Hop Bursting.... I love the results

[Owly055]

I've been hop bursting increasingly. Adding larger quantities of hops very late in the boil. Buying hops in quantity from Yakima Valley Hops, the cost is low enough compared to buying the little packets, that I use them far more generously. It helps that after a year and 58 brews, I know what I like in hops!

This evening I will be brewing an hop bursted ale called SWAT Hopburst. It contains 2 full ounces of hops, all of which will contribute significant flavor and aroma. Summit will provide most of the bittering with an AA of 18.5, but only 10 minutes to get it done.

2.5 gallon brew

3 pounds Dark Munich (20)
2 pounds American Pale 2 row
1 pound malted American Wheat

One Ounce Summit @ 10 minutes
Half Ounce Willamette @ 3 minutes
Half Ounce Ahtanum @ 3 minutes

target OG 1.065
estimated ABV 6.25%
IBUs 54.5 (est)
SRM 14

This is an original recipe I put together over the last 15 minutes or so. Comments??


H.W.

 

[mkyl428]

I am wanting to experiment with this too I have just started doing hopstands in the last couple IPAs I did and double dry hopping between those two things I have greatly increased the hoppiness of my beers. I haven't tried hop bursting but it intrigues me...

One question, do you still get decent bitterness adding no hops at all till 10min? I like a hoppy beer but I also like a firm bitterness and I feel like a lot of the bitterness I get from a hopstand kinda fades with the hop character does that make sense?

 

[poptarts]

maybe im experiencing lupulin threshold shift but I think 2oz is far from hop bursting.

 

[Psylocide]

I am wanting to experiment with this too I have just started doing hopstands in the last couple IPAs I did and double dry hopping between those two things I have greatly increased the hoppiness of my beers. I haven't tried hop bursting but it intrigues me...

One question, do you still get decent bitterness adding no hops at all till 10min? I like a hoppy beer but I also like a firm bitterness and I feel like a lot of the bitterness I get from a hopstand kinda fades with the hop character does that make sense?

I've been bittering at 60 with magnum, one (small) addition of whatever hop at 30, and huge hopstands/dry hop scheds.

Works great for flavor and smooth bitterness. I'm starting to wonder why a "flavor addition" (20-10 min additions) would even be needed when big aroma seems to translate to big flavor.

I'm thinking about cutting out the 30 min addition altogether.

 

[Owly055]

maybe im experiencing lupulin threshold shift but I think 2oz is far from hop bursting.

You're thinking in terms of a 5 gallon brew......... Mine are only 2.5 gallons. I don't need to add a pound of hops to get excellent flavor and aroma.


H.W.

 

[mkyl428]

I've been bittering at 60 with magnum, one (small) addition of whatever hop at 30, and huge hopstands/dry hop scheds.

Works great for flavor and smooth bitterness. I'm starting to wonder why a "flavor addition" (20-10 min) additions would even be needed when big aroma = big flavor.

I'm thinking about cutting out the 30 min addition altogether.

This is what I did on my last IPA IIRC i used .5oz Magnum @ 60 and then nothing till 2oz of Chinook & 1oz Citra for a 20 min hopstand. Then dry hopped w/ 1&1 Citra Chinook, pulled that out after 5 days and dry hopped again with 2oz Chinook & 1 oz Citra.

Beer turned out fantastic and when it was fresh it was like biting into a grapefruit, now I have about a 6 pack left thats about 5-6 weeks old and while it's still a good beer I feel like a lot of the bitterness faded away with the fresh hop character.

I'm just curious if anyone else has noticed that when adding most of your hops at the end of the boil.

 

[Owly055]

I am wanting to experiment with this too I have just started doing hopstands in the last couple IPAs I did and double dry hopping between those two things I have greatly increased the hoppiness of my beers. I haven't tried hop bursting but it intrigues me...

One question, do you still get decent bitterness adding no hops at all till 10min? I like a hoppy beer but I also like a firm bitterness and I feel like a lot of the bitterness I get from a hopstand kinda fades with the hop character does that make sense?

