Weird

I just opened a Northern Brewer cream ale extract I bottled one week ago. I have to admit it is my favorite from my first 3 brews--and it's only a week old! I knew what I was brewing when I started-I wanted a lawnmower beer and it's dead on. 15 IBUs. But what got me was when I was boiling it with Mt Hood (60min) and willamette (1min) boy my garage sure reeked of hops! I thought oh no I over did it. But 4 weeks afterwards there is hardly a hop aroma/taste. Where did it go? I was expecting a little more when I got my nose in there. I guess what I'm saying is I hit what I was looking for but thought I had screwed up and made it way hoppier at boiltime. I guess a few weeks really mellows out the hopiness. Sure tastes different than the Hop Devils I've had since I brewed this one. It's going to be a great summer brew if it makes it that long ( I doubt it). Sorry for rambling but I actually experienced something with this brew that I hadn't with the previous ones I made. :rockin:

Sounds great! Congrats!

I had a similar experience with a beer I made a couple months ago. I used 2 oz. of chinook hops for the bittering. About two weeks after bottling it had a very intense bitter taste on the back of my tongue. I was concerned that is was almost too astringent. Now, just a few weeks after that the intense bitterness has mellowed considerably and now it seems just right.

It makes me wonder how those insanely hopped beers out there keep their intensity over time.