Need some help with kegged beer flavor

[hezagenius]

I brewed the extract Pliny clone from NB and I kegged it about 6 weeks ago. I added gelatin to clear it up and let it carb for 2 weeks. I had maybe 5 or 6 pints and it was OK, maybe a little green. I decided to add some maltodextrin (4oz) to give it a bit more body since it seemed a little thin to me. Then it seemed to not have much hop aroma or flavor. It never really had as much flavor as the last time I brewed it. Not sure why. So I decided to add 1oz of Amarillo leaves in a bag in the hopes of adding some orange flavor. I really like those mellow citrus flavors instead of super bitter bombs in IPAs and Amarillo is one of the dry hops in the recipe on NB. The hops have been in there about 3 weeks. The flavor has mellowed a bit over the last few weeks but it still has a spicy flavor and not much orange.

Does the beer need to mellow some more? I figured 3 weeks would be plenty. Maybe I should add some other hop like Citra to get some fruitiness, but Citra wasn't part of the original recipe. Maybe some Centennial since that was also part of the dry hop recipe? Was 1oz of Amarillo too much? I feel like at some point, I will just totally screw up the beer and have to do a drain pour if I keep adding stuff after the fact, but I really want to make it drinkable. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Foosier]

At this point you may be chasing a target you cannot hit. The dry hops and malto will change the hop character and body, but most of the flavor profile is locked in after fermentation. Unless it is undrinkable, I'd opt to drink what you have and plan for a new batch later.

One other thought.... If you want to experiment with additions, you might want to test your additions in a smaller volume (a glass or a growler) before you commit to adding something to the full batch.

 

[bobeer]

I don't think adding more dryhops will get the flavor you're looking for. Leaving hops in beer for a long time can cause off flavors too. I"d do a big whirlpool hop addition next time. Maybe use centennial to get a nice citrus burst. Right now, I'd just drink the beer as is and get going on the next batch.

 

[Yooper]

It sounds like the beer is at least eight weeks old? Not only does gelatine strip out hops flavor and aroma, but so does aging. That is getting pretty old for an imperial IPA and unfortunately with that type of beer, time is the enemy. Dry hopping could make it more enjoyable but this beer is probably passed its peak by quite a bit.

 

[TheMilkMan]

Drink it and try again next batch. IPAs don't need to mellow and shouldn't ever be "green". They should taste at their peak immediately after they are cooled and carbed.