I don't know what you like in IBUs.... The beer I described above is at 55 IBUs which is in the IPA range, actually right on the money for a genuine original IPA. IBUs on either side of 100 are an American perversion of IPA. My recipe was done on Brewer's Friend which calculated these numbers. Summit has an alpha acid rating of 18.5. Magnum is only 15, and Nugget 14. Summit is a "super alpha" with excellent flavor characteristics. Note the link below and the description of Summit lifted from Beerlegends.com.

H.W.

http://www.northernbrewer.com/connect/2012/08/summit-hops-much-love/


Origin and Description

Summit Hops is a unique variety with a novel history. Summit was released by the American Hops Dwarf Association in Yakima, WA and its story begins with Nugget hops. Its a little easier to write out the lineage formula vs sentence form...and here it is:

1998: Nugget X Open Pollination = Non-patented Nugget Male (Nugget-M)
1999: Zeus X Nugget-M = USDA 19058M
1999: Zeus X USDA 19058M = Lexus
2000 - Lexus X Open Pollination = Summit!

The original Nugget seeds were from a commercial hop field in Harrah, Washington. Summit is a semi-dwarf variety, and the following years after 2000 brought growing trials to prove Summit's worth in yield, brewing character and resistance to disease and fungus.

Summit Hops is at the top of the Super Alpha varieties chain with an alpha acid content of 16.0%-18.0%. BAM!!! It has a 6:1 alpha beta ratio and also carries a relatively high co-humulone content at 26.0%-33.0%. Summit is often found in India Pale Ales, mainly in the United States, and its easy to see why. Aside from its bittering qualities of this hops, this variety also has strong aromatic qualities which are truly citrus; having notes of tangerine, orange, and grapefruit. It has a relatively high overall oil content at 1.5-2.5 mls/100 grams, and perhaps this helps to describe the strong aroma. The oils are all in average ranges with the exception of farnesene oil which barely registers.

Summit Hops is the first dwarf originating from the United States, and is the only low trellis hops in the Yakima Valley. Summit requires hand picking due to the lack of machinery and takes a lot of work as the yield is very high at 2200-2700 lbs/acre. This variety is susceptible to downy mildew, yet tolerant to powdery mildew and verticillium wilt. Summit also stores very well maintaining 85% of its alpha acids after 6 months of storage at 20 degrees C. It is a new variety but already has the attention of brewers, mostly from the United States at this time.

 

[Psylocide]

This is what I did on my last IPA IIRC i used .5oz Magnum @ 60 and then nothing till 2oz of Chinook & 1oz Citra for a 20 min hopstand. Then dry hopped w/ 1&1 Citra Chinook, pulled that out after 5 days and dry hopped again with 2oz Chinook & 1 oz Citra.

Beer turned out fantastic and when it was fresh it was like biting into a grapefruit, now I have about a 6 pack left thats about 5-6 weeks old and while it's still a good beer I feel like a lot of the bitterness faded away with the fresh hop character.

I'm just curious if anyone else has noticed that when adding most of your hops at the end of the boil.

Yeah... that's the problem for me. I don't bottle any more, but I kill a keg in a 3-4 weeks, just not enough time for the flavors to fade out too fast.

However, week 2 to week 4, some significant changes take place in the flavor department. It makes some sense, in that these are typically aroma additions, which we know fade first... if you're relying on smell making up the better part of your perceived flavor, then as that goes, so will the flavor.

 

[douglasbarbin]

maybe im experiencing lupulin threshold shift but I think 2oz is far from hop bursting.

I was thinking the same thing. I used 8.5 oz for my last 5 gallon batch and kinda wish I had used more.

 

[Owly055]

This is what I did on my last IPA IIRC i used .5oz Magnum @ 60 and then nothing till 2oz of Chinook & 1oz Citra for a 20 min hopstand. Then dry hopped w/ 1&1 Citra Chinook, pulled that out after 5 days and dry hopped again with 2oz Chinook & 1 oz Citra.

