Split Batch Experiment

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hal simmons

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Brewed a Late Hopped Pale Ale 3 weeks ago. All the hops went in in the last 30 minutes, most of them in the last 20 minutes. It was a 10 gallon batch, so I split it into two carboys. One carboy I pitched Nottingham. The other I pitched WYeast 1098. I dry hopped the one with Nottingham with 1 oz of Cascade 5 days before bottling.

Bottling was last night, and of course I sampled the two batches and was REALLY surprised how different they tasted. The one with the Nottingham and 1 oz dry hops has LOTS more hop flavor, aroma, and lingering hop taste. The one with the 1098 has a nice flavor and some hop taste, but it's a pretty balanced beer and the hop flavor doesn't linger.

Is the difference due to the dry hops, the yeast or a combination of both? The purpose of pitching Nottingham was to have a neutral yeast that gets out of the way of the late hopping additions. In and ideal situation, I would have only had one variable between the two batches, but this time I had two and i'm trying to get some input into what the major factor is in the difference between the two beers.
 
hal simmons said:
Is the difference due to the dry hops, the yeast or a combination of both?

Probably a little of both, but I'd say mainly the dry-hopping. I've only dry-hopped a couple of times but both times it resulted in beers that had a ton of hop flavor (and even a bit more bitterness) when they were green. After a month or two the flavor really sinks into the beer and becomes less pronounced and more smooth.
 
It's the dry hopping. Since the oils aren't being boiled off, you get an amazing nose & flavor.
 
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