Low bitter, but high hop flavor/aroma?

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JiveTurkey

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New to brewing. Favorite beer are stout, fruit ales, and Belgian (especially wit); least favorite are IPA, lagers, and blondes. I like my beer flavorful, but not bitter.

First batch was a stout from a standard recipe at the LHBS. Good, but too bitter for my taste (recipe estimated ~35 IBU, turned out to be 42 after later inputting into Beersmith).

Being bottled next week is my second batch: a honey wit. I experimented with the hop additions to give more flavor and aroma without increasing bitterness, but later learned the hop flavors may interfere with the corriander and orange peel. We'll see.

For the third batch, I'm looking for an extract recipe or help making one that has low bitterness, but moderate to high hop flavor and aroma. I've been looking through the style guidelines, but haven't found anything like that. Something in the pale to amber color range. Moderate maltiness. And creamy. Ideas?
 
You could always make an IPA... tone down the bittering hops and up the flavor and aroma hops. Dry hopping is a great way to do this. It's how I make my IPA's because I am not a big fan of bitter either.
 
Look up california common/steam beer, or english (northern/southern) brown, you might like these? If they don't look hoppy enough for you, just add more hops around the 15 minute mark for flavor/aroma with little bitterness
 
Thank you for the comments so far.

The steam beer idea is interesting. I've not tried it because there is just something about the flavor of lager yeast I don't like. Maybe I'll try an Anchor Steam. Interestingly, years ago I did like Michelob's Amber Bock, but have since stopped supporting such macro-breweries.

The one thing I do like about IPAs are the citrusy notes. Please give me tips on how to increase this citrusiness. Also what kind of flavors might I expect to come out with the bitterness toned down? A lot of people I know love IPAs and the bitterness; If I brew a low-IBU IPA, I'll have to call it something else lest I mislead and disappoint them.
 
Check out this article:
http://***********/stories/recipes/...way-to-add-a-citrus-fruit-flavor-to-your-beer

...though it might not be what you're looking for. I'd say stick with the orange peel, but maybe experiment with citric acid additions? I have no idea if this is viable, but at least it sounds good :D
 
Dry hopping is going to be your best bet I imagine. Also, late addition hops (15 minutes for flavor, 5/flameout for aroma) works well.

If you can find it, try a hobgoblin. It's probably a smidge too bitter for you, but it's got a lovely hops flavor and aroma, though not a citrus hops.

If you're doing all grain, I f*cked up and threw hops in during my mash, and am REALLY happy with the results.
 
Thanks for the tips everyone. I've decided to do an IPA that has about 30 IBUs, but 6oz total hops. 6.5% ABV.

I have an ounce each of Saaz (3.1 AA%) and Crystal (4.3 AA%) in the freezer left over from the Wit. I'm going to call the LHBS when they open again Tuesday and see what the AA% is of the Cascades hops (for the citrusy flavor). I'd like to put 2 oz at various times in the boil and another 2 oz dry-hopped. Beersmith estimates it is 5.5 AA% (I hope it is really a little lower).

This is my recipe as of now (5 gallon batch):

8 lbs. Light DME (8.0 SRM)
2 lbs. Caramel/Crystal Malt - 20L (20.0 SRM)
30 min. 0.5 oz Cascade hops [5.5%] (6.3 IBU)
30 min. 0.5 oz Crystal hops [4.3%] (4.9 IBU)
30 min. 0.5 oz Saaz hops [3.1%] (3.6 IBU)
20 min. 0.5 oz Cascade hops [5.5%] (5.0 IBU)
20 min. 0.5 oz Crystal hops [4.3%] (3.9 IBU)
20 min. 0.5 oz Saaz hops [3.1%] (2.8 IBU)
10 min. 0.5 oz Cascade hops [5.5%] (3.0 IBU)
5 min. 0.5 oz Cascade hops [5.5%] (1.6 IBU)
Dry hop: 2 oz Cascade hops (last 7 days of Secondary)
(Gypsum)
(Irish Moss)
Yeast: White Labs Pacific Ale (#WLP041)

Primary: 14 days
Secondary: 56 days

Est. IBU: 31
Est. OG: 1.072
Est: FG: 1.022
Est. ABV: 6.5%

I may mess around some more with the hop additions once I know the Cascade AA%, but any comments about the above recipe?

Am I doing the dry-hopping right?

I read in a book that the original IPAs' bitterness toned down and the aromas came out more as they conditioned on the journey to India; I'm trying to re-create this with the long Secondary.

Edit: I'm naming this brew: "Be Hoppy, Not Bitter"
 
Sorry to bump an old thread, but this is exactly the sort of thread I was looking for.

I don't understand how you still get IBUs without any 60 min hop additions. Do flavour/aroma additions still give you a small of the bittering compounds?
 
Pith said:
Sorry to bump an old thread, but this is exactly the sort of thread I was looking for.

I don't understand how you still get IBUs without any 60 min hop additions. Do flavour/aroma additions still give you a small of the bittering compounds?