Beer turned out fantastic and when it was fresh it was like biting into a grapefruit, now I have about a 6 pack left thats about 5-6 weeks old and while it's still a good beer I feel like a lot of the bitterness faded away with the fresh hop character.

I'm just curious if anyone else has noticed that when adding most of your hops at the end of the boil.

Assuming this is a 5 gallon brew, that's a phenomenal amount of hops. That's half a pound of hops in a single brew. Clearly I've been a bit conservative...... I'm fundamentally cheap. $12 worth of hops (plus shipping) in a single brew seems like a lot to me. I've hopped at an ounce per gallon before. You've convinced me to up the hops to 3 ounces total, all at 7 minutes. This brings the IBUs to 58, and is much closer to a true "hop burst".....3 ounces at 7 minutes on a 2.5 gallon brew.........

Dry hopping is not "hop bursting" by definition. It apparently pertains to adding massive amounts of hops late in the boil, with no early bittering additions. your definition of massive and mine obviously differ. I've done this several times.... adding ONLY late addition hops while making those additions large enough to give the IBUs I want, and had very good beers as a result.

Below is a quote and a link........... H.W.



I did a bit of Googling. It turns out that hop bursting is not the act of merely adding a lot of late-addition hops--it's only adding late addition hops. No bittering hops at all. It's a homebrewing technique that apparently dates back about a decade. The earliest reference I can find is Jamil Zainasheff, who adds this introduction to an article he wrote back in '05 for Zymurgy: "I hadn't heard of what people call 'hop bursting' at that time or I would have mentioned it in the article. In this article I describe the process of massive late hopping (or hop bursting) and it includes a great recipe called Evil Twin." I consulted Stan Hieronymus's For the Love of Hops and he confirms that it bubbled up from the homebrew-o-sphere.

Homebrewers mainly go the full monty, adding no hops to the beer until about the last 20 minutes of the boil. Because it takes a long time for hops to fully isomerize and add bitterness, the homebrewers add a truckload of late-addition hops in recompense. One theory holds that these later hops impart a softer bitterness, IBU for IBU. No one has done a lick of research though, and that theory has the aroma of rumor to me. I think it's more likely that it tastes softer because there's less real bitterness.

 

[NathPowe]

I could be wrong, but I think you'll find that a lot of folks are using half a pound of hops (or more) for 5 gallon batches of IPA. That's about what I shoot for when I brew an IPA and I think it works out really well - usually about 5oz in the kettle and 3oz dry. That's certainly not a hard and fast rule, but things often work out pretty close to that. I've used that amount with the "hop burst" technique and for more traditional kettle additions (60, 15, 0, etc). Both worked well. Might be worth a shot some time if you feel like splurging on hops.

Having said that, if you're getting the flavor/aroma that you enjoy with 2-3oz (I realize you're doing 2.5gal batches) then more power to you brother. Let it ride for sure and enjoy the brew.

Cheers.

 

[mkyl428]

if you're relying on smell making up the better part of your perceived flavor, then as that goes, so will the flavor.

This makes sense I think next time I will add an maybe a 15min addition and see if that helps

 

[mkyl428]

I don't know what you like in IBUs.... The beer I described above is at 55 IBUs which is in the IPA range, actually right on the money for a genuine original IPA. IBUs on either side of 100 are an American perversion of IPA. My recipe was done on Brewer's Friend which calculated these numbers. Summit has an alpha acid rating of 18.5. Magnum is only 15, and Nugget 14. Summit is a "super alpha" with excellent flavor characteristics. Note the link below and the description of Summit lifted from Beerlegends.com.

