Question on Cryo Hop Pellets

Firstly, let me caveat that I have yet to homebrew with Cryo Hops.

I recently attended HomebrewCon and in a presentation about hops they passed out packages of differing hops and one package was Cryo Hops. The pellets of the Cryo Hops are not tightly compacted and it basically took no effort to turn them into dust (we were rubbing the hops between our hands as a sensory evaluation). I gotta believe that when these hops are added to wort even post boil they will break apart very, very easily. I am willing to bet that your strainer will not ‘catch’ the Cryo Hops.

Also, while speaking to the YCH folks at the booth they stated that Cryo Hops should be used at a half-rate as compared to ‘regular’ pellet hops. In other words if you normally would add 2 ounces of ‘regular’ hops for an addition the functional equivalent of Cryo Hops would be 1 ounce.

Please report back how you brew turns out with your Cryo Hops. I have some packages I got for free at HomebrewCon and I need to use them in a future batch of beer.

Cheers!

 

IMO cryo hops should be saved for dry/keg hops (i like keg hops as they'll stick around for quite some time without giving off that grassy/veggie flavor after a few weeks in the keg)

 

I’ve used them a dozen or so times. If you use them in the boil, they will basically then into green sludge. Like @JackHorzempa said, they basically turn to powder when crushed. When added to boiling liquid they turn into paste. Unlikely that your strainer will catch them. I saw them go right through a 300 mesh stainless filter. You are better off whirlpooling with a sanitized soon and racking carefully if you want to leave them behind in the kettle.

Personally, unless you are trying to really maximize yield, I would just save them for the dry-hop. I find that when used exclusively, the hop character is a little one-dimensional. I greatly prefer the complex hoppiness or Cryo+regular pellets.

Dry-hopping with them can be a bit challenging. They have a tendency to break apart and float, leading to poor exposure. So if you are fermenting in a bucket or carboy, you’d probably be best off sanitizing a hop sack and a piece of stainless hardware to weigh it down. In a conical, with a proper hop dump, you have to find a way to inject slurry. Also, I’d recommend dry hopping while there is still some active fermentation, to scavenge the inevitable O2 you will add with these less gentle methods.

 

As in the Cryo Hop version of the same hop variety as the pellets? For example x oz. of Cryo Hop Mosaic and y oz. of pellet Mosaic?

Cheers!

 

Not necessarily. Just adding a little bit of traditional hops of any variety. Beers that have been 100% hopped with Cryo hops have been largely disappointing for me. It’s hard to explain, but they almost have an ‘artificial hop flavoring’ character. Not like a chemical off-taste or anything, just a ‘not quite right’ flavor. Kinda how stuff flavored with vanillin tastes similar to vanilla, but is just missing something.
My theory is that it’s the green, grassy flavors present in the plant material that is largely removed from Cryo hops. We associate those flavors with proper bitterness and their absence just tastes ‘off’.

 

Have you noticed this artificial aspect when brewing a beer with pellet hops for the kettle additions but solely using Cryo Hops for dry hopping?

I was considering brewing a batch where I used pellet hops for bittering (60 minute boil) and pellet hops for flavor (last 10 minutes of boil) and pellet hops for aroma (end of boil and 20-30 minute hop-stand) but solely dry hopped with Cryo Hops. Would you suggest that I use some regular pellet hops in the dry hopping stage to ‘augment’ the Cryo Hops?

Cheers!

 

I haven’t run a proper study on it, so unfortunately, I just have circumstantial suggestions! But that looks good to me. I feel like it’s the absence (or minimal presence ) of glycosides, the leafy plant material, that makes these beers one-dimensional. You will certainly introduce these compounds into the beer with your method. Just as a beer made with your method without any dry-hop would likely have a pleasant, appropriate bitterness, the addition of Cryo hops won’t subtract from that proper bitter character.

 

Cryo hops have a distinct flavor/aroma especially when used by themselves. It’s obvious once you experience it. Melvin makes maybe the best beer I’ve had with straight cryo. It’s called Your IPA I believe. That is exactly what cryo is like. Cryo can also really amplify the “hop burn” some people experience. The beer from Melvin has zero of the hop burn but all the other characteristics of cryo.

 

I’ve used: Citra, Simcoe, Mosaic, Ekaunot, and Cascade Cryo in; boil/ late/ dry hop/ keg hop. From my experience dry hop has been the most, from my sensory the best use of them.

 

Have you noticed any difference in beer stability from dry hopping with Cryo Hops vs. 'regular' pellet hops? For example, does the hop aroma fade more quickly with Cryo Hops?

Cheers!

@JohnnyChicago

 

I haven’t noticed anything like that. In theory, adding less solids would probably improve long -term stability. Although I have found that the hop character can be more variable during fermentation. I’ve smelled and tasted hop aromas and flavors the day of the DH dump that didn’t make it into the final product.

 

Good question. What I have noticed, but might be biased knowing the variable has been an increase in aroma. But... I drink the keg to fast (2 weeks) to notice any length of time to show any impact on stability. All my experience with them have been IPAs. If any of that helps. Good question though Jack as I have been some what skeptical on the hop “hash” myself.