Issues with beers lacking hop flavor/aroma

[jigtwins]

Hi , I've been brewing for 2 years, still consider myself a beginner. I have been having some issues from the begining with my hoppy beers. They are lacking in hop flavors and aromas. Thought It might be the recipes, or my process. The bitterness is harsh and the flavors and aromas are muted. I do not have a recipe to post right now, but the IPAs and pale ales i've made are just not right. Not bad but not the best. The darker beers, Porters and stouts seem to be better. I think it may be the water. I ordered a ward labs test. Was wondering if I should just send the water from my tap,or run it thru the whole house carbon wrapped filter I use for brewing?

 

[MadHomebrewer]

More late addition hops? Under 15 min and flameout has worked for me.

 

[budbo]

Try brewing a batch with store bottled water, I can't use the tap water where I live (un filtered)as it is is heavy in Chloramine, I use a 5 stage filter (1 micron, carbon, RO, Carbon, .5 micron)

You also might be over hopping them (too much can sometimes lose the flavor in the bitterness) Or they may just need to age out longer, remember IPA's were designed for long ocean voyages, a good one should age out for a few months before drinking.

 

[olotti]

Your going to get a myriad of answers here especially since we don't know your process or how your hopping your beers. It could be anything from water to your hop schedule to oxidation, hard to tell with the little info your supplying. What was the last beer you made where you noticed this and post the recipe and you'll get more specific answers. Hope this helps.

 

[kh54s10]

Your recipes or processes could be the culprit.

It could also be water related. If you send the water for analysis, I would send what goes into your beer. If it is filtered, send it that way. Otherwise you will be correcting for water that is different than what was tested.

 

[TheBigLebrewsk1]

Add 2 teaspoons of gypsum to the kettle and see if it helps.

 

[budbo]

Time is always a factor in big beers, too many novices can't wait to properly age a beer, my most popular brew is a Wee Heavy (9% alcohol, mellow malt flavor, you can't really taste the hops) 15 years ago when I came up with the recipe (17lb grain bill and 2lb of candi sugar, for 5 gals) it was supposed to be a "get you wasted beer" back in 2006 I found a 3 year old bottle of it. It was just "Wow" It was then I realized the value of time, now that brew sits in a dark corner of the basement for 5-6 months before kegging.

 

[slym2none]

Water chemistry? Or just use more hops, late-additions & hop-stands/whirlpools.

 

[budbo]

Water chemistry? Or just use more hops, late-additions & hop-stands/whirlpools.

aroma is all about the late additions, you get the flavor without the bitterness, also consider dry hopping or using a hopback. like I said before sometimes it just takes time for the bitterness of a lot of hops to mellow into flavor

 

[mrgrimm101]

These are all just assumptions without knowing the recipe and hop schedule. Post the recipe and we can pinpoint where your problem lies.

 

[jigtwins]

Thanks for the replies. I will send the sample from my filtered water. I know my recipes are solid, most I have got from here. Late addition and whirlpool hops have helped with the aromas. But I think the flavor is lacking. I will get the water report and go from there. I have noticed the beers are better after a couple months in the bottle.