H.W.

http://www.northernbrewer.com/connect/2012/08/summit-hops-much-love/


Origin and Description

Summit Hops is a unique variety with a novel history. Summit was released by the American Hops Dwarf Association in Yakima, WA and its story begins with Nugget hops. Its a little easier to write out the lineage formula vs sentence form...and here it is:

1998: Nugget X Open Pollination = Non-patented Nugget Male (Nugget-M)
1999: Zeus X Nugget-M = USDA 19058M
1999: Zeus X USDA 19058M = Lexus
2000 - Lexus X Open Pollination = Summit!

The original Nugget seeds were from a commercial hop field in Harrah, Washington. Summit is a semi-dwarf variety, and the following years after 2000 brought growing trials to prove Summit's worth in yield, brewing character and resistance to disease and fungus.

Summit Hops is at the top of the Super Alpha varieties chain with an alpha acid content of 16.0%-18.0%. BAM!!! It has a 6:1 alpha beta ratio and also carries a relatively high co-humulone content at 26.0%-33.0%. Summit is often found in India Pale Ales, mainly in the United States, and its easy to see why. Aside from its bittering qualities of this hops, this variety also has strong aromatic qualities which are truly citrus; having notes of tangerine, orange, and grapefruit. It has a relatively high overall oil content at 1.5-2.5 mls/100 grams, and perhaps this helps to describe the strong aroma. The oils are all in average ranges with the exception of farnesene oil which barely registers.

Summit Hops is the first dwarf originating from the United States, and is the only low trellis hops in the Yakima Valley. Summit requires hand picking due to the lack of machinery and takes a lot of work as the yield is very high at 2200-2700 lbs/acre. This variety is susceptible to downy mildew, yet tolerant to powdery mildew and verticillium wilt. Summit also stores very well maintaining 85% of its alpha acids after 6 months of storage at 20 degrees C. It is a new variety but already has the attention of brewers, mostly from the United States at this time.

I have yet to try Summit But now I want to try them in my next IPA they sound awesome!

 

[Psylocide]

This makes sense I think next time I will add an maybe a 15min addition and see if that helps

Of course, that's the part I'm conflicted on... I'm doing no chill, so my "hopstand" is tossing it in at flameout and leaving it in for upwards of 30 mins. But with the lid on, it's not losing much heat at all... so those hops are still at near boiling temps for the duration.

I almost wonder if, in my case, leaving them in for a shorter period would contribute more towards the flavor with even less bitterness. And the other part of me wonders if a longer hopstand at slowly falling temps would extract even more flavor or if there is a point of diminishing return or probable off-flavors.

Just haven't played with it enough yet.

 

[mkyl428]

Assuming this is a 5 gallon brew, that's a phenomenal amount of hops. That's half a pound of hops in a single brew. Clearly I've been a bit conservative...... I'm fundamentally cheap. $12 worth of hops (plus shipping) in a single brew seems like a lot to me. I've hopped at an ounce per gallon before. You've convinced me to up the hops to 3 ounces total, all at 7 minutes. This brings the IBUs to 58, and is much closer to a true "hop burst".....3 ounces at 7 minutes on a 2.5 gallon brew.........

Dry hopping is not "hop bursting" by definition. It apparently pertains to adding massive amounts of hops late in the boil, with no early bittering additions. your definition of massive and mine obviously differ. I've done this several times.... adding ONLY late addition hops while making those additions large enough to give the IBUs I want, and had very good beers as a result.

I was trying for a hop bomb that leaped aroma out of the glass & I got it the amount of hop aroma when this beer was fresh was on par with some of the hoppiest commercial beers I've come across. I spent around $20 just in hops for that beer (still buying by the oz.) and it was worth it.

I am aware dry hopping isn't part of hop bursting, but I think it goes hand in hand, both are for the purpose of adding fresh hop aroma, and if you are hop bursting or doing hopstands and not dry hopping I think you are not getting the most out of your hops.

 

[mkyl428]

Of course, that's the part I'm conflicted on... I'm doing no chill, so my "hopstand" is tossing it in at flameout and leaving it in for upwards of 30 mins. But with the lid on, it's not losing much heat at all... so those hops are still at near boiling temps for the duration.

