Dry hopping increasing apparent bitterness

[Onkel_Udo]

OK, I know enough about what I am dong to know that dry hopping does not increase actual bitterness but...

I have a very malty brown ale that I kicked the keg on one half the back two days ago. Today, the keg with 3/4 OZ of Amarillo for five days before carbonated (leaf hops still in there) dry hopped is 5% ready. It really seems more bitter and in a good way. Still no appreciable hop nose but I am a lifelong pipe smoker whose sense of smell is a bit compromise.

So do you think it is the dry hops or the additional week aging even if it was at 55 f?

 

[ong]

I think it's a perception brought about by the dry hopping. It does create both aroma and flavor, in my experience, and you are probably tasting it somewhat.

Are you comparing the flavor to how it tasted before carbonation? Wonder if it's that carbonic bite that you're reacting to?

 

[Onkel_Udo]

I think it's a perception brought about by the dry hopping. It does create both aroma and flavor, in my experience, and you are probably tasting it somewhat.

Are you comparing the flavor to how it tasted before carbonation? Wonder if it's that carbonic bite that you're reacting to?

No, I have a couple of bottles of the not dry hopped and I just popped one to make sure I was not imagining it. The bottles are slightly over carbed but there absolutely is a perception of more bitterness in the dry hopped.

Though I have brewed for almost 22 years, this year is the first I started experimenting with dry hopping. The first beer it had not apparent effect (1 OZ of Centennial) but this Amarillo seems to be adding 50% of what I was after. I think larger quantities and maybe a warmer condition temp will add more of the aroma.

 

[Hujo]

Ofcourse dry hopping adds both flavor and bitterness! Just because you're not isomerizing any acids, doesn't mean you're not getting any flavor. If you taste a hop cone straight up, there is intense flavor and bitterness. Put that cone in a sugar and alcohol solution, and it's going to impart flavor. Flavor and aroma are the same thing, you can't have one without the other.

 

[Onkel_Udo]

Ofcourse dry hopping adds both flavor and bitterness! Just because you're not isomerizing any acids, doesn't mean you're not getting any flavor. If you taste a hop cone straight up, there is intense flavor and bitterness. Put that cone in a sugar and alcohol solution, and it's going to impart flavor. Flavor and aroma are the same thing, you can't have one without the other.

If that is really the case, which this is the first I have heard of it, my relatively low IBU beer would take on a "significant" additional bitterness based off this.

That being said, why is the IBU contribution in every calculator I have used 0 for dry hopping?

 

[cantrell00]

If that is really the case, which this is the first I have heard of it, my relatively low IBU beer would take on a "significant" additional bitterness based off this.

That being said, why is the IBU contribution in every calculator I have used 0 for dry hopping?

The limitation of the calculation itself, in my opinion...

 

[Talgrath]

In theory, dry hopping does not increase bitterness...in practice that's not really true. Technically the actual terminology is that dry hopping does not increase IBU, but IBU is not measuring actual bitterness, it's measuring the levels of alpha acids. That's key, because as you probably know, bitterness is much more than just IBU, Citra is a very high alpha acid hop, but people tasting it might not necessarily perceive it as particularly bitter; that's because there's other flavors and compounds involved. Long story short, dry-hopping can increase bitterness, but it doesn't increase your beer's IBUs.

 

[Onkel_Udo]

Thanks all for the information and clarification!

 

[cantrell00]

In theory, dry hopping does not increase bitterness...in practice that's not really true. Technically the actual terminology is that dry hopping does not increase IBU, but IBU is not measuring actual bitterness, it's measuring the levels of alpha acids. That's key, because as you probably know, bitterness is much more than just IBU, Citra is a very high alpha acid hop, but people tasting it might not necessarily perceive it as particularly bitter; that's because there's other flavors and compounds involved. Long story short, dry-hopping can increase bitterness, but it doesn't increase your beer's IBUs.

Much better explanation than my overly simplistic, "limitation of the measurement" but this is exactly what I was trying to say...

Nice:rockin: