IPA "conditioning" vs. green IPA's???

[OkanaganMike]

Virgin kegger here. I've recently got me a keggerator with 2 corny's and have a black IPA and a brown ale fermenting since Sunday. I've seen various threads where guys condition in the kegs for 3 weeks before serving and seems like a good idea so the beer isn't so green. That said however, I've also seen and heard of guys force carbing and drinking their IPA's as soon as they can so's not to lose freshness.
Is there no thing as green IPA beer?

 

[Auger]

IMO there's definitely still a green stage with IPAs, just like any other beer. I have a DIPA I racked for dry-hopping and tasted it while racking, definitely still grassy and green. Even with lots of late hop additions and dry hopping, I find there's still an advantage to a week or two of aging. However, I also fine my DIPAs because the cloudiness drives me nuts, so take that as you will.

 

[lumpher]

For me, it really depends on what hops are used. If it's a citrusy-type AIPA, I drink them as soon as they're carbed, as I like that fresh hop taste. If I make a more woody, earthy-type of English IPA, I condition them a little bit so the hops have time to meld. It also depends on how much hops are used. I tend to use less in mine than most.

 

[kombat]

I find any "grassiness" from the dry hops goes away after just a few days. As long as you had a good fermentation and the yeast have cleaned up after themselves (i.e., there's no diacetyl or acetaldehyde), I drink my IPAs as soon as possible.

 

[OkanaganMike]

Read an interesting thread here the other day about dry hopping in the keg and thought I may try that. Instead of opening up primary for the dry hops, (because I think secondary ferms are more liability than an asset to beer) I'll add a hop sock and fasten it to the lid of the keg and let it sit a week there before drinking.
For the record I'm dry hopping with 1 oz of Simcoe leaf, possibly with 1oz of Chinook leaf too but haven't decided. Doing it this way do you think it'll be grassy for an extended time or will it too subside after a few days?

 

[JohnSand]

I just finished a keg of NB Plinian Legacy, their Pliny clone.
The first couple of weeks in the keg, it tasted like straight grapefruit juice. After that it become wonderfully complex. So, that one needed time. But the only way to be sure is to taste it right away. If you're not happy, wait a little. And keep notes.

 

[Jim311]

Cool part about kegging is you get to taste it as quickly as you like, and there is this certain stage very early in the age of an IPA's life where it just has the most amazing aroma and flavor, and it fades quickly. It's still very good even after that point, but damn, it's so good when it's super super fresh.

 

[ruascott]

I think it really varies based upon the recipe. I've had some that were very tasty, very early. Others have been harsh and needed time. But it's very rare for them not to be better after 2 or 3 weeks in the keg. That's still a pretty fresh beer, probably only 5 to 6 weeks old.

That said, I've made some that were so good, they didn't make it much past their 1 month birthday.

 

[Nagorg]

I agree that IPA's, especially those that have citrus character's, need ~3-4 weeks in the keg. Otherwise they taste like OJ to me. I've noticed that several times when I started drinking my beer as soon as it was carbed after kegging and I didnt like it because of the OJ taste. I've even joked about having a Breakfast IPA...
But wait a few weeks and suddenly the OJ character os replaced with complex hop deliciousness...
This just reminds me to be patient.....

 

[sandyeggoxj]

I think IPA peaks about 10 days in the keg and is pretty good until about 5 weeks. Then downhill fast.

Fwiw, I finish my ferment under pressure, co2 push to co2 flushed kegs. My oxidation control is tight.

 

[OkanaganMike]

I think IPA peaks about 10 days in the keg and is pretty good until about 5 weeks. Then downhill fast.

Fwiw, I finish my ferment under pressure, co2 push to co2 flushed kegs. My oxidation control is tight.

In your opinion then, do find you retain some freshness for longer lengths of time using this process?

How do you ferment under pressure?

 

[TheHopfather]

In your opinion then, do find you retain some freshness for longer lengths of time using this process?

How do you ferment under pressure?

I'd guess conical or ferment in a corny.

 

[OkanaganMike]

I'd guess conical or ferment in a corny.

Sorta what I was thinking but then wouldn't you transfer all the trub too? Oh unless by finishing it he means instead of racking to a secondary he racks to the keg to finish. thats gotta be it eh?

 

[Natdavis777]

Ive found with my hop forward beers, that they tend to lose any greenness after about a week after the force carb. Granted I typically will pull some pints as soon as the force carb is done, the taste is much better the next week and so forth.

 

[sandyeggoxj]

I ferment in a brewhemoth. I dump trub and can rack beer above the level of anything else that drops out when cold crashing. I cold crash at 36°f and 9psi. I basically push carbonated beer into the keg.

I find that being anal about o2 exposure improves my beers quality and shelf life. IPA just has a short shelf life.

 

[sandyeggoxj]

You can do the same thing with a sanke fermenter. Much cheaper option. You can push with co2 from the bottom of a chest freezer fermentation chamber so you don't have to life anything.

 

[moreb33rplz]

I agree that IPA's, especially those that have citrus character's, need ~3-4 weeks in the keg. Otherwise they taste like OJ to me. I've noticed that several times when I started drinking my beer as soon as it was carbed after kegging and I didnt like it because of the OJ taste. I've even joked about having a Breakfast IPA...
But wait a few weeks and suddenly the OJ character os replaced with complex hop deliciousness...
This just reminds me to be patient.....

I bottle, but this is kind of my experience too. Certain IPA's taste great really green, but hop bomb with lots of dry hop/whirpool additions of fruity/tropical hops seem to do better a couple three weeks older.

 

[lbond2]

I recently entered a very green big ass double IPA in a competition and it scored like ****...knowing I brewed this beer flawless but was not happy how pronounced the flavors were I was not expecting much. It scored a 23....No surprise. It's been about 3 weeks now and will be judged in about 3 weeks. I think it will fall out by then and not score like I want it to. However, it tastes reallllyyyyyy good now. Either way it will be good to prove to everybody that IIPA's need a little time to become something special. I will post back once I get it scored again.