Dry Hop Longevity

Hi guys
I have been dry hopping some IPA's and they are quite good IMO. How do these beers age? Are they best consumed right after conditioning? Does the dry hop character dissipate? I'm not talking serious aging of course, but just wondering if the fresh nature of these beers deteriorates rapidly.

Thanks
KD

i would say a dry hoped beer is best consumed about 2 to 3 months out. after that you are going to lose alot of the hop character induced by dry hoping.

korndog said:

Hi guys
I have been dry hopping some IPA's and they are quite good IMO. How do these beers age? Are they best consumed right after conditioning? Does the dry hop character dissipate? I'm not talking serious aging of course, but just wondering if the fresh nature of these beers deteriorates rapidly.

Thanks
KD

Click to expand...

I find that yes, the aroma will dissipate with more than a few months age. Best kept in the fridge and consumed within a couple months if you want lots of flavor & aroma...

I intend to age longer in the secondary, maybe 3-4 weeks, THEN dry hop for 11 days, then straight to bottle. In other words, bulk condition pre-dryhop so I can drink it as soon as possible thereafter.

If I have a dry hopped ale around for more than 2-3 months, I'll hit it again.

Good stuff. Condition in secondary longer before DH.
Also, re-dryhop if necessary.

Thanks.

So, my suspicions are correct that the fresh hop aroma and taste will dissipate rapidly.

KD

I've got a thread in this same forum about small batch barley wines and this is a great opportunity to ask a question I have about the dry hopping character/malt balance in a barley wine. As we all know a BW should be aged for 6+ months, allowing alot of the dry hopped character to disipate, but what happens to the "boil infused bitterness" over this time. Would there be a real difference between 2 BW's (or an IPA, RIS, etc) that were brewed the same way only one is dry hopped and the other isn't? I mean, do you really gain that much hop character by dry hopping a brew that's gonna age for half a year and even alot longer?