How do I make my IPA hoppier?

[mhlavenka]

I recently brewed the following extract IPA
(Brew Your Own: The How-To Homebrew Beer Magazine - Story Index - Recipe Calculations - Bonus IPA Recipes).
It turned out great, but not as hoppy as I would have liked. I'm about to brew
this again, but if I want to make it "hoppier". Where should I add the
extra hops? During the boil (and if so, at what stage) or during the dry
hopping?

 

[poislb]

Recipe actually looks okay (a little low on the IBUs but okay) just add 1.75-2 0z for dry hopping, it will give it more aromatics which is a plus for any IPA...

didnt see a 30 min hop addition, ya could add one if ya like

 

[McLompoc]

Depends if you are looking to have more of a floral flavor or the bitterness some hops provide. For bittering and a little more flavor I have upped the hops during the boil. I also have dry hopped, but this will only add more of an aroma to the IPA.

I used Magnum and Falconer's Flight during the boil because of the high Alpha % of each, 13.5% and 10.5% respectively and then dry hopped with centennial.

 

[danorocks17]

are you doing full boils are partial boils where you have to use top up water?

 

[unionrdr]

That recipe looked a little light on the late hop additions,only 1.5oz. I used 4.5oz of 3 different hops in the last 20 minutes. The remaining .5oz each of Columbus,Nugget,& Cascade in the 1 week dry hop.

 

[stevedasleeve]

Try one 60 minute addition then 10 and 5 mins additions. My last IPA I used 2 oz at 10 and 2.5 oz at 5. A mixture of hops (say 1 oz Centennial + 1/2 Simcoe and 1/2 Amarillo for the 10 minute addition) works well.

I then dry hop a minimum of 2 oz for 10-14 days.

Try that next time and report back.

Steve da sleeve

 

[mhlavenka]

Thanks for the quick replies! I'm brewing tonight, so I'll try to incorporate some of the suggestions and report back in a month or so.

Oh.. and I'm doing a partial boil.

Thanksa again.

 

[greenbirds]

These are my keys to hoppier IPA:

Big late additions (<15 mins from end of boil, 3+ oz)
Big dry hop additions (2+ oz)
Fresh hops (if they don't smell pungent in the bag, they won't be pungent in the beer)
Clean yeast character (Cali ale, pacman, etc.)
Full attenuation. Residual sweetness in the beer from excessive crystal malts, underattenuation, etc., tends to mask the hop character.

 

[mhlavenka]

Well guys... I incorporated some of your suggestions. Its only been in the bottles for a week, but I couldn't wait and opened one up tonight. FANTASTIC!! Exactly what I was looking for. Wonderful aroma, and super hoppy taste. And it's only going to get better. Here's how I modified the recipe:

60 min
.5 oz US Magnum
.25 oz Yakima Magnum
.5 oz Simcoe

15 min
1+ oz Centennial

5 min
1.5 oz Cascade
.5 oz US Magnum

Dry hop (week before bottling)
2 oz Cascade
.5 oz Simcoe

Thanks again everyone. Have a great Xmas!

 

[HopSong]

You didn't state what you meant by "hoppier". Do you want more bitterness, aroma or ?? Makes a difference on what hops and when..

 

[Calder]

OK ..... so what was it you think did it.

 

[LandoLincoln]

There's also First Wort Hopping. I don't know if FWH gives you more hoppy aroma or bitterness, but it definitely adds to a beer's complexity in my experience.

 

[mhlavenka]

I was going for more bitterness and aroma, and I got both. But I'm thinking since I didn't go overboard on the 60/15 minutes additions, but really added quite a bit of extra hops to the 5 minute addition as well as the dry hopping, maybe the extra-pungent aroma is tricking me into thinking its much more bitter than it really is. Either way, I'm enjoying the heck out of it!