Hops in Mead Making

It was the arrival of hops that saw the demise of mead as the favoured beverage of the working class. There is a lot written on this and I am not going to deprive you of your own journey of learning should you decide to investigate this 'theory' even further.

Hops can be used in several ways and in order to understand the terms used, one must understand the usage. In beer brewing hops are usually added to the mash during the boil with the varying times the hops are left in the boil affecting the extraction from them. These are said to be "Added to the mash"

As a general rule of thumb hops left in for more than twenty-thirty minutes will impart their bittering qualities. Hops left in for around five minutes will impart their aromas around ten minutes or so they will impart their flavours, and those left in for much more than this will impart their bitterness. Using this knowledge a mead maker can decide whether they want just aroma or just aroma and flavour, whilst controlling the bitterness.

Dry hopping is where the hops are added to the ferment at some point and avoid the boiling process. The point at which they are added and for how long they are added is the Mazer's choice.

Many will treat different hops differently. In some instances I dry hop at the end of primary, in some instances in secondary and I have also been known to do so after the mead has aged and just prior to bottling.

Dry Hopping is by far the most common method of adding hops to a mead. A hop bag or basket is usually used in order to control how long the hops are in the liquid for. Most Mead makers use a rule of thumb of three days to a week, but this will depend on the hop variety, the quantity, the freshness  and of course the outcome desired.

The more one knows about an ingredient, the more informed choices they can make about its use.

Using the knowledge of the brewers', and experimenting with the different boil times gives a good insight into working with many other ingredients, more boil does not equal more flavours, it equals different flavours. 

There are countless varieties of hops, some are known for their bittering qualities, some for their individual aromas and flavours. 

There is no best hop for Mead making, but there will definitely be your favourite hop out there somewhere. Most hop users find a combination that works rather than a single hop, but sometimes a single variety is just what you want.

Most homebrew suppliers can sell you a variety of hops in pelletised form. These same sites will have descriptions on the various hops, including the level of bitterness and the flavour/aroma profiles. 

Pellets will give you good results, however, fresh hops will you give you better results. Hops do not store well and some people like to treat them as a seasonal ingredient, using them when they are available fresh. They are simple to grow if you are in the right environment and can produce abundant crops.

Some of the more popular varieties are:

There is a whole world of flavour out there, this is a very short list compared to some.

Hop to it!

________________________