I almost wonder if, in my case, leaving them in for a shorter period would contribute more towards the flavor with even less bitterness. And the other part of me wonders if a longer hopstand at slowly falling temps would extract even more flavor or if there is a point of diminishing return or probable off-flavors.

Just haven't played with it enough yet.

Just an idea but maybe you could wait a little longer and throw your hops in after the wort has had some time to cool, maybe try waiting an hour or so then adding them to the kettle and doing your hopstand, that might give you more flavor with less bitter I would think

 

[Snicklefritz]

I almost exclusively use late addition hops + hopstand for IPAs now. My standard hop schedule is usually:

5 min
0 min
-30 min

I'll hop stand/whirlpool for about an hour and not let the temps go below 170F.

 

[Psylocide]

Just an idea but maybe you could wait a little longer and throw your hops in after the wort has had some time to cool, maybe try waiting an hour or so then adding them to the kettle and doing your hop stand, that might give you more flavor with less bitter I would think

I'm sure it would... but I've been pleased enough with the results that I can't see changing it up now. Maybe if I get a few more fermenters, I can start to experiment a bit more.

 

[day_trippr]

lmao at the hop bill...

Cheers!

 

[Owly055]

I almost exclusively use late addition hops + hopstand for IPAs now. My standard hop schedule is usually:

5 min
0 min
-30 min

I'll hop stand/whirlpool for about an hour and not let the temps go below 170F.

What bittering hops and how much with a 5 minute addition to get IPA bittering? I'm tossing in a full ounce of Summit at 10 minutes in a 2.5 gallon brew and hitting 55. To hit what most American so called "IPA"s are running.... around 80 or more with only a 5 minute addition, I'd have to go 3 ounces of Summit! For a 5 gallon brew, 6 ounces!!

H.W.

 

[Natdavis777]

Ever since I brewed a Zombie Dust Clone, Ive been hop bursting a lot of my Pale beers and love the results. My IPA Im drinking now had a 60 min addition, then everything else came from 15/10/5/Hopstand. 70+ IBUs. Granted I used a sh*tload of hops, the flavor and aroma are def present without too much bitterness.

 

[Owly055]

Ever since I brewed a Zombie Dust Clone, Ive been hop bursting a lot of my Pale beers and love the results. My IPA Im drinking now had a 60 min addition, then everything else came from 15/10/5/Hopstand. 70+ IBUs. Granted I used a sh*tload of hops, the flavor and aroma are def present without too much bitterness.

I've used pellet hops almost exclusively......I'm thinking that cone hops, or better yet fresh hops would offer some benefit.

I'm currently 40 minutes into the boil on one of the two beers I'm brewing this evening....... yes 2!! There is absolutely zero hop aroma. Obviously because I haven't added any hops yet. Aroma in the boil is aroma and flavor LOST. This 2.5 gallon recipe uses a total of 4 ounces of hops (1/4 pound). 2 ounces of Northern Brewer added at 10 min, and an ounce each of Amarillo and Hallertau at 5 minutes.

Both brews were doughed in just before 1:00 and left while I went to work for the afternoon. It's currently 7:30 here. I cooked and ate supper and cleaned up before starting brewing. This brew will be chilling while the other is being brought up to boil. I'll be done at a decent hour. Unfortunately one of my fermenters just cracked, so I will have to ferment one of these brews in a stainless steel boil kettle....You do what you have to do. Screw ups and crisis are not an infrequent occurrence in brewing.

H.W.

 

[Natdavis777]

I've used pellet hops almost exclusively......I'm thinking that cone hops, or better yet fresh hops would offer some benefit.

I'm currently 40 minutes into the boil on one of the two beers I'm brewing this evening....... yes 2!! There is absolutely zero hop aroma. Obviously because I haven't added any hops yet. Aroma in the boil is aroma and flavor LOST. This 2.5 gallon recipe uses a total of 4 ounces of hops (1/4 pound). 2 ounces of Northern Brewer added at 10 min, and an ounce each of Amarillo and Hallertau at 5 minutes.

