Loss of hop flavour after bottling

[Sachibachi]

Hi,

So I cracked open a bottle of a batch of pale ale I bottled 6 days ago. Carbonation was good, but it seemed to have lost all the hop aromas and flavors. They were never that strong in the first place, but before bottling it had a nice subtle flavour which now seems completely lost, especially as I had dry hopped with an ounce of cascade. Instead it seems to have taken on a stronger, not particularly nice, malt taste. Any ideas what would cause this? I know that one should wait around 2 weeks for bottling, so should I expect those flavours to come back?

This is my recipe:

- 6.6lbs pale LME
- 0.5lbs crystal 60
- 0.75oz EKF @5% 60min
- 1.7oz EKF @5% 25min
- 0.75oz cascade @7% 10min
- dry hop 1oz cascade 7 days
- 1 pkt US-04.

 

[Sachibachi]

Hi,

So I cracked open a bottle of a batch of pale ale I bottled 6 days ago. Carbonation was good, but it seemed to have lost all the hop aromas and flavors. They were never that strong in the first place, but before bottling it had a nice subtle flavour which now seems completely lost, especially as I had dry hopped with an ounce of cascade. Instead it seems to have taken on a stronger, not particularly nice, malt taste. Any ideas what would cause this? I know that one should wait around 2 weeks for bottling, so should I expect those flavours to come back?

This is my recipe:

- 6.6lbs pale LME
- 0.5lbs crystal 60
- 0.75oz EKF @5% 60min
- 1.7oz EKF @5% 25min
- 0.75oz cascade @7% 10min
- dry hop 1oz cascade 7 days
- 1 pkt US-04.

and the recipe should read "EKG" for East Kent Golding, not EKF!

 

[MadHomebrewer]

I believe you should adjust your hop additions. You need more late additions. Your 60 and dry hop are good, but then I would go 1oz @ 15min, 5 and flameout.

 

[shortyz]

just like posted before, more flameout hops.

 

[mrgrimm101]

I agree with the above posts. You will get some flavor and aroma from the 10 minute addition, but to really bring out the hop flavor/aroma you're going to need more late hop additions.. I would have done an additional ounce at 5 minutes and another at flameout. You could even have dry hopped with more than 1 oz.

 

[Sachibachi]

Ah ok so it's a problem with the recipe, that makes sense.

Nevertheless I feel that there was more hop flavour after the boil and out of the fermenter than in the bottle. I was wondering if as a general rule fermenting and carbonation reduced hop aromas a little and if therefore it's a good use to "overshoot" the hop flavours a little during boil?

 

[mrgrimm101]

Hop aromas and flavors are one of the first things to diminish. Compare a fresh IPA with one that's a month old..2 months..3 months.. the longer in bottle, the more diminished the hop flavor/aroma. Your recipe didn't have much for aroma hops as it was. I would think it would last longer than 6 days, but I can't say for certain in your situation.

Edit
Next time, I would do 0.5 oz Cascade at 10 min, 0.5 oz at 5 min, and 1 oz at flameout. Increase dry hops to 2-3 oz. You may even want whole ounces at the 10 min and 5 min additions.

 

[Nagorg]

Agree with MrGrimm... Do increase your dry hop as well. I know it seems like a lot of hops but it's what it takes to get the effect you are looking for. Also, extract brewing tends to require a bit more hops in the boil than all grain.