Milled hops into the boil?

[Ipscman]

I just came across this in Kunze, Technology, Brewing & Malting, 2010, p. 371:

[NOTE: The context in both quoted sources makes it clear the focus is NOT pelletized hops, but milled hop CONES - that wasn't clear in my original post.]

"...many breweries mill the hops very finely immediately before adding them, and then precipitate the finely milled particles in the whirlpool."

Briggs, Brewing: Science and Practice, p.341 also mentions this in passing; "In older and or smaller breweries it is normal to add...whole hops, milled hops, pelleted milled hops..."

Have any of you used this technique of milling whole cone hops or heard of it being done? Effect on utilization? Increase in polyphenol type bitterness & haze?

[dick murton]

It's not normal for the brewery to do the milling, but the hop merchant. They come out compressed small cylindrical sections about 1/4 inch diameter. The hops, becasue they are highly compressed are then filled into multilayer plastic / foil packs, inert gas flushed and then evacuated as much as possible to further reduce the risk of any residual air which will oxidise the hop resins and oils, and to compact them as much as possible. When storing & shipping - volume = costs.

They are generally considered more flavour stable, and because they are ground up, they form a debris cone in the whirlpool far more easily than whole hops

And you can go further by concentrating them to remove the inert vegetable matter, or even pre-isomerise some of the alpha acid, so the brewer can increase the kettle utilisation

Changes due to polyphenols / hazes ? Minimal, if measurable

Increase in extract performance - good as the ground hops help to produce a far more compact trub in the whirlpool

[mullenite]

It's not normal for the brewery to do the milling, but the hop merchant. They come out compressed small cylindrical sections about 1/4 inch diameter.

I think the OP may be thinking of something different, based on the text above it sounds like these are basically hop pellets before they are pelletized.

[Ipscman]

I can see that it would increase utilization. I've never heard of a brewer here in the U.S. actually doing this though. Kunze (German), Briggs (U.K.) make it sound like it is common elsewhere.

Anyone out there actually doing this?

ADDED NOTE: There was a dry-hopping seminar at the Craft Brewers Conference in which Mitch Steele of Stone said that he knew a number of brewers he held in high regard who mill their hops. He said they also have done it in pilot brews successfully and that it gives 10-15% better utilization.