Adding bittering hops after fermentation

I have a double IPA going right now (1 week fermenting so far) and I think I didn't add enough hops into the wort boil. I know that dry hopping is more for aroma, not taste, so I need a way to add more hoppy bitterness to the brew.

I searched around about boiling hops and adding this to the fermenter to get more of a hop taste and it looks like it can be done but I need more specifics.

How long should I boil the hops?

Should I add the hoppy water now while it's in the primary, or should I wait until I rack to the secondary?

Do I boil water, steep the hops for however long, cool the tea down to room temp then funnel this into my fermenting carboy?


Any help and advice would be appreciated.

I would figure out what your IBUs per gravity is right now (using a calc or beerSmith) then figure out where you want to be, then you can use an equation like:

Intended bitterness = (current bitterness*volume + additional bitterness*additional volume)/new volume

Then use a calc to see how long/how much water you need to boil. Remember that water has a an alpha acid saturation limit, so boiling a ton of hops onto 2 cups of water won't help your IBUs, the 2 cups will max out their IBUs then not pick up anymore (so they won't add much to your 5 gallons).

Once you get that, cool it down and add it right to your primary.

That's just what I would think the best way to do what you're asking would be. But in all honesty, you might just want to let the beer ferment out all the way. Call it a dryer barley wine, and brew it again how you want it.