Ask the Experts: Mitch Steele

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BassBeer

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Hey guys and gals,

Here's an awesome thread from the AHA forum which has tons of interesting and useful information from Mitch Steele (Stone Brewing) about brewing "the perfect" IPA. I'm pretty excited about it since getting that huge hop flavor/aroma is something I strive for, thought you all would be interested in checking it out if you haven't already. If you use any of the techniques he mentions, please share your results. His responses to user questions begin on page 3 of the thread.

http://www.homebrewersassociation.org/forum/index.php?topic=13549.0

One thing I'm curious about is how to preserve maximum hop aroma when force carbing in the keg? He mentions that the co2 will drive off a lot of the aromatics, similar to fermentation I'm guessing, so how do we get optimal results from dry hopping if we keg our beer?

:mug:
 
Mitch Steele.....if brewing doesn't work out long term, sounds like he could cross over into porn. :fro:
 
One thing I'm curious about is how to preserve maximum hop aroma when force carbing in the keg? He mentions that the co2 will drive off a lot of the aromatics, similar to fermentation I'm guessing, so how do we optimal good results from dry hopping if we keg our beer?

:mug:

What works for me in the keg is to remember not to purge. That means, don't set the regulator for 30 psi to burst carb, and then purge to set it back down to 12, and no shaking and purging. If you dryhop in the keg, and don't purge the keg (beyond when you fill it), the aromatics can't "blow off".
 
What works for me in the keg is to remember not to purge. That means, don't set the regulator for 30 psi to burst carb, and then purge to set it back down to 12, and no shaking and purging. If you dryhop in the keg, and don't purge the keg (beyond when you fill it), the aromatics can't "blow off".

Thanks for the info Yooper. Should I avoid burst carbing altogether, or just don't purge when I roll back to 12psi? I never shake, usually do 30psi for 24 hours then down to 12psi, but isn't getting it carbed/drinkable as quickly as possible preferred since hop aroma fades so fast?

Another IPA-specific question: is a 3 week primary too long? I usually go 4 weeks with other beers, but want those hops to really burst through in my IPA.

thanks!
 
want those hops to really burst through in my IPA.

Ever consider serving your IPAs through a Randall/hop back with your favorite aroma leaf hops? There were a few companies doing this on their IPAs at a recent festival I attended, and I'll tell you you don't get much better, fresher hop aroma than that! I guess the downside is the cost/inconvenience of switching out fresh hops everytime you serve if you don't go through a keg quickly, but it would be a great idea if you were having a party!
 
On my latest IPA, I dry hopped 5oz in secondary, then dry hopped another 4oz in the keg. Lots of hops going on in that one.

Sounds like I need to buy more hops! I was going to do 2oz. in my BIPA but I'll do at least 4 and see how it turns out. Thanks!
 
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