Exactly! The farther back you go, the more bitterness you get. In other words, 20 min>10 min>5 min>1 min when it comes to bitterness.
 
Exactly! The farther back you go, the more bitterness you get. In other words, 20 min>10 min>5 min>1 min when it comes to bitterness.

Ah, cool, thanks. I had convinced myself that hops were my enemy, but was confusing "hops" (aroma/flavour of which can be lovely) with "bitterness" (which I'm not a huge fan of). My favourite style so far is the Hefeweizen, but not only due to the timid bitterness.

I'm thinking of doing sort of an "Opposite Day IPA" (I'm happy with the name, give me credit if you use it ;)) with the Hallertau I have left over from a Weizen, where emphasis is inverted from bitterness>flavour/aroma to flavour/aroma>bitterness.

Do you have any ideas regarding hop additions for this experiment? I have the better part of a 100 gram (3.5 ounce) packet of Hallertau left, and would prefer not to buy more unless you have some particularly adamant recommendations. I'm a poorly student, after all. Weihenstephaner Hefe Weissbier has 14 IBUs; I think I will try to shoot for 20 IBUs, just to push my boundaries. I know I sound like a wuss, but I do listen to extreme heavy metal, if that counts for anything.
 
The thing to keep in mind is that bitteness is not your enemy. In fact, it's absolutely necessary for a good beer. The bitterness of the hops balances the sweetness of the malt and brings the planets into alignment and harmony to the universe.

So when you are doing this experiment, be careful not to throw the baby out with the hop water. Your definition of balance is certain to be different than mine, but don't be afraid to push the IBUs a little if the malt bill can handle it. If you shoot for balance instead of "not bitter" or "citrusy" I think you'll like your results a lot better.
 
The thing to keep in mind is that bitteness is not your enemy. In fact, it's absolutely necessary for a good beer. The bitterness of the hops balances the sweetness of the malt and brings the planets into alignment and harmony to the universe.

So when you are doing this experiment, be careful not to throw the baby out with the hop water. Your definition of balance is certain to be different than mine, but don't be afraid to push the IBUs a little if the malt bill can handle it. If you shoot for balance instead of "not bitter" or "citrusy" I think you'll like your results a lot better.

I've been repeatedly editing my post, so I'm not sure at what point you read it, but I'm trying to push my tastebuds beyond their current wussy state.

Just did some quick googling for a beer I really like called "White Rabbit Dark Ale", and it's 30 IBUs, so I could probably do something of that level, if, like you say, I go with a fairly sweet grain bill.

EDIT: ... a "fittingly" sweet grain bill. ;)
 
I just tried my first ever batch and I have this problem. It looks and smells like an IPA (I brewed an IPA) but it is not as bitter as I would like. Should I let it sit longer? I just tried it after I bottled it 2 weeks ago.

What should I do? Let it sit longer?
 
I just tried my first ever batch and I have this problem. It looks and smells like an IPA (I brewed an IPA) but it is not as bitter as I would like. Should I let it sit longer? I just tried it after I bottled it 2 weeks ago.

What should I do? Let it sit longer?

My basic understanding is that hoppy beers don't "sit" that well, and that the compounds in hop acids (not sure exactly which) eventually break down into the compounds that skunks produce when they feel threatened.

An extremely unorthodox approach would be to boil up some hops in a small amount of water for an hour and then add a small amount of the bitter water to the glass before you pour, but I'm not sure how that would work or the precise measurements behind it.
 
My basic understanding is that hoppy beers don't "sit" that well, and that the compounds in hop acids (not sure exactly which) eventually break down into the compounds that skunks produce when they feel threatened.

To my understanding, it only breaks down in this way when hops are exposed to UV light. Hoppy beer gets less potent as it ages, but there's no reason why you can't age it for a month or two. That being said, aging it will not make it taste more bitter - it will just make the flavors harmonize more.

An extremely unorthodox approach would be to boil up some hops in a small amount of water for an hour and then add a small amount of the bitter water to the glass before you pour, but I'm not sure how that would work or the precise measurements behind it.

I've done some research on this topic because I too was worried I screwed up a batch. The long story short is, it won't work that great because the malt sugar is part of the chemical reaction that extracts the bitter acids in the first place. Boiling hops in water WILL extract SOME bitterness, but it won't be very efficient. If you add some malt extract to the water it'll work better, but... bam, unfermented sugars in your beer. Bleh.

Ultimately you're probably best off just drinking it as is, man. So what if it isn't super bitter? You've still got a very serviceable Pale Ale bottled or kegged, and that is in no way a bad thing.
 
My basic understanding is that hoppy beers don't "sit" that well, and that the compounds in hop acids (not sure exactly which) eventually break down into the compounds that skunks produce when they feel threatened.

An extremely unorthodox approach would be to boil up some hops in a small amount of water for an hour and then add a small amount of the bitter water to the glass before you pour, but I'm not sure how that would work or the precise measurements behind it.

But I did exactly what the instructions say. It said this takes 6 weeks.
 
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