grassy dry hops, Chinook?

[MattHollingsworth]

I just bottled a Belgian IPA. It's tasty, but it has a grassy note that I don't really like. The problem is determining which hop gave it the grassy note. I suspect it was Chinook.

I dry hopped this beer with a combination of Nelson Sauvin, Simcoe, Chinook and Centennial.

The reason I suspect it's Chinook is that I also dry hopped a RIS with Chinook, along with Willamette, and it had that same note. I *know* it wasn't the Nelson Sauvin that gave it that character, as I've dry hopped with that hop a ton. But I can't be certain with Centennial, as I've never dry hopped with it.

From reading around, I see mention of a grassy note from Chinook. So, what do you say? I've never picked this up from using Chinook in the boil, which I've done a gazillion times. But this dry hop grassiness is just not so nice.

(Please don't bother asking me about contact times and such. This was only 6 days at around 62 F, so it's not from that. With the last Belgian IPA, I dry hopped with Nelson Sauvin, then my son went into the hospital. He's okay, but I didn't get around to bottling until it'd sat on those hops for 19 days, and NO grassiness, just total awesomeness. So, please don't bother trying to diagnose some other reason for grassiness. It's from one of the hops, straight up.)

Thanks for any input.

 

[MattHollingsworth]

I seem to have determined that it was the Centennial that was grassy.

Looking through notes on beers I've brewed before, I've dry hopped with Chinook, Simcoe and Nelson Sauvin before and never had grassy notes from any of them. I don't treat my dry hops in any way, steaming or soaking or anything. And I typically dry hop for a week at ambient temp in the mid 60s or so.

The only time I've had heavy grass notes like this was when I used Czech Saaz and Hallertauer Mittelfruh for dry hops like a dozen years ago, in the same beer so I can't tell which was the guilty hop.

Also, I've had heavy contact times with dry hops a couple of times, once with Chinook, Citra and Amarillo for 19 days when my son was born and I just didn't have time to bottle or rack the beer. That beer was amazing and had no grassiness. And, like I said, also had heavy contact times with Nelson Sauvin with no ill effects.

I saw a thread somewhere where someone said they got heavy grass notes from Centennial. And seeing as how I've used all of the other hops without that grassy note, seems most likely.

Anyone wanna chime in if they have more experience dry hopping with Centennial?

 

[MattHollingsworth]

For the record, the Centennials in question were pellets.