Hop flavor lacking

I just tried making my own recipe for the first time and was hoping to get some feedback. The goal was a dry hopped American Pale Ale, so I was expecting some significant hop aroma and bite. What I ended up seemed to be fairly balanced but was more malt-forward than hoppy, almost like an English PA. I'm wondering if I used to much Crystal 10 and that's giving it a bit more body and hiding the hop flavor but that's just a guess. If anyone sees some adjustments they would suggest please let me know, thanks!

1.5# Crystal 10 steeped for 30 min
1# Pale DME
7# Golden Light LME

1/2 oz Chinook (13%) for 60 minutes
1/2 oz Citra (13.9%) for 15
1/2 oz Citra (13.9%) for 5
2 oz Cascade (8%) dry hopped for 15 days

Used WPL001 with a 1L starter.

Other notes:
- Took some time due to hot weather to get it cooled, about 70 minutes
- Hops were all whole cone except the Chinook
- SG: 1.059, FG: 1.018
- Had a very slow fermentation (5 - 6 days), but temp was around 68 until the last day when I let it rise to 72.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!!

For a 5 gallon batch that would be a balanced hop / malt profile. You would need to back off on the malt to get it to be hop forward or increase your hops some.

I would increase the Citra at the last 5 min, or add another addition at flameout. Citra makes a great aroma hop, so maybe try dry hopping with Citra and Cascade. Or do some Cascade at 0-5 min and dry hop with only Citra.

I like Warrior as a bitter hop in my hoppy IPAs. I'm sure Chinook is great too, I just have no experience with it.

I don't know if there is much of a difference, but I typically dry hop for 7-10 days max.

The citra pale ale morebeer sells(the website has an ingredients list) has 1oz citra added at 15,5 and dry hop. I dry hop with 3 oz for 3-7 days. 15 seems like a lot. I never really get much from cascade. It's good but citra is where it is at with the dry hop.


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more hops brotha.

For my Hoppy IPA 5g batchs I usually do 1oz at 10, 1oz at 5 and 1oz at 0, then dry hop with 2oz or so, sometimes a bittering/flavor charge around 30 or 20, maybe a First Wort Hop.

I like to mix up the american APA/IPA hops a good bit. Usually a mix of Summit, Cascade, Centennial, Citra, Amarillo, Simcoe...you get the point (I usually pick 3 and mix them up).

Maybe sub a pound of that crystal for vienna -- a little too much crystal for a hoppy pale ale for my taste -- but shouldn't matter that much.

x dupe

Thanks everyone, all great feedback that I'll take into account next time!

One question about the dry hopping length. Does leaving the hops in for longer than 7 - 10 days decrease the effect of dry hopping? Or does it just not add anything?

It is said that it can impart a more..planty, grassy character..but thats not to say that it will. Ive found that if I dry hop for the last 10 days max I get plenty of the desired aroma. Plus its just extra time that its most likely done fermenting and could be in bottles.

What was the SG when you added the hops? Did you dry hop before the fermentation was completed? CO2 production and off gassing of CO2 can scrub hop aroma from the beer.

I added the hops at 1.018. My target was 1.017 but it had stayed at 1.018 for a couple of days so I figured it had just finished the slightest bit high, and I wouldn't think any further movement of .001 would be that much more CO2, would it?

CHSBrewer said:

I added the hops at 1.018. My target was 1.017 but it had stayed at 1.018 for a couple of days so I figured it had just finished the slightest bit high, and I wouldn't think any further movement of .001 would be that much more CO2, would it?

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The first few days of active fermentation produces the most CO2. A fermentation finishing at the very end produces some CO2. CO2 also remains in solution after all fermentation has ended for a few days.

I haven't done any experiments to test how much CO2 it may take to affect aroma from dry hopping. (Having five gallons of barely drinkable beer is something I don't want to experiment with again.) The scrubbing evidence is anecdotal from previous posts.

Since I fear experiments with beer I wait to dry hop until the hydrometer sample does not contain CO2, and is clear of sediments. This is often about day seventeen to twenty in the primary.