Are many hop additions needed?

So when I started brewing, I brewed a few recipes that called for hop additions all over the place 90, 60, 45, 30, 15, 10, 3, flameout, dry. After learning a bit about hops this didn't seem to make much sense. I know the time in the kettle affects bitterness for your bittering hops, and late addition and dry hopping are good for aroma / finishing, but are all those really necessary? I just saw a recipe with 60, 30, 15, 3, and dry and that just seems excessive.

Is this really giving you anything more than using beersmith to design something with the level of bitterness you want with initial bittering hops and then aromas at 10 with MAYBE some 3 min and/or dry hopping if its for a really hoppy beer?

I usually kettle hop twice even if I need to tweak the original recipe to match the IBUs or aroma. Once for bittering and once for aroma, plus maybe dry hopping when required and this seems to get similar results to the complicated, multiple hop schedules.

What's your take?

If you are a hop lover, it is worth it.

5 minute hop additions taste different than 10 minute.

Do what works for you!!

I will someday brew a beer with an hourglass-like device that constantly adds hops over an hour boil ending at flame out! (slowly of course)

Actually layering the hops over time in the back half of the boil, or "hop bursting" does give a unique flavor profile. The longer the hops are in the boil, the more the acids are issomerized locking in the bitterness. The closer to the end of the boil, the more flavor and aroma is lent, vs bitterness. So a hop addition at say 25 minutes will lend bitterness and flavor at a different ratio than a hop addition at 15 minutes.

I have done a couple IPA's with a staggerred hop schedule, including Yoopers Dogfish Head 60 recipe from the forums, and the hop profile in the beer just seems fuller and more complex. That being said you do chew through a lot more hops that way, and certainly don't extract a lot of the goodies out of the late additions.

It's personal preference, you just have to try it and see. I like the effect, and do it when I have hops on hand that I got at good bulk prices.

Hmmm... I guess I need to experiential some more.