewpot. When boil starts, add extract and Chinook hops. Boil 30 min. and add Perle hops. Boil 15 min. more and add 1 oz. Willamette hops and Irish moss. Boil 15 min. more. Add 0.5 oz. Willamette hops and turn off heat. Total boil is 60 min. Cool the wort to below 75° F. Siphon into the primary fermenter, splashing while siphoning. Pitch yeast.

Ferment at 60° to 70° F until complete, prime, and bottle. Age six weeks.

OG = 1.087
FG = 1.025