Speidel’s Master Brewer
Page 11 of 26
End of cooking
quit
doing so, that the vaporized water is also replaced. Conversely, the liquid’s level will
fall when the content of basic wort is too low (by the water vaporizing), which leads to
a higher concentration of sugar and thus to a higher alcoholic content too. The brewing
boiler must be open when the boiling phase is carried out. This prevents the wort from
overboiling on the one hand and it is primarily essential for boiling the hops, so that
unwanted aromatic substances - which would spoil the beer’s taste - can evaporate.
Adding hops to the beer originally served to improve the beer’s shelf life and
conservation. Add the first hops to the boiling wort between 10 to 15 minutes after the
boiling begins, according to the kind of hops and content of bitter substances. The
hops remain in the wort until the boiling time has ended because its substances only
take effect after a longer boiling time and they give the intended bitterness of hops to
the beer. Resins and oils in the hops will also be released while doing so, which
subsequently give full-bodiedness to the wort together with the malt aroma. Hops can
then be added again approximately 10 minutes before the boiling ends: which only
contributes to the aromatization. It is not possible to separate the bitter substances any
longer during the remaining time. The quantity of hops differs according to the recipe
and type of beer. Furthermore, it is dependent on the hops too, which can vary
according to the place where and in which year they are cultivated. The hops can be
added in the form of pellets or dried hops. The content of bitter substances is given in
bitter units (BE) and it is between 10 to 20 BEs for wheat beer and between 25 to 45
BEs for Pilsener beer. Information about the content of bitter substances to the hops is
given as a percentage of alpha acids, which can be between 2% to 4% (approximately
8% for pellets). The quantity of hops can be calculated with the following formula:
Quantity of hops in grams =
bitter units (BE) x litres of beer x 10
% of alpha acids x % of bitter substances utilized
It can be assumed that 30% of the bitter substances will be used during a total boiling
duration of between 80 to 90 minutes.
Example:
It is intended to brew 20 litres of wheat beer with a content of bitter substances of 15
BE. The available hops have a 3% content of alpha acids. The following amount of
hops thus results, which will be added when the boiling process begins. The hops
which are added shortly before the boiling ends, are not allowed for in this calculation
because no appreciable quantities of bitter substances will be added to the wort any
more during the brief time.
Grams of hops = 15BE x 20 litres x 10 = 33g
3% x 30%
On completion of the boiling time, a signal tone sounds again,
indicating the end of the brewing process. This is
acknowledged by pressing ENTER, and the heating is then
switched off.
