DE-HOPPING A BREW? Am I Crazy?

[GHBWNY]

I almost dare not ask, but I brewed a DIPA with a family member in mind who loves the in-your-face aroma and taste. It's not a bad beer at all, and somewhere between the mind-altering aroma and the tonsil-scraping bitterness, I personally find it to be a delightful quaff. Problem (and I use the term loosely) is, the lion's share of the consumption of this particular batch will be my responsibility (of which I am not complaining), but it's a little too in-my-face hop-wise.

So... it possible to somehow "tone down" an already-bottled beer that is a little too hoppy for my novice palate? Can I pour some off, add something and recap? I've mixed it 50/50 with one of my APAs, but for a one-beer sitting, it's a hassle opening two bottles at once and recapping both, not to mention sacrificing a good APA on the altar of the Great HumuLupu. Or do I just drink it, adapt, and accept the fact I'm inching ever-so-closer to the door of **gasp** lupulin dependency?

 

[JonM]

Just wait. Hops fade over time. I found some old IPAs in the basement a while back and they had basically turned into ambers over time.

 

[Braufessor]

Just wait. Hops fade over time. I found some old IPAs in the basement a while back and they had basically turned into ambers over time.

Yep - some age will do it every time.

 

[Owly055]

Ditto that............ I've had a number of brews that I didn't care for initially and set aside, and later found them to be very good. Time heals all..... Flavors meld and mellow, and tone down. I'm shortly going to nearly double my bottles for this reason. For me doubling bottles is a significant investment........ I use ONLY EZCap flip top bottles. I always set a few bottles aside to age...... I'm a believer. At this point I have an incredible array of beers to draw on. I brew 2.5 gallons every week, and it's a minimum of a month from grain to glass. When I first started, it was difficult not to shorten that time.......... now with enough bottles, the pipeline is always full. The frustrating thing is that I design each brew individually, and waiting a month or more, the continuity is lost. I log everything, but really need to do a "brew diary" to go along with the log so I can put myself back into the mindset I had when I crafted the particular brew.


H.W.

44 Brews in 2014

 

[JonM]

Bittering doesn't go away like late additions though ...

 

[GHBWNY]

Bittering doesn't go away like late additions though ...

Stockpiling them for months should not be a problem and it will be interesting to evaluate the [lack of?] hoppiness over time. I'm enjoying a nut brown right now, my first brew ever from last January. It's still good, but it's different; I'm just beginning to appreciate the change a craft brew is likely to go through.

JonM, far as bittering, it's a little harsh, but not as much of an issue, as the aroma is almost too much of an up-front sensation. I know taste is embellished by smell, but the aroma is so powerful, it's hard to tell where it leaves off and actual taste begins.

As for the suggestions to leave it as-is and let it mellow out, will do. Also good to hear not everyone necessarily enjoys every beer they make. As for my 6 batches I made in my first year of HB, there are two (not including this one) that if I had at a brewpub, would be at the bottom of my re-order list.

 

[Singletrack]

DO NOT DRINK! You need to nurture your virgin palate as long as you can. You do not want to unnecessarily accelerate the inevitable lupulin threshold shift. Soon you will be craving any beer that promises to crash the glass ceiling of 100 IBU. For now, send these beers to me, as I am already ruined.

 

[madscientist451]

Get a 30 pack of Old Milwaukee light or something similar and dilute the hoppy beer as you drink it. Or, put the bottles somewhere cold and dark and do taste tests every 4 weeks or so.

 

[ram5ey]

Try adding some table salt to the glass. I've heard that will knock some bitterness down.

 

[Singletrack]

Try adding some table salt to the glass. I've heard that will knock some bitterness down.

Blasphemy!

 

[BigPerm]

Get a 30 pack of Old Milwaukee light or something similar and dilute the hoppy beer as you drink it. Or, put the bottles somewhere cold and dark and do taste tests every 4 weeks or so.

I used to work at a large commercial brewery that specialized in light american lagers. I found that you can retain a pretty decent amount of flavor by diluting it with a beer of this type. I used to pour a can of said beer into a pint glass and top off with APA from the keg. Amazing how much flavor comes thru.

If I were doing it today, I'd probably dilute 1:1. Not to disagree with the masses, but I am personally extremely averse to the flavor of american hops as they age/oxidize. I would still drink within relatively short order, although keeping some and tasting periodically as was suggested is never a bad idea.

 

[GHBWNY]

DO NOT DRINK! You need to nurture your virgin palate as long as you can. You do not want to unnecessarily accelerate the inevitable lupulin threshold shift. Soon you will be craving any beer that promises to crash the glass ceiling of 100 IBU. For now, send these beers to me, as I am already ruined.

Thanks for the kind offer. But, I think it might be too late with the LTS. What I discovered is, you don't have to even like a beer to become an unwary victim of LTS. I checked on "BrewMed.com/LTS" and they suggested I keep the beer. The BrewDoc I was live-chatting with explained that as the hoppiness decreases over time and if I consume them over time, it might work as an antidote, and I might be able to actually reverse the potentially debilitating effects of LTS.

I'm going to follow doctor's orders, and depending on my relative level of LTS dependency in 6 months, I should either have around a full case of my "R-38 DIPA" to ship, or I'll be busy brewing more.

P.S. sorry to hear about your condition.

 

[Singletrack]

Thanks for the kind offer. But, I think I might be too late with the LTS. You see, the problem is, you don't have to even like a beer to become an unwary victim of LTS. My theory is that as the hoppiness decreases over time and if I consume them over time as an antidote, I might be able to actually reverse the effects of LTS. But, why would a person want to?

Depending on my relative level of LTS dependency in 6 months, I will either have a full case of my "R-38 DIPA" to ship, or I'll be busy brewing more.

Ha! You will be brewing more, and looking for hops with alpha acid > 20%. Another one bites the dust. Enjoy!

 

[ram5ey]

Blasphemy!

Hahaha. Yeah probably. I'd never do it...but I love bitterness.

 

[mrphillips]

Unfortunately, you've been given some excellent advise, and time is probably your only chance of getting a mellower beer.

The silver lining is that you can always brew another beer while you wait for this one to age out. The old line, "Mo money, mo problems" does NOT apply to beer.

 

[GHBWNY]

The silver lining is that you can always brew another beer while you wait for this one to age out. The old line, "Mo money, mo problems" does NOT apply to beer.

Although it's a little too 'up-front' for me right now, it's too good a beer not to wait out. I realize it appears to be a contradiction of sorts to brew a hoppy beer and then let it age to lose hoppiness. At the very least it's been an education in hop styles, dry-hopping, IBUs, etc.. So, there's been nothing lost on this brew --- and everything to gain.

Thanks for all the input.