Irish Ale - dry hopping?

rjabraham · 08-14-2008, 07:25 PM

Hi, I'm new to homebrewtalk. My brewing buddy (deharris) has just moved to the other side of the country, so I'm adventuring into brewing by myself. I just posted my first solo-batch, a hybrid Irish Ale (http://tinyurl.com/6nta99).

I would love to get some feedback on the recipe.

My biggest question though is whether I should dry hop it or not? Over the last year, I've been getting more and more into the hoppy flavors, but I'm not sure whether that would be appropriate for the style or for my recipe. Thanks in advance!

**DeathBrewer** · 08-14-2008, 07:28 PM

sure you can, although an irish ale doesn't typically have any hop aroma so it would be more of an american red/amber.

i personally wouldn't dry hop it, i like my irish red nice and malty, but that's just a preference.

elkdog · 08-14-2008, 07:38 PM

+1 for saving the hops for another beer. Irish Ale is a malt-focused style (that I love).

**ShortSnoutBrewing** · 08-14-2008, 07:45 PM

Just as the others have, if you're trying to stay just within style guidelines, then no don't dry hop. But isn't half the fun of being a homebrewer trying something different and NOT in the guidelines?

Bob · 08-14-2008, 09:02 PM

If you like hops, dry hop it. It's your beer!

The style names are there for other people who drink your beer, not you. Too many brewers find the styles restrictive, and they are. Just remember the styles are there as a frame of reference for the drinker, not the brewer.

If you hand someone a glass and say, "Here, try my Irish Red", they're going to expect a nice, subdued maltiness. If they get a mouthful of dry-hops flavor, at best they're going to be confused and at worst they'll think you don't really know what you're doing. That's why it's wise to refer to your beer by the closest possible style when sharing, even when you've gone way outside the style boundaries: "Well, it's kind of like a cross between Belgian Witbier, Tripel and American IPA. I guess you could call it an Imperian Belgian Pale Ale or something."

Anyhow, if you like hops flavor and aroma, go nuts. But like DeathBrewer said, if you share it, tell people it's American Amber.

Cheers,

Bob

farmbrewernw · 08-14-2008, 09:37 PM

Yeah go ahead and dry hop it, however if you are really looking for pronounced hop flavor you wont get that from dry hopping but it will give you a wonderful aroma.

edb · 08-14-2008, 10:03 PM

Your hops and yeast are say Irish / English style but according to the BJCP guidelines,
Hop aroma is low to none (usually not present). Quite clean.
Generally no flavor hops, although some examples may have a light English hop flavor. Medium-low hop bitterness,

i.e. no dry hopping, not really a hopped ale.

Really though unless your entering the beer in a contest you can call it whatever you want.
http://www.bjcp.org/2008styles/style09.html#1d

I'm like you and prefer the hops, if you want more bang out of your hops add less for bittering and more for the late additions. You could drop down the Crystal a slight bit too to reduce some of the sweetness.

.75 at 60min
.75 at 15min
.50 at 5min or flame out