No hop aroma / taste in Belgian IIPA

[mikeal]

I had a few beers in a local brewery this weekend. They made a Belgian IIPA that was listed at 96 IBUs. I don't have a very sensitive palate, so I might be missing something subtle but there was no hop aroma or taste and only a very late, intense bitterness on the sides of my tongue. I asked the staff and they said that there was plenty of hop aroma and flavor before fermentation.

What accounts for the loss of hop aroma and flavor in this case? Is this something that can happen with Belgian yeast?

 

[samc]

I had a few beers in a local brewery this weekend. They made a Belgian IIPA that was listed at 96 IBUs. I don't have a very sensitive palate, so I might be missing something subtle but there was no hop aroma or taste and only a very late, intense bitterness on the sides of my tongue. I asked the staff and they said that there was plenty of hop aroma and flavor before fermentation.

What accounts for the loss of hop aroma and flavor in this case? Is this something that can happen with Belgian yeast?

Time certainly will be a factor. But that answer by the staff is odd. Don't they taste the beers after fermentation?

 

[cheezydemon3]

Lupuline shift happens too.

I sense little to no hops in my latest APA, but SWMBO says it is too hoppy.

 

[mikeal]

Time certainly will be a factor. But that answer by the staff is odd. Don't they taste the beers after fermentation?

They had tasted the beer previously and agreed with what I said. The bartender said it was because the malt balanced the hops. Another staff member that I spoke to said that the wort was very hoppy going into the fermenter. I get the impression that the final product didn't turn out the way they expected. They were busy, so I didn't want to push the issue.

In the bartender's defense, she did know the grain bill and hops used for the beers that I tasted. The beer itself was good and I like the brewery.

 

[runningweird]

big belgians need aging time, long aging diminishes hop presence. Also some hop aromas and flavors are delicate little flowers - easily overpowered by the belgiany yeast by products produced during fermentation.

or this could have been a bum batch.