American IPA conditioning consensus

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DD2000GT

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I just got finished reading the aging sticky on this board and a few times there was mention about dry hopping requiring longer conditioning times. I brewed a Williams American IPA kit that shows it is 80 IBUs and had a specific gravity of 1.055 and sit in the primary for three weeks. I bottled 6 flip tops so I could sample progress and decide when to refridgerate the keg, and kegged the rest. In the keg, I also dry hopped with 1 oz. of cascade pellets for additional hop aroma (just put it in a SS ball and dropped it in). I also carbinated it naturally with 1/3 cup of corn sugar to save a little CO2. After three weeks conditioning, the keg showed 19 psi of pressure, so I guess the yeast did their job.

After two weeks I tried the first bottle - EXCELLENT!!! I mean - really. It was local brew pub good. Still pretty bitter, but the hop flavor and aroma was out of this world. I tried another bottle yesterday after three weeks and a lot of the hop aroma was missing from that first sample but it wasn't as bitter. I decided to go ahead and refidgerate the keg thinking this was about as good as it gets - but after reading that thread I am wondering if I should wait since I am dry hopping and the IBUs were 80.

Thoughts?
 
Why do people say you need to condition longer if you dry hop in a keg? Does it take weeks to impart the flavoring?
 
I consider in the bottle a different kind of conditioning: Bottle conditioned. I don't factor that into the beers conditioning. For a big IPA (1.070) I do 2 weeks primary, 2 weeks secondary, 3 weeks bottle. Not really any more than a smaller beer, maybe more primary time that's all.
 
Personally, my IPA needed a lot of time before it didn't taste like liquid hops and rubbing alcohol. But as others have said, if it's good now, drink it now!
 
DD2000GT said:
I just got finished reading the aging sticky on this board and a few times there was mention about dry hopping requiring longer conditioning times. I brewed a Williams American IPA kit that shows it is 80 IBUs and had a specific gravity of 1.055 and sit in the primary for three weeks. I bottled 6 flip tops so I could sample progress and decide when to refridgerate the keg, and kegged the rest. In the keg, I also dry hopped with 1 oz. of cascade pellets for additional hop aroma (just put it in a SS ball and dropped it in). I also carbinated it naturally with 1/3 cup of corn sugar to save a little CO2. After three weeks conditioning, the keg showed 19 psi of pressure, so I guess the yeast did their job.

After two weeks I tried the first bottle - EXCELLENT!!! I mean - really. It was local brew pub good. Still pretty bitter, but the hop flavor and aroma was out of this world. I tried another bottle yesterday after three weeks and a lot of the hop aroma was missing from that first sample but it wasn't as bitter. I decided to go ahead and refidgerate the keg thinking this was about as good as it gets - but after reading that thread I am wondering if I should wait since I am dry hopping and the IBUs were 80.

Thoughts?
Click to expand...


Did you keg, dry hop, prime, and condition all at once? I was thinking about doing this with an IPA that I have going.

Mike
 
blk94f150 said:
Did you keg, dry hop, prime, and condition all at once? I was thinking about doing this with an IPA that I have going.

Mike
Click to expand...

Yes. I boiled a rounded 1/3 cup of corn sugar and dumped it into the bottom of my empty cornie keg. After letting it cool just a bit, I sealed up and forced in some CO2 for a blanket to revent oxydation. Siphoned the IPA (five gallons) from the primary to the keg and over the corn sugar water. Dropped the hop pellets in the stainless steel ball down to the bottom of my keg. Closed it up and purged the air out of the headspace with a bit more CO2 and left 5 lbs. of pressure in to seal it up good. Three weeks later sitting at room tempreature, the gauge had slowly but stedily moved up to almost 20 lbs. of pressure, so I know the yeast did their job.

The first few draws I had last night were REALLY hoppy and cloudy (the foam/head was actually a tad greenish color LOL). But the third was fairly clear with a creamy white head and still lots of great hop aroma and flavor (still a tad too bitter though). Overall - I think this method turned out some micro-brewery quality IPA. I am a hop-head and this brew really hits the spot.
 
I asked the local CellerMaster, and he said it like this; try in two weeks and see how good it is. If you wait, like, four weeks or five, you'll never know if it was good at two weeks or three weeks.

I figured my 17.5 pound RIPA (dry hopped) and 19.5 pound RO Stout probably need 4 or 5 weeks, so my answer was; if it's good at two weeks, when I check it, it may not see 3 weeks to know how good it could have been.... :p
 
Henry Hill said:
I asked the local CellerMaster, and he said it like this; try in two weeks and see how good it is. If you wait, like, four weeks or five, you'll never know if it was good at two weeks or three weeks.

I figured my 17.5 pound RIPA (dry hopped) and 19.5 pound RO Stout probably need 4 or 5 weeks, so my answer was; if it's good at two weeks, when I check it, it may not see 3 weeks to know how good it could have been.... :p
Click to expand...

This is exactly why I bottle about 6 flip tops at racking time. This way, I get a feel on when is the best time to stick the keg into the fridge. I am really surprised how quickly the flavoring and aroma hops deteriorate. I think next time I will drop from 80 IBUs to around 60 so I do not have to age the ale as long to reduce the sharp bitterness and can retain the most flavoring/aroma characteristics.
 
Do what I sometimes do with exceedingly hoppy IPAs that need conditioning. Throw the dry hops in secondary after a month and a half of conditioning. Then bottle after 2 weeks. The aroma from the dry hops will be very fresh even if the original hops are 2 months old.
 
SkinnyShamrock said:
Personally, my IPA needed a lot of time before it didn't taste like liquid hops and rubbing alcohol. But as others have said, if it's good now, drink it now!
Click to expand...

I am in the same boat at you. I love a good hoppy beer, but my IPA I made was just like you said after 2 week in primary and 3 in secondary, hop tea with some isopropyl. Another month or more in the bottle and it became very agreeable.
 

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