Not getting the hop aroma desired

[HOPtuary]

Guys,

I have been doing this for close to a year now and I have a batch ever now and then that doesnt get the hop aroma ive been looking for. My most recent batch had a 3 oz dry hop for 7 days followed by 4 day cold crash(i was out of town, usually only do 2 days). Any tips you guys can throw out will be great. Thanks

 

[Homercidal]

Not seeing anything unusual here. 7 days is plenty and 3 ounces is quite enough (if there is such a thing...)

I know that CO2 release can purge some hop aroma, but it doesn't sound like that would be a problem here.

Maybe it's just the variety of hop?

 

[GrogNerd]

I'm using spring water and was not getting any hop flavor or aroma no matter how much I tried to compensate with amounts of hops.

thought the problem might be the water-related, so I started adding gypsum and CaCl, but it wasn't until I tried a batch with 1.5% acid malt, no dry hop & no minerals, then the flavor finally came thru.

won't get a chance to brew again until next year, so can't be sure that really fixed the problem

 

[thefost]

Are you doing extended hop stands for your flameout hops? I recently realized that the hop stand is where much of the flavor and aroma comes from, and you can't duplicate it with a dry hop.

For example, if you take a recently bottled Sierra Nevada pale ale and smell it you will get a citrus smell. That smell is entirely from cascade a cascade hop stand / whirlpool. Then smell some cascade hops. It will smell floral, but not very citrusy, and this is the scent you will get from the dry hop. You wont be able to get a strong citrus smell without a prolonged hop stand, preferably with a whirlpool.

As for dry hopping, 7 days should be enough. Perhaps your hops are old? I would be sure too agitate the fermenter every day to help with hop oil extraction.

 

[VikingChrisColby]

Start with the basics — were the dry hops green and did they smell fresh and aromatic when you used them?

Chris Colby
Editor
http://beerandwinejournal.com/

 

[BierMuncher]

I find that with my IPA's and IIPA's (or any late hop/dry hopped beers for that matter) perform much better is allowed to warm slightly before serving.

I usually decant from my 37 degree kegerator into a growler if I intend to have an IPA session. I'll let the growler sit for about 15-20 minutes before pouring. By the time I'm on my 3rd pint (don't judge me), the aroma is filling the room.

Serving a hop-laden IPA at just above freezing is an injustice to those hops.

 

[kaconga]

How long are you fermenting? Are you bottling or kegging? I turn my IPAs around in 4 weeks and they always have plenty of hop aroma and flavor. This includes bottle conditioning time. My go to schedule is 60, 18, 7, 0 and dry hop. I try to get between 8 and 12 oz of hops in each 5 gallon batch. But I have made IPAs with just 5 oz of hops before and they were as good as half of the IPAs on the shelf at the grocery store.

If you are having troubles with aroma then I think time is the biggest culprit. If it is flavors that are lacking then it might be temp related, as mentioned, or hop schedule related. A good one to two oz flavoring addition at 15-20 will give good flavor to compliment aroma.

 

[HOPtuary]

I usually dry hop after two weeks from pitching. I tend to use a bucket and a blow off hose for the first week then switch to a standard airlock. Then dry hop for 5-7 days and cold crash for 2 days then keg and force carb.

 

[GrogNerd]

here's one I did that got no flavor or aroma. basically the Two Hearted recipe from this forum, with my own grain bill. the only changes to the hop schedule was moved the 1 minute addition to flameout and almost triple the dry hop amount. this should have been plenty to get aroma and flavor, but all I got was bitterness, which was compounded by gypsum addition to mash water

1.000 oz Centennial [8.70 %] - Boil 60.0 min 26.0 IBUs
1.000 oz Centennial [8.70 %] - Boil 15.0 min 12.9 IBUs
1.000 oz Centennial [8.70 %] - Boil 5.0 min 5.2 IBUs
1.000 oz Centennial [8.70 %] - Boil 0.0 min 0.0 IBUs
1.250 oz Centennial [8.70 %] - Dry Hop 5.0 Days 0.0 IBUs

the one I mentioned earlier, with no minerals but with 1.5% acid malt and got both aroma and flavor, much more than the one above, without even a dry hop. nearly identical grain bill. both beers 3 weeks in fermenter in low 60°s, 3 weeks in bottle at 70°

0.500 oz Chinook [13.00 %] - Boil 40.0 min 19.2 IBUs
0.500 oz Columbus [13.20 %] - Boil 20.0 min 13.4 IBUs
1.000 oz Cascade [6.80 %] - Boil 0.0 min Hop IBUs

I don't see how it's a matter of "just cram more hops in there"