hop character

Hop flavor and aroma may be the hardest things for a homebrewer to create. What works for you? Late boil hopping? Dry hopping? Mash hopping? What do commercial brewers have that I don't have? A 40 foot steam stack on the boiler.

It completely depends on the style you're brewing. I like first wort hopping for the first hops addition to an all grain brew (a suggestion from a more experienced brewer).

In general, early hops additions will add bitterness, and late hops additions add flavor and aroma. I usually use at least two hops additions, if not three or more. Generally, the first is at the beginning of the boil, the second at 15-20 minutes remaining, and the third at flameout. The amounts vary by the type of hops I'm using and the effect I'm trying to get.

I find this character elusive, as well, at least in the way I want it. I experimented with MH and FWH in my last batch, but it's in the primary.

Most commercial brews use a simple bittering, flavor, aroma scheme. Dry hopping is rare enough that it gets advertised. Ditto, continuous adds. For the home brewer, nothing beats dry hopping for aroma and multiple hops for flavor.

On my hoppy ales, I will often dry hop several times. My Bent Rod Rye was dry hopped with 1/2 oz. Cascades for a week then 1/2 oz EKG and 1/2 oz. Fuggles for a week.

david_42 said:

On my hoppy ales, I will often dry hop several times. My Bent Rod Rye was dry hopped with 1/2 oz. Cascades for a week then 1/2 oz EKG and 1/2 oz. Fuggles for a week.

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Did you rack the beer off of each dry hop addition prior to adding the next. Or . . . did you add them in subsequent additions. In other words . . . were your Cascades on for two weeks total?