when to dry hop my big IPA

[bCash]

I brewed an IPA a few days ago and it came out a bit bigger than I was expecting (1.075). I have read about how the beer will lose its hop aroma about two weeks after kegging, so my question is this: If I want to age my IPA for a few months so it will be smoother, can I just leave it in the fermenter for a few months and wait to dry hop until two weeks before I keg it? Will that result in a smoother beer that still has the fresh hop aromas?

Thanks.

 

[unionrdr]

You generally don't age hoppy beers. The hop flavors & aromas are not going to last months & months later.

 

[bCash]

Thats the idea behind waiting to dry hop. Ill be aging the beer, then I dry hop so that Im not aging the hop aroma.

 

[HeavyKettleBrewing]

I brewed an IPA a few days ago and it came out a bit bigger than I was expecting (1.075). I have read about how the beer will lose its hop aroma about two weeks after kegging, so my question is this: If I want to age my IPA for a few months so it will be smoother, can I just leave it in the fermenter for a few months and wait to dry hop until two weeks before I keg it? Will that result in a smoother beer that still has the fresh hop aromas?

Thanks.

What do you mean by smoother? The gravity should not have an affect on hop aroma. Just finish fermenting, dry hop, keg and then toss some hops in the keg as well. You still have weeks to go before it finishes out and you can start to determine the flavor.

 

[unionrdr]

I also meant that hop flavors aren't going to last months either. I guess I should've been more specific. Hoppy beers in general don't last long. Those beers that age well are more of the malty kind,not the hoppy kind.

 

[elpenoso]

I just made a beer like this, I intend on leaving it in primary for 3-4 weeks (a week or so longer than usual). I'll then transfer to secondary to help clear the beer and dry hop for 10 days, cold crash, keg. So from brew day I should be drinking in a month and a half.

 

[unionrdr]

Yeah,6-8 weeks for an IPA/PA/APA is pretty average.