How long before hops fade?

[FatDragon]

I brewed my all-Mosaic IPA about a month and a half ago and I still have at least twenty half-liters left. I cracked one open last night and realized that the majority of the hop aroma and flavor has already left the building. I know hops will fade with time, but that fast? Should I focus on brewing smaller batches with IPAs (or making more friends) or is there something I can do to preserve the hoppiness longer?

 

[Yooper]

I brewed my all-Mosaic IPA about a month and a half ago and I still have at least twenty half-liters left. I cracked one open last night and realized that the majority of the hop aroma and flavor has already left the building. I know hops will fade with time, but that fast? Should I focus on brewing smaller batches with IPAs (or making more friends) or is there something I can do to preserve the hoppiness longer?

Yes, hoppiness does fade pretty fast. Dryhopping for 3-5 days before bottling can help preserve hops aroma, but it still happens.

 

[k_mcarthur]

Oh yes. Once I had a full pipeline and was over the gotta get it done fast, I overshoot hop aroma knowing it does fade. You can adjust hop additions depending on your own pipeline once you get it settled.

 

[FatDragon]

I don't have my recipe at hand, but the hop schedule for this was something like:

1.5 oz - 30m
.8 oz - 5m
.8 oz - whirlpool
1.5 oz - 5 day dry hop

When I bottled the papaya and guava notes were overwhelming, and my first couple bottles were the same way. But only a few weeks down the road the hops are way subdued and there's very little noticeable fruitiness.

Would hop longevity be helped by larger late shots and a bigger or a second dry hop, or would that just be a waste of money? I've definitely had great aroma and flavor in 3-4 month old commercial IPAs and IIPAs, so I know it can be done, but I wonder if the secret there is just volume (of hops) or if it's more about the process.

 

[k_mcarthur]

I don't have my recipe at hand, but the hop schedule for this was something like:

1.5 oz - 30m
.8 oz - 5m
.8 oz - whirlpool
1.5 oz - 5 day dry hop

When I bottled the papaya and guava notes were overwhelming, and my first couple bottles were the same way. But only a few weeks down the road the hops are way subdued and there's very little noticeable fruitiness.

Would hop longevity be helped by larger late shots and a bigger or a second dry hop, or would that just be a waste of money? I've definitely had great aroma and flavor in 3-4 month old commercial IPAs and IIPAs, so I know it can be done, but I wonder if the secret there is just volume (of hops) or if it's more about the process.

What hop? I like 1 oz something high in alpha acid like centennial at 60. Then a good flavor hop at like 1.5 oz at 15 min. Then aroma of like 1 oz at 5 min. My favorite is cascade, but that's just me. Then a dry hop of 1.5-2 oz for a couple of days before kegging. Then it peaks well at week 4-10 in the keg before the flavor really fades. Before that can be overwhelming for myself personally. Hop flavors are very subjective, hench why there are so many kinds of ipas out there. Just keep experimenting and find what suits you.

 

[FatDragon]

What hop? I like 1 oz something high in alpha acid like centennial at 60. Then a good flavor hop at like 1.5 oz at 15 min. Then aroma of like 1 oz at 5 min. My favorite is cascade, but that's just me. Then a dry hop of 1.5-2 oz for a couple of days before kegging. Then it peaks well at week 4-10 in the keg before the flavor really fades. Before that can be overwhelming for myself personally. Hop flavors are very subjective, hench why there are so many kinds of ipas out there. Just keep experimenting and find what suits you.

Sorry - it's all Mosaic. No certainty on AA% - the package gave a range of something like 11.5-13.5 (could be off).

 

[TopgunTango]

Hey FatDragon.

Mosaic hops impart a lot of the same flavours and aroma certain types of yeasts do, and so their flavour and aroma might have been muddled a bit depending on what other ingredients you used.

I've had the same experience as you with Simcoe and Falconer's Flight hops. They smelled amazing coming out of primary but when came time even to bottle, most of the aromas and flavours I had going in were already gone. My local craft brewery, at the time, brewed a Simcoe ESB and it seemed to represent the same flaws. I haven't had any luck with single-hop beers, aside from with a Cascade IPA and a Citra IPA... But we all know these two varieties of hops to be polyvalent.

I've benefited a number of times from keeping a couple of bottles to see how my brews age. Some batches just need a while to settle down.