Will Hop flavor mellow?

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

namyarb3

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 23, 2012
Messages
341
Reaction score
34
Location
Spokane
I brewed an IIpa some weeks ago. Same recipe I had done once before, and loved it. Decided I wanted a bit more hop flavor, so I used a bit more at the beginning (60min boil). Chinook hops. Extract brew, 5 gallon. Don't have the full recipe here at work, but I can post it when I get home if it's necessary.

Question is this: Any way to 'help' it mellow out a bit? The thing is a hop monster from the first sip. I don't hate it, but I would prefer if the hop flavor mellowed a bit. Already kegged, carbed, and chilled to serving temp.
Thanks guys...and gals:)
 
Well, hop aroma and flavor from late additions will definitely tend to mellow, sometimes quite rapidly. But I'm not so sure about the bitterness imparted from a 60-minute addition.

What exactly is it that you're getting that you're hoping will mellow? Is it just really bitter, or are you getting some residual piney or floral notes? I've heard that some of that can still hang around, even from a 60 minute addition, with Chinook. And I'd imagine that would still mellow. But the bitterness, probably not so much...
 
Thanks for the reply.
It's the bitterness on the tongue that I hope will settle out. I'll wait it out. I may learn to enjoy it!
 
Is it astringent? Does it feel sandpapery or as if your tongue is shrinking? If so, you have an astringency problem.
 
Nah. Not at all, ludo. The flavor is good, just a bit bitter for me. Tastes like a 'west coast style IPA'
You know alot of brewers are having pissing contests about who can make the hoppiest beer? Mine would win.
 
Have you tried Palate Wrecker? Its 161 IBU's and uses hopped water for the mash.
If you let the keg sit at room temp, the hop flavors will mellow (but not the bitterness). this a key reason that IPA's really need to be kept cold their entire lifetime...otherwise the hop flavor (and expecially aromas) really diminish.
 
If you were aiming for more flavor, but not neccessarily more bitter, upping the late hop additions as opposed to the early addition is the way to go (say 15 min). The 60 min addition really won't give much flavor so to speak, just bitterness. Unfortunately, early addition bitterness doesn't tend to subside with time quite like flavor and aroma does from late/dry hop additions.
 
161 IBU, huh? Can a human palate even recognise that amount of bitterness?
The 60 minute addition is the bittering one, right? I'm still very new to this with only 5 batches under my belt. Maybe I should have bumped the amount of the later additions(15min and flame-out)...
Lesson learned for next time!
I feel like a mad scientist when I brew, and the more I experiment, the more I will know.

Thanks again for ALL of the responses! Bottoms up.
 
Back
Top