First Keg Dry Hop Flavor/Aroma Issues

[jpb2716]

Hey everyone. I know there are many threads on here about hop flavor and aroma fading while in the keg. I've read a bunch of them but I can't seem to find an explanation to my recent dilemma.

I recently brewed a Galaxy Smash IPA and it turned out amazing. I dry hopped with 2 ounces in the primary and let them sit for 5 days before cold crashing. When I kegged the beer, I drew a sample and it wasn't crystal clear but not bad at all. I put 2 ounces and a stainless marble for weight in a wilserbrewer dry hop bag and into the keg when I filled it. (Awesome bags, by the way) I put the keg on CO2 and left it for a week. So then it was time to pour the first pint from the keg. When I poured it, it was really murky! And I'm talking MURKY, like I mixed a spoonful of flour in the glass! However, WOW! The hop flavor and aroma was crazy intense! So since then, every pint has been a little clearer than the last. Problem is, it seems like with each pint, the hop flavor and aroma diminishes a little also. It hasn't cleared up completely. It's still a bit hazy. It's still a great beer but not as great as those first few pints. The keg dry hops are still in there and I don't plan to remove them till the keg is kicked. No pints have shown any signs of hop sediment either.

So what's up with that? Is it possible the hop oils dropped to the bottom of the keg and that's what was causing the murkiness and intense hop flavor and aroma?

Thanks everyone!

 

[TheMadKing]

Did you hop with pellets or whole hops?

It sounds like some of the fine hop sediment settled to the bottom and you were drinking it with those first few pints, so the hop aroma was intensified because of the amount of suspended hops coming up when you poured. It should stabilize and level off in a week or two .

 

[jpb2716]

Did you hop with pellets or whole hops?

It sounds like some of the fine hop sediment settled to the bottom and you were drinking it with those first few pints, so the hop aroma was intensified because of the amount of suspended hops coming up when you poured. It should stabilize and level off in a week or two .

Thanks for the response! They were pellet hops. If it was hop sediment, I've never seen it quite like this. I've seen hops make a beer look green-ish but this was like a white-ish, milky color.

 

[TheMadKing]

Thanks for the response! They were pellet hops. If it was hop sediment, I've never seen it quite like this. I've seen hops make a beer look green-ish but this was like a white-ish, milky color.

hmm yes, usually hop sediment is greenish, but if it's mixed with yeast it would look more white.

Did you fine with gelatin or anything?

 

[jpb2716]

hmm yes, usually hop sediment is greenish, but if it's mixed with yeast it would look more white.

Did you fine with gelatin or anything?

I haven't started fining my beers yet but plan to soon.

 

[Brettomomyces]

Yep that's normal, the first few pints are going to be pretty hoppy. After about a week the overal hop flavor settles out a bit and the aroma will plateua and then start to diminish slowly over time. The less oxygen your beer has seen and the better you store and treat it the longer the hop aroma will last and taste fresh

 

[m00ps]

agreed, the first few pints can be offensively hoppy. My last DIPA would burn the back of my throat. Not from alcohol, it was smooth as hell, but an abrasive burn from hop material. Calmed down after 2-3 days

It sounds like maybe the keg wasnt purged well enough or was open too long and got exposed at some point?

 

[jpb2716]

It sounds like maybe the keg wasnt purged well enough or was open too long and got exposed at some point?

I'm confused with what gives you that impression. Not being critical, just trying to learn. After I cleaned and sanitized the keg, I purged it with co2 and immediately filled it, closed it and purged the headspace a few times before leaving it on gas.

 

[blizz81]

hmm yes, usually hop sediment is greenish, but if it's mixed with yeast it would look more white.

I've seen speculation that yeast flocculation can drag hop lipids / oils down out of suspension. I actually tried to brew a DIPA with yeast immobilization / gastronomy thanks to inspiration from a thread on this forum to see if I could avoid that (as in that case, the yeast is contained, so it doesn't floc out). I must not have made my solutions perfectly as in the end, my yeast broke free of their jailing beans and it turned into a normal fermentation anyways.

Perhaps this is some anecdotal evidence of such thoughts. (Or perhaps it was just actual hop matter that would have floc'd on its own anyways).