Both brews were doughed in just before 1:00 and left while I went to work for the afternoon. It's currently 7:30 here. I cooked and ate supper and cleaned up before starting brewing. This brew will be chilling while the other is being brought up to boil. I'll be done at a decent hour. Unfortunately one of my fermenters just cracked, so I will have to ferment one of these brews in a stainless steel boil kettle....You do what you have to do. Screw ups and crisis are not an infrequent occurrence in brewing.

H.W.

Im kind of jealous you are brewing currently... I have a sour planned for Sat though that will be a blend for my lambics though.

I think one of my next pales will be all late additions/hop stand with no bittering. Might do it on my Mosaic Smash

 

[Snicklefritz]

What bittering hops and how much with a 5 minute addition to get IPA bittering? I'm tossing in a full ounce of Summit at 10 minutes in a 2.5 gallon brew and hitting 55. To hit what most American so called "IPA"s are running.... around 80 or more with only a 5 minute addition, I'd have to go 3 ounces of Summit! For a 5 gallon brew, 6 ounces!!

H.W.

The thing I think you are missing is that I am doing a hop stand for nearly an hour after that 5 minute addition where my temps never go below 170. At those temps there will still be some isomerization (i usually estimate 20% of normal) so the 5 minute addition is not the only thing contributing to bitterness.

My last IPA I did 2oz at 5min, 2oz at 0min and 2oz at -30 and was targeting 70IBU. I think they were like 12-14% AA I also dry hopped with an additional 4oz. This was a 5 gallon batch

 

[Owly055]

Im kind of jealous you are brewing currently... I have a sour planned for Sat though that will be a blend for my lambics though.

I think one of my next pales will be all late additions/hop stand with no bittering. Might do it on my Mosaic Smash

I love Mosaic.........it's an incredibly complex hop. The name fits the hop. My first go with Mosaic was a Mosaic Rye Wit. About the ONLY beer where I actually followed a recipe. At about 2% ABV, it's a wonderfully complex beer. The rye works well with the Mosic to create true "mosaic" of flavor. I'm just finishing up a beer that is little more than Mosaic and two row, and a bit of dark (20L) Munich for a hint of color. At an IBU of about 30, and 5% ABV, it's a delicately flavored session beer that is perfect with lunch. I often drink half a beer ( 1/2L bottles) with lunch.

Mosaic is a wonderfully complex of flavor and aroma. At an AA of 12.5, mosaic can stand alone for flavor and aroma as well as bittering. It doesn't need a bunch of other hops to add this or that, in fact mixing it with other hops detracts from the medly of flavors it offers. I strongly advocate mosaic as a single hop beer.

H.W.

 

[Natdavis777]

I love Mosaic.........it's an incredibly complex hop. The name fits the hop. My first go with Mosaic was a Mosaic Rye Wit. About the ONLY beer where I actually followed a recipe. At about 2% ABV, it's a wonderfully complex beer. The rye works well with the Mosic to create true "mosaic" of flavor. I'm just finishing up a beer that is little more than Mosaic and two row, and a bit of dark (20L) Munich for a hint of color. At an IBU of about 30, and 5% ABV, it's a delicately flavored session beer that is perfect with lunch. I often drink half a beer ( 1/2L bottles) with lunch.

Mosaic is a wonderfully complex of flavor and aroma. At an AA of 12.5, mosaic can stand alone for flavor and aroma as well as bittering. It doesn't need a bunch of other hops to add this or that, in fact mixing it with other hops detracts from the medly of flavors it offers. I strongly advocate mosaic as a single hop beer.

H.W.

My first run in I believe was Anicca from 3 Floyds and Half Acre and my word, that is an amazing beer. Had it a few times, including recently, and it doesnt disappoint. My brother brought me back some Mosaic Promise from Michigan a few months back which is just Golden Promise and Mosaic smash, and again, amazing beer.

