Hops... can you tell by the boil smell?

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venquessa

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Is there any coorelation between how much you like the smell of your hops boil, to how you like the smell/taste of what comes out as beer in the end?
 
The essential oils don't change from boil to beer, just the contributions (bitterness, flavor, aroma) that they provide to the beer. Yeast of course provides a good deal of contribution to the final smell and flavor of the beer, and so do the unfermentable sugars that endure the fermentation process, so it won't be an absolute direct connection, but there will certainly be some correlation.
 
The essential oils don't change from boil to beer, just the contributions (bitterness, flavor, aroma) that they provide to the beer. Yeast of course provides a good deal of contribution to the final smell and flavor of the beer, and so do the unfermentable sugars that endure the fermentation process, so it won't be an absolute direct connection, but there will certainly be some correlation.

The yeast and unfermentables will add to the taste for sure, but you'd have to have a serious nose to detect those two additions by smell. If you're smelling yeast...idk what kind of style that could be prevalent in...but more power to you. If you're asking if your hop aroma and taste will change from boil to bottle, the answer is most definitely. Determining what your final beer will taste like based off of your initial boil will only be somewhat effective if you're repeating a recipe and previously tasted the wort. I have rarely liked an uncarbonated beer...and every batch always comes out great (of course with room for improvement)...but hops change and enhance and do amazing things with time and the right temperature.
 
Mostly the bitterness and intensity will die down (significantly). If you like the way it tastes and smells pre-ferment, you won't be disappointed. Dry hopping brings back a lot of the fresh hop pleasantries. :mug:
 
I dont really like the smell of the boil that much,sometimes i get a hit of a good hop aroma briefly after i add them during the boil or flamout.
My answer to that would be no and usually same with tasting the wort or kinda even the finished hydrometer sample.Just has nothing on a finished conditoned carbonated beer,just a vague range that gives you a general muted like character of what it will be finished.
 
NineMilBill said:
The yeast and unfermentables will add to the taste for sure, but you'd have to have a serious nose to detect those two additions by smell. If you're smelling yeast...idk what kind of style that could be prevalent in...but more power to you. If you're asking if your hop aroma and taste will change from boil to bottle, the answer is most definitely. Determining what your final beer will taste like based off of your initial boil will only be somewhat effective if you're repeating a recipe and previously tasted the wort. I have rarely liked an uncarbonated beer...and every batch always comes out great (of course with room for improvement)...but hops change and enhance and do amazing things with time and the right temperature.

Belgian yeast strains will have a distinct spiciness to the aroma, weizen yeasts will carry strong banana and clove, danish yeast strains have a distinct apple character that comes through, the list goes on. Some cause diacetyl, some esters, some just strengthen the aromas of the malts differently. Open a vial or smackpack of half a dozen different yeasts and theyll all smell different. They are made with the same nutrients and extracts, they have no hops, but they all are slightly different.
 
Understood. Smelling directly out of a vial or a smackpack will smell completely different and would be an interesting $20ish experiment for a new brewer. I guess since he was writing about how the hops smell in the boil kettle I was picturing the yeast after it had been pitched into the carboy on top of the wort. I don't normally put my nose down there down to installing an airlock, but I imagine 5 gallons of wort would overpower the smell of the yeast - of course until the yeast has time to multiply, ferment out, etc.
 
Oh yes! Don't go out and spend 20-50 bucks on yeast just to smell the difference. I would have hoped nobody would have taken that so literally, but of course if that was the case than we wouldn't have disclaimers and warning taking up half the package on everything we buy these days. All I was trying to say is that if you're trying to make a direct connection between the smell of boiling wort and the smell/taste of the finished beer, they can be correlated, but will be somewhat different based on the other factors that are not in play yet during the boil. No need to read into it too deep.
 

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