Hop flavor question - Pale Ales

I like the hop flavors found in American Pale Ales like Sierra Nevada and lighter pale ales like Point Pale Ale. They say that they use Cascade hops to get this hop flavor but I cannot seem to be able to reproduce this in my pale ales.

Instead I get a beer that tastes like someone threw some orange juice in it. The hop flavor is there but it has a very citrus like flavor that I don’t like (as I’m finishing the keg).

For hop schedules I usually have mostly late addition Cascade hops with maybe ¼ oz of bittering hops for a 5 gallon batch. I also usually dry hop between 1/2 to 1 oz of Cascade. I use whole hops orderd only when the weather is cool from Fresh Hops and I keep them frozen in air tight vacuum sealed bags.

I may be having a problem with my technique since it takes me 30 minutes to cool the wort down to 70 deg F. I’m in the process of fixing this problem but I don’t know if it will have any effect on hop flavor or not.

The yeast I'm using is WLP001 California ale

I have over hopped and under hopped this recipe and I still get the strong citrus flavor. I’m guessing that I need to use different hops but I thought I would ask for some help before I waste too many hops that I don’t need.

Cascades are well known for their citrus like flavor, and it's not to everyones liking. They will mellow out over time, so if you can afford to let your keg sit and age a few extra weeks the flavor might be more palatable.

Edit: You might want to consider not using Cascades for the dry-hopping. Since dry-hopping lends alot of hop aroma, sometimes this can be perceived as flavor as well.

The other option is to look for recipes using different hops. Check out the recipe forum and you'll find some pale ales that do not use Cascades.

Here's the SN page on their pale ale. It's not 100% Cascade hops, but the flavor addition and dry hops are all Cascade.

The BYO Clone Brews issue shows this hop schedule:
0.18 oz Magnum (12.0% AA) at 60 mins
0.7 oz Perle (7.0% AA) at 60 mins
1.0 oz Cascade (5.0% AA) at 15 mins
0.75 oz Cascade at flameout
0.75 oz Cascade dry hops

OK - Maby I'll skip the dry Hop. I also heard that Centennial is like Cascade but with less citrus flavors.
Maybe I could also spend more time in the secondary fermentor at 70 deg F.

Thanks for the response.

I have never added hops at flameout, and I suspect that cooling the wort faster may help seal in some flavor that I may be losing. It will be interesting to see what effects these things have on the final brew.

Centennial is a fabulous hop....I use it as my primary bittering hop in pale ale, along with a small amount of Chinook at flameout for aroma.

Big problem is that almost everyone is sold out of both of these!

Amarillo seems to be available at most places. It's a great hop with some citrus notes. I've been using them quite a bit, and they're TASTY!

Amarillo, Centennial, and Cascade are a wonderful, wonderful combination - but all three are definately citrus-ey. You might look for some hops that have more of a piney, resin-ey flavor and aroma (Chinook comes to mind) for some small late additions; they definately lend a "domestic" flavor, but one that's not just citrus. Just be careful with something like Chinook, it's easy to over-do.

cefmel said:

OK - Maby I'll skip the dry Hop. I also heard that Centennial is like Cascade but with less citrus flavors.
Maybe I could also spend more time in the secondary fermentor at 70 deg F.

Thanks for the response.

Click to expand...

Check out my Nierra Sevada recipe.

I never dry hop for that very reason. If you want a pale that is at the right bitterness without the G-fruit flavor...loose the flame out addition and up the time on your bittering (perle) hops to compensate.

Thanks for the info on that G-fruit flavor. I'll skip the flame out and dry hop additions for a while and see what happens.