My 1st IPA...so many questions!

[Mase]

Good evening!

I brewed a Ranger IPA clone and dry hopped it with 2 oz whole leaf cascade. It turned out drinkable, not horrible, but after discussing with a buddy at my brew club I have some questions. Here was my process...

Extract full boil 5 gallons

Wort chiller to cool down to 72 (not as cool as I wanted and took way too long to get there, thank you Florida) after about and hour.

Aerated in FV by constant sloshing around for 5 mins straight

Pitched a 1056 yeast starter (intermittently shaken, still building a stir plate)

Fermented in a swamp cooler (water matched wort level) to 63* to 66* for 3 weeks

Added the cascade and dry hopped for 8 days then bottled, sat in bottles 3-4 weeks then fridge chilled for 3 days.

Soooo... there was a butter nose but not really a butter taste (it was to me, a little sweet though) and the hop nose I was hoping to get from the dry hop was not present.

The other problem I had was a spicy bite note like capsaeson (sp).

Here's what we came up with...

I probably dry hopped before the yeast had flocced out, destroying my hop nose (this is what I need advise on).

Also, I brewed and fermented a jalapeno saison in the same FV the IPA was in. I feel my sanitation is very good but perhaps the pepper oil somehow remained in the fermenter?

Sorry for the lengthy post, just a little perplexed and I want to make a GREAT IPA one day, not just a drinkable one.

LMK if you need anymore info. Thanks in advance!

 

[smokinj]

The butter could be diacetyl, but at those temps for 3 weeks it doesn't seem like it should be. What were your OG/FG? Are you using a plastic FV? If so it's possible that there was some lingering chili flavor in there from your previous batch. As far as the dry hop goes, it seems like after 3 weeks the yeast should have settled. Did you just dump the hops in or put them in a bag and weigh them down? I think you lose out on some infusion if they just float on top for most of the dry hop period.

 

[Sir-Hops-A-Lot]

Here is what I think... because you dry hopped it heavily, this beer will take more time to mature. I don't know your recipe but 2 ounces of dry hops can create an acidic taste that mellows beautifully over time. An IPA is meant for this heavy dry hopping but you need to let it mature in a cool place (not a cold place like your fridge) for months. Your beer, good sir, will improve greatly. Sample on a fort-nightly basis.
SHAL

 

[smokinj]

In my experience, others' may vary, a majority of the benefits of dry hopping start to fade quickly after a couple months. On IPAs I typically use at least 3 oz. for 1 week, then straight to the keg and start enjoying in the next week or two.

 

[Gregwarro]

What other hops did you use?

What was your OG?

I use cascade pellets in the Secondary because they sink leaves more junk to watch out for but the results are good.

 

[wherestheyeast]

Here is what I think... because you dry hopped it heavily, this beer will take more time to mature. I don't know your recipe but 2 ounces of dry hops can create an acidic taste that mellows beautifully over time. An IPA is meant for this heavy dry hopping but you need to let it mature in a cool place (not a cold place like your fridge) for months. Your beer, good sir, will improve greatly. Sample on a fort-nightly basis.
SHAL

"...good sir..."???

"...fort-nightly..."??!?!?!

You win a prize for that!

 

[bottlebomber]

Dry hopping with 2 ounces is not a lot in the beer world... I am enjoying a brew that took on 8. Yeah that's a little over the top but that's how it went with this one. Capturing dry hopping aromas is mysterious business. Hop freshness is critical, the hops need to be under the surface of the beer obviously. Also water chemistry and yeast choice is important too. For example, wlp029 German ale/Kölsch yeast is great for IPAs, because it produces sulfur. Sulfur really brings out hops. Try that on your next beer, and see what you think.

 

[ShinyBuddha]

As bomber said water can play a great role in getting hop flavor to shine thru. 1 tbsp of gypsum would be god if you're using filtered water. also, you might consider bumping up the hop volume. Try three ounces next time. Oh and don't let hops sit in the fermenter too long. The aroma dies down quickly.

 

[Mase]

Thanks all.

I used these steel ball contraptions that held the whole leaf hops, they floated near the top the whole time (which I was ok with because of the trub at the bottom of the primary). Perhaps next time I will rack to secondary and weigh down the hop bag/ball.

I used spring water from the grocery. I have started reading up on water chem. so perhaps I will also try a new water profile next time.

If I can remember my OG was 1.056 and FG was around 1.010

I thought 3 weeks would be plenty of time for the yeast to floc as well but perhaps I will try cold crashing before I dry hop as well.

I got the bottles aging in my den so, I'll give an update after it ages out another week or so. Thanks for the ideas.

 

[ShinyBuddha]

If you're taking about tea balls, i'm unsure of how well those would work. I'd suggest a nylon bag weighted down to give increased surface area. The other suggestions you mentioned sounded good too.

 

[hogwash]

If you're taking about tea balls, i'm unsure of how well those would work. I'd suggest a nylon bag weighted down to give increased surface area. The other suggestions you mentioned sounded good too.

Agreed here, use a bag with plenty of room for expansion and thrown in some marbles to weigh it down. You would need a pretty big ball to allow for 2 oz. of whole cone hops. The only time I've used whole hops didn't turn out too well but then I had other issues with that beer. But I have had good success with pellets & hop bags. I also try to dry hop for no longer than 6 days.

FWIW, some of those harsher flavors should smooth out over another couple weeks. I've had some IPAs that I thought were pretty good after a month in the bottle but given another couple weeks they became much smoother and tastier.