Where did the Hops Go?

[Calichusetts]

I just bottled a hop bomb IIPA a few weeks ago and was shocked at the lack of hop aroma and flavor. I am used to producing very high levels of hop aroma and it seems like the more I've began to work with water chemistry, the worse it gets. Here is a breakdown:

1 gallon recipe:

1 lbs Brewers Malt 2-Row (Briess) (1.8 SRM) 32.0 %
1 lbs Pale Ale Malt 2-Row (Briess) (3.5 SRM) 32.0 %
8.0 oz Caramel Malt - 20L (Briess) (20.0 SRM) 16.0 %
8.0 oz Munich 10L (Briess) (10.0 SRM) 16.0 %

7cs Hops (10%)

5 grams FWH
5 grams 20-5 minute additions (5 minutes each
1.8 oz flameout/steep
1oz dry hop (usually do 2 oz in my hop bombs)

Water profile: Poland Springs + 3 grams Gypsum/1 gram Calcium Chloride
Ca: 109
Mg: 1
Na: 3.5
Cl: 53
So: 182
Mash pH: 5.31 (estimated...no ph meter or strips)

Almost 10 quarts total

Tastes great as a weak barleywine...caramel shines, brown sugar came through. 9% with an SG of 1.019

 

[Yooper]

16% caramel/crystal malt? That would definitely counteract bitterness form the hops.

I don't understand the hops schedule at all. Is it 5 grams every five minutes, times 5?

Also, I assume a very high mash temp, since it finished at 1.019?

 

[Calichusetts]

Yes...5 grams at 20, 5 grams at 15, etc

EDIT: mashed at 151...high SG due to low temps...yeast crapped out but it was stable

 

[Yooper]

Yes...5 grams at 20, at 15, etc

Did you run this through any brewing software? I'm not great with grams vs ounces, but it does seem like minute amounts of hops, combined with more than twice as much crystal malt as I would use.

 

[Calichusetts]

Yes...beersmith for recipe and brewers friend for water profile. This is about 4 ozs of hops in a 1 gallon recipe, works everytime...until now

This is 1 oz in the last 20 minutes, nearly 2 oz at flameout and 1 oz as a dryhop...5 days

 

[Yooper]

It's got to be a combination of the way-too-much-crystal malt and the underattenuation of the yeast that make this beer cloying. I assume it's cloying, as the underattenuation would leave a lot of residual sweetness, and then 16% crystal malt and the "richer" pale ale malt and Munich malt would also impact the mouthfeel and flavor.

 

[Calichusetts]

Thanks Yooper...was going for a richer mouthfeel, perhaps too much . Still should have a decent hop aroma. Everything else looks good though?

 

[Yooper]

Thanks Yooper...was going for a richer mouthfeel, perhaps too much . Still should have a decent hop aroma. Everything else looks good though?

What I would probably do is go with something like 5% light crystal, 82% US two-row, 8% Munich, and then consider a small amount of victory malt for some malt character and a fuller richer mouthfeel. Overdoing the crystal malt makes a beer too cloying and thick and not what I'd want in an IPA.

 

[Calichusetts]

Thanks again...I usually use 10% and get nice hop aroma...I tossed out the carapils and upped the caramel to see its affect on body, head retention, lacing, etc.

Still, can that much caramel complete cover up a hop bomb? Glad I posted this, going to have to do some editing to my galaxy IPA

 

[Token]

5 gm is less than 1/4 ounce.

28 gm is 1 ounce.

Oh ok, I see how your hop schedule works. Not sure... hmm, that just seems like a labor intensive way to do things. Well, carry on. And good luck.

 

[brewingandscrewing]

If you use a hopback, then you could get back some of the flavor and aroma lost in the boil. It extracts oils out of the hops. They work really well. you can get a pretty cheap one on etsy...
https://www.etsy.com/shop/BrewSmart

 

[Calichusetts]

Thanks for the rely guys. Very strange still, this was my go to super hoppy recipe. Only change was no carapils and subbed more caramel. Guess this was the culprit.

Even stranger. I never really found my bottling/hydro sample to be delicious as people often say. This one, SOOOO hoppy and delicious. Two weeks later, nothing. Maybe its just that 7cs is not that potent. The old recipe was cascade, centennial and citra.

 

[ericbw]

Remember this is a gallon, so that's a lot of hops.

 

[ericbw]

That SHOULD taste and smell nasty. Were the hops fresh? I have some very old hops and they bitter ok, but have really low aroma. Prob time to chuck them.

 

[Calichusetts]

That SHOULD taste and smell nasty. Were the hops fresh? I have some very old hops and they bitter ok, but have really low aroma. Prob time to chuck them.

Hop Union ordered a few weeks earlier. Smelled nice, and like I said, very nice tropical/grapefruit aroma at bottling.

And yes, I know this is a lot of hops. This is been my guaranteed hops schedule for ridiculous hop bombs. I usually use 2 oz in the dry hop but since I added more at flameout, I figured it would balance. My buddies (who have no issues telling me their real feelings on my brews) beg for these beers when I use this hop schedule. Not this time. Who knows. Moving on, I'll post back when I finish my Galaxy IPA with a similar schedule. That way I can compare.

 

[snowtires]

Wait. 9% abv with 1.019 fg? That is a barley wine! What was the OG?

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Home Brew mobile app

 

[Calichusetts]

1.086...intended for 1.074. Just got crazy efficiency