Hop Choice for Dry Hopping

[Skep18]

I am pretty new to this and have come to the realization I may enjoy the flavors imparted by dry hopping. I'm a big IPA fan and have a 5 gallon batch almost a week into primary right now. I want to dry hop this batch, but am not sure which hops to choose. Unfortunately I don't have the IPA recipe with me as I bough the recipe from a LHBS, however, I recall is having mostly Simcoe with another German hop or something. I didn't take readings, but the recipe claims a 8-8.5% ABV.

Anyways, is it best to keep it in line with a hop already used int he boil or is using something not in the boil typical? I'm not a huge fan of grapefruit flavors, but more just a floral hop flavor.

Any advise would be much appreciated!

 

[kal]

You can use any hop you enjoy for dry hopping - doesn't necessarily have to be one that you used in the boil at all.

While Simcoe is great as a dry hop (Pine/grapefruit tastes) it's probably not what you want given that you don't like grapefruit. Stay away from Cascade as well.

For a Fruity/Citrusy taste try Amarillo or Centennial (slightly orange).

For Floral as you want, something like Crystal or even Hallertau or Cluster would probably work.

If you want to experiment with various hops to see what flavours they provide, try the Bud Light experiment:

http://www.bertusbrewery.com/2013/03/dry-hopped-bud-light.html

He provides his own observations on what the various hops taste like as well. Great article.

Kal

 

[Homercidal]

I think Centennial also gives a good amount of grapefruit. There are various charts that describe what hops can give in terms of taste. Be aware that the flavors you get with dry hopping may not be the same as the flavors you get from a late boil addition. Also, the AMOUNT of hops that you add can affect the flavor somewhat as well, so a HUGE amount of dry hops might end up tasting different than a smaller amount, not just MORE of the same flavor. This is due to the way the flavor molecules bind with each other and fit your taste receptors. Thanks fully this is probably limited in dry hops, compared to flavor hops, as dry hops is more about aroma than flavor.

Some say Simcoe smells like cat pee. I love Chinook, Cascade, and Centennial for dry hops, the German hops, not so much. I'm just hooked on American IPAs I guess!

Check out that wheel that kal gives you and see what you might like. Give it a try. Part of the fun of brewing your own is trying different amounts and combinations of different things.

 

[Skep18]

You can use any hop you enjoy for dry hopping - doesn't necessarily have to be one that you used in the boil at all.

While Simcoe is great as a dry hop (Pine/grapefruit tastes) it's probably not what you want given that you don't like grapefruit. Stay away from Cascade as well.

For a Fruity/Citrusy taste try Amarillo or Centennial (slightly orange).

For Floral as you want, something like Crystal or even Hallertau or Cluster would probably work.

If you want to experiment with various hops to see what flavours they provide, try the Bud Light experiment:

http://www.bertusbrewery.com/2013/03/dry-hopped-bud-light.html

He provides his own observations on what the various hops taste like as well. Great article.

Kal

I think Centennial also gives a good amount of grapefruit. There are various charts that describe what hops can give in terms of taste. Be aware that the flavors you get with dry hopping may not be the same as the flavors you get from a late boil addition. Also, the AMOUNT of hops that you add can affect the flavor somewhat as well, so a HUGE amount of dry hops might end up tasting different than a smaller amount, not just MORE of the same flavor. This is due to the way the flavor molecules bind with each other and fit your taste receptors. Thanks fully this is probably limited in dry hops, compared to flavor hops, as dry hops is more about aroma than flavor.

Some say Simcoe smells like cat pee. I love Chinook, Cascade, and Centennial for dry hops, the German hops, not so much. I'm just hooked on American IPAs I guess!

Check out that wheel that kal gives you and see what you might like. Give it a try. Part of the fun of brewing your own is trying different amounts and combinations of different things.

Awesome advice guys, thanks! I definitely want to try the Bud Light Experiment! What a great idea!

Well I hope I don't dislike this 5 gallon batch too much given the online reviews of Simcoe... lol. Maybe some dry hopping will help. Thinking I may try Crystal. I really like the O'Fallon 5 Day IPA and in their recipe on their website, they mention dry hopping with Crystal hops.

Thanks again for the advice!

 

[unionrdr]

The thing to remember here is that dry hopping gives aroma,not flavor. But since our sense of smell is linked to our sense of taste via holes in the roof of the mouth,they work hand in hand. The added aroma heightens our sense of perceived flavor.
Having said that,I dry hop with the same hops I used for flavor in the boil. Makes for a more rounded flavor experience imo.

 

[Skep18]

The thing to remember here is that dry hopping gives aroma,not flavor. But since our sense of smell is linked to our sense of taste via holes in the roof of the mouth,they work hand in hand. The added aroma heightens our sense of perceived flavor.
Having said that,I dry hop with the same hops I used for flavor in the boil. Makes for a more rounded flavor experience imo.

Ok, so for the most part, the boil imparts the flavors.

I guess I should explain, I am trying to shoot for a good IPA (subjective, I know). I brewed my first IPA (Northern Brewer's Dead Ringer IPA, all Centennial hops) before I knew about the importance of temperature control. It fermented in room temperature of probably 72F to 74F with little air circulation. As a result along with probably premature taste test, we tried one bottle after letting it primary for 2 weeks as instructions suggest, and bottle for roughly a week, and it tasted awful... SUPER fruity. Like a lot. Some of that bubblegum I've read about. And luckily, when we brewed 2 weeks later, we did let things sit in a bath tub controlled temp by ice and water, keeping it under 70F, mostly 66F to 68F using mostly Safale US-05 yeasts. Also luckily, we're brewing 1 gallon kits, so not too much harm here.

But all this being said, am I getting ahead of myself, trying to get more hoppy IPA's by dry hopping probably before I understand everything about home brewing? I guess I'm just trying to make the results a bit more enjoyable, lol, while still learning.

 

[unionrdr]

Temp control is def a big one. At least watch the weather for runs of cool days & be ready to brew on those days. Kind of a "rhythm method" for brewing. that's what I'm doing atm. My PM IPA I brewed last Sunday is still no higher than 68.4F internally with US-05 yeast (rehydrated). So this week of cooler days worked out pretty darn good so far. US-05 produces clean tasting beer up to about 74F internal temp. (internal to the fermenter vs ambient temp,that is).
I've gotten hop flavors from about 25 minutes left in the boil on down to about 8 minutes,30 seconds. But that's with a crap ton of hop additions to do. Now,even my IPA additions are 20,15,12 & maybe 10 minutes left. I dry hop for aroma after the beer is at FG & settled out clear or slightly misty. The less yeast visibly in suspension the better. This way,there's less yeast in suspension for the hop oils to coat & sink to the bottom with them. You want the hop oils to stay in suspension for that great aroma.