Id agree that its a good stand alone hop, as I cant think much that would pair with it. The aroma and flavor is so complex.

 

[BlueHouseBrewhaus]

My typical hop schedule for a 5 gal IPA is

.5 oz 60 min
2-3 oz 10 min
3 oz 30 min hopstand at 165F
3 oz dry hop

I'll use the 60 min to adjust my bitterness but my IPAs are all in the 50-80 IBU range. I'm not a major 100+ IBU hophead. I'm more of a flavor and aroma bomb hophead.

 

[Owly055]

That's HUGE........ That amounts to about $10 in just hops. I don't plan on dumping that much hops in my beers as a regular thing, but I'm not an IPA kind of guy. I tend to brew from the high 30's to the mid 50's. The two brews I did last evening were both 55 IBUs, which really is an IPA, I don't consider anything above 60 to be an IPA at all, but rather an "AHB" (American Hop Bomb), which is a distinct modern American style. My second brew of the two back to back brews I did last evening had 4 ounces for a 2.5 gallon brew....... about the same amount of hopping you are doing on your IPAs I used Northern Brewer (2 oz at 10 min), Hallertau, and Amarillo (one ounce each at 5 min). OG 1.078, IBU 55.4, SRM 11. (Munich, Two Row, and Wheat)

H.W.

My typical hop schedule for a 5 gal IPA is

.5 oz 60 min
2-3 oz 10 min
3 oz 30 min hopstand at 165F
3 oz dry hop

I'll use the 60 min to adjust my bitterness but my IPAs are all in the 50-80 IBU range. I'm not a major 100+ IBU hophead. I'm more of a flavor and aroma bomb hophead.

 

[douglasbarbin]

That's HUGE........ That amounts to about $10 in just hops. I don't plan on dumping that much hops in my beers as a regular thing, but I'm not an IPA kind of guy. I tend to brew from the high 30's to the mid 50's. The two brews I did last evening were both 55 IBUs, which really is an IPA, I don't consider anything above 60 to be an IPA at all, but rather an "AHB" (American Hop Bomb), which is a distinct modern American style. My second brew of the two back to back brews I did last evening had 4 ounces for a 2.5 gallon brew....... about the same amount of hopping you are doing on your IPAs I used Northern Brewer (2 oz at 10 min), Hallertau, and Amarillo (one ounce each at 5 min). OG 1.078, IBU 55.4, SRM 11. (Munich, Two Row, and Wheat)

H.W.

Not really "HUGE", if you ask me. Last beer I brewed was:
1 oz FWH
7.5 oz hopstand/whirlpool
Haven't dry-hopped yet, but plan on using 3 oz

OG was 1.069 and calculated IBUs were around 75, so that's an IBU/SG ratio of barely over 1, hardly a "hop bomb" by any stretch. You want good aroma, you have to pony up on the hops. Period.

Also, the beer you mention at the end is technically out of style for both American IPA and Imperial IPA (if that's what it's supposed to be). Not my personal preference but a lot of the east coast breweries seem to gear their IPA's towards the malty side.

 

[BlueHouseBrewhaus]

The late hops don't add much bitterness and the hopstand and dry hop don't add any. They are all about aroma and flavor. These late and post boil additions are what hop bursting is about - not necessarily a lot of bitterness, but big aroma/flavor. I recently did a 55 IBU IPA with the hop schedule I listed (except 10 min addition was 1.5 oz) that was quite hoppy but not very bitter.

If you mean that anything over 60 isn't an English IPA, you are absolutely correct. BJCP guidelines for English IPA are 40-60 IBUs. However, for American IPA, BJCP range is 40-70 IBUs. Once you get over 70, you're into IIPA territory and the sky's the limit. That is serious hop bomb status.

It all depends on your preferences. I've had 65 IBU brews that tasted moderately hoppy and some that tasted super hoppy. That's where hop bursts, hop stands and dry hopping come into play. Adjust the amount of "hoppiness" (not necessarily bitterness) to your liking and go for it.