So let's say that I really like hops. I like the taste of hops and I always choose hoppy beers over the alternatives. My question is, what are the limits to the amount of hops that you can put in a beer recipe? For instance, what would happen if I added twice the amount of hops called for in a recipe besides producing beer that's really bitter? Would that throw off the chemical balance or something like that? What about dry hopping? I've tried that a few times and it worked out pretty well. I guess what I'm really asking is how much experimenting have folks done with hops and what were the results.

i brewed a pliny the elder once and used 1 lb. of assorted hops in a 5 gal. batch. it was so bitter when i tried it after bottling and a month conditioning that i could only take one bottle. so i kind of forgot about it for a while. after about 6 months i had another and it was very good, hoppy but mellowed out. i'm not a hop head but enjoy a little bite to my beer now that i've been making my own.
gary

Just adding more Hops is an expensive way to bitter a beer, I've heard that most commercial breweries do it with enzymes and manipulation of fermentation temperature.

However over the last 18 months or so (since I started brewing) I have been adding more and more, at the beggining I just used hopped malt extract, for my last brew I added an extra three ounces. Some folks here use more, but I'd have to say Shineman I think a pound is a bit extreme!

I think it depends a bit on what hops your useing, at the moment I've been mixing and matching with the noble varieties - Tettnanger, Saaz, Hersbrucker, Hallerteu and the like - and I've allways thought adding more wouldn't hurt. But if you're going to use something exotic like Nelson Sauvin you might want to go easy, it imparts a lot of aromatic grape and passionfruit flavours, even at only 3/4 of an ounce.

Be bold and inventive! Choosing hops is my favourite aspect of brewing at the moment.

the pliny i made came from a kit i got from more beer and i used the hops that came with it, i planted my own hops 4 yrs. ago, so they have just reached their maturity and this last year i have made my beer with only my own home grown, cascade and fuggles, it's really interesting how you can adjust your brew with minor changes of malts and the different ways of introducing your hops to it.
gary

I'm sure it goes without saying, but the Alpha Acid % will greatly determine how much of a certain hop can be used. My "favorite" hop is Simcoe which runs around 15% (very high). I once made an imperial IPA using 2oz for the full boil, 2oz in the last 5 minutes, and 2 oz dry hopped. It was outstanding! Although, it did take a few months to "settle down".

So, pay attention to what you're using, but feel free to get bold.

I made an all Fuggle ale using 4 oz of Fuggles spread throughout the boil and dry hopped. The beer finished bottle conditioning last week, and it could have used much more in the boil, both for bitterness and flavor.

It goes with Curlyfat's comment. pay attention, and over time as you get to know the hops, and get better at creating hop schedules. I myself am miles away from that point

curlyfat wrote: My "favorite" hop is Simcoe which runs around 15% (very high).

I haven't seen those before. From the descriptions people give on the net they sound similar to Pride of Ringwood. Do they work well in any particular combinations with other hops?

I'm actually trying to find a particular hop at the moment that I don't know the name of. It gives the Floral aroma to Moutain Goat Hightail Ale and I suspect is also in Y&J Naked Ale. Its a mystery.

EDIT: Do citrus flavours occur necessarily with the High Alpha acid? From what I remember it seems to be a common feature of the High Alpha Acid Hops. Nelson Sauvin being the highest alpha acid I've tried and the most citrus and passionfruit like.

Thanks for the input everyone. That's really helpful. I'm going to do some more experimenting with my next batch and see what happens. I'm not exactly new to brewing but at this point I haven't brewed frequently enough to really start experimenting with different types and amounts of hops at different times in the brewing process. I love that bitter beer though so I would say that that's my next project!

i like the citrus flavor in my beer, that is the reason that i chose cascade to grow, and it likes the hot temps. that we get in az. it's about 6% so you might have to use more if you're after the bitterness. you can use it fwh or dry hop to get extra flavor. a lot of the brewerys here use it in their pale ales, SNPA and Mirror pond are my favorites.
gary

Joseph,

Generally the best way to really bring out the citrus/fruit aromas in hops is to dry-hop (add hops directly to the fermenter). I personally like the high-alpha hops for this although usually it's lower-alpha hops used. Cascade is a great hop for dry-hopping, and an all around great hop to use. I also like Willamette when I want more subtly.