My beer tastes like hop tea

So I just kegged a wheat pale ale. I wasn't too excited about this beer when I was kegging her, so I decided to throw 2 oz of hops in there. About an hour of kegging her, I took a sip at about 30 psi. Obviously there was no carbonation yet, but the beer tastes like hop soup (real watery with an overpowering hop taste). I know people say that dry hopping adds aroma only, but I can assure you, it tasted nothing like this before dry hopping the keg.

Will some time and carbonation make this overly hoppy taste go away?

Btw, I added 3 oz of hops (60 min, 10 mins, FO) to my wort.

just a correction, i can't taste the bitterness of the hop; i can only taste the hop. it tastes like a tea.

Dry hopping does contribute hop flavor (sort of) - ever heard that 70-75% of what we taste is actually coming from what you smell? I've always percieved a dry hop to add considerable hop flavor, to the point that I sometimes skip the 15-20 minute "flavor" additions in favor of more aroma and dry hops.

Lots to say here..
first, I imagine it tastes like a tea because it's warm ad flat. A dry hop really benefits from carbonation because the carb brings out the aroma.
second, dry hops will mellow over time. The first few days it's not great drinking, the hops need to blend with the flavor of the beer. Give it a week, some time to carbonate, and it should get much better. 2 oz is a bit much for a pale ale, especially if you're indicating that this beer is thin/light bodied.

In summary, give this beer time to mature before passing judgement. Carbonation goes a long way towards making the beers character come out. It takes a number of batches and tasting warm/green beers to get a sense of what the final product will be like.

What hops did you use to dry hop this? I used Citra to dry hop a pale ale and only used 1/2 oz and still got a big aroma.

hop tea with alcohol....so what's the problem???

I have a feeling if you let it age and carb up properly it'll be a GREAT beer!

RM-MN said:

What hops did you use to dry hop this? I used Citra to dry hop a pale ale and only used 1/2 oz and still got a big aroma.

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Yes, I've learned that the hard way - a little citra goes a long way.

RM-MN said:

What hops did you use to dry hop this? I used Citra to dry hop a pale ale and only used 1/2 oz and still got a big aroma.

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i used oz of citra and an oz of cascade.

i honestly decided to dry hop last second because i had a couple of hops left over from my ipa. i brewed this batch up about 3 weeks ago and when it was ready to keg i took a sip of it and it was rather blah tasting.

i decided to experiment by dry hopping my keg. i'm going to let it sit a week at room temperature without the co2 connected (i just added about 30 psi before unplugging it; on top of this, i let it sit for a night at about 40 psi with the co2 connected). i hope this will let the malt background come out a bit more.

hopefully the outcome of this beer will be good because i'm rather frightened to dry hop again!

It will probably be fine. Hops fade quite a bit with time, so it should mellow out.

kevokie said:

hop tea with alcohol....so what's the problem???

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You should have added RDWHAHB...

I'd be concerned about the pickup tube getting clogged with hops. Did you put them into a bag, or some other type of container?

hopefully the outcome of this beer will be good because i'm rather frightened to dry hop again!

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Don't be afraid to dry hop. Not all hops have such big aroma as Citra. Some of them are quite low and it takes a bunch to give much aroma.

homebeerbrewer said:

You should have added RDWHAHB...

I'd be concerned about the pickup tube getting clogged with hops. Did you put them into a bag, or some other type of container?

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i put them into a nylon grain/hop bag and tied and zip lined them to the beer tube. i haven't had any leafs in my beer.

it is currently sitting in the corner of my closet at room temperature. after talking to the LHBS expert, i'm assured that the tea-like qualities of my beer will disappear. unfortunately, my beer is so light bodied that it may take a little longer than desired.

i'm upset because this is the first time in months that my pipeline has been messed up! had to move up my 2-week fermented american honey wheat (Mmmmm) because let's face it, how can i RDWHAHB if i don't HAHB

thanks for the reassurances guys.

just to follow up on this...my beer tastes great now!

it's been sitting for over a week now. the tea-like character is completely gone, and i'm getting a wonderful hop aroma from it.

will be sure to add hops to my keg in the future. i'll also be sure to let it sit for a week or two before tasting it next time.

I've had a porter that took over 2 months to mature and get really good. Just get a pipeline going so you don't have to drink your beer too young.