The case of the disapearing aroma....

[trailrunner13]

Wow. Kinda bummed here. I recently brewed this IPA recipe below taht I came up with. A slight variation on Jai Alai. Everything went great. Sat in primary for a week or so, and then I dry hopped the 1.5 ounces of citra. That sat for about 7 or 8 days, a little longer than I wanted, but I couldn't bottle for family obligations.

Bottled and sat to carbonate. After 1 week I couldn't wait, so I cracked one and poured it up. Oh my goodness. The hop aroma was amazing. Even my wife, who isn't an IPA fan, said it was the best smelling beer she has ever ran across. Carbonation was probably about 75% done, but it tasted pretty good too. Maybe slightly more bitter than I wanted, but i can fix that.

Fast forward to last night, 2 weeks after bottling. Cracked one open and poured it up. Went to get a big, deep inhale....nothing. Almost no aroma at all. Even my wife asked if this was the same beer. Had 1 more last night and the same thing, hardly no aroma.

What happened? I truly have no idea.


HOME BREW RECIPE:
Title: Charlie One
Author: Jonah

Brew Method: Partial Mash
Style Name: American IPA
Boil Time: 60 min
Batch Size: 5 gallons (fermentor volume)
Boil Size: 3 gallons
Boil Gravity: 1.118
Efficiency: 70% (brew house)

STATS:
Original Gravity: 1.071
Final Gravity: 1.017
ABV (standard): 7.13%
IBU (tinseth): 72.91
SRM (morey): 7.24

FERMENTABLES:
5.5 lb - Dry Malt Extract - Extra Light (52.4%)
3 lb - American - Pale 2-Row (28.6%)
1 lb - American - Munich - Light 10L (9.5%)
0.5 lb - American - Caramel / Crystal 40L (4.8%)
0.5 lb - American - Carapils (Dextrine Malt) (4.8%)

HOPS:
1 oz - Ahtanum, Type: Pellet, AA: 6, Use: Boil for 60 min, IBU: 12.33
0.5 oz - Centennial, Type: Pellet, AA: 10, Use: Boil for 60 min, IBU: 10.28
0.5 oz - Columbus, Type: Pellet, AA: 15, Use: Boil for 60 min, IBU: 15.41
0.5 oz - Amarillo, Type: Pellet, AA: 8.6, Use: Boil for 30 min, IBU: 6.79
0.5 oz - Columbus, Type: Pellet, AA: 15, Use: Boil for 30 min, IBU: 11.85
1 oz - Cascade, Type: Pellet, AA: 7, Use: Boil for 15 min, IBU: 7.14
0.5 oz - Centennial, Type: Pellet, AA: 10, Use: Boil for 15 min, IBU: 5.1
0.5 oz - Amarillo, Type: Pellet, AA: 8.6, Use: Boil for 5 min, IBU: 1.76
0.5 oz - Citra, Type: Pellet, AA: 11, Use: Boil for 5 min, IBU: 2.25
1.5 oz - Citra, Type: Pellet, AA: 11, Use: Dry Hop for 5 days

MASH GUIDELINES:
1) Infusion, Temp: 152 F, Time: 60 min, Amount: 6 qt

YEAST:
White Labs - California Ale Yeast WLP001
Starter: No
Form: Liquid
Attenuation (avg): 76.5%
Flocculation: Medium
Optimum Temp: 68 - 73 F
Fermentation Temp: 70 F
Pitch Rate: 0.35 (M cells / ml / deg P)

 

[Sailingeric]

I believe hop aroma will start to fade. I had something similar.. a citra ale I did as my first experiment with the citra hop. In my case I thought the aroma was way to strong but after a few weeks it faded and after a month the beer has aroma and hoppiness has mellowed to what I was shooting for.

 

[Psylocide]

Just my opinion, but I use 1.5 oz - 2 oz to dry hop pales, I would use at least 3 for an IPA for just this reason. I also do a hopstand with 2+ oz, which seems to work really well for lasting aroma.

 

[Jayhem]

Hop aroma does fade. With my IPA's I never refrigerate till I'm ready to drink them so if you keg plan to drink it fast!

One thing that does seem to help is to cold crash the beer to settle as much protein as possible BEFORE dry hopping because the hop aroma binds to the protein particles which then settle out as the beer ages. Also I would never dry hop an IPA with less than 2 oz/5 gallons, usually I do 3oz.

 

[pablosbrewing]

I also do a hopstand with 2+ oz, which seems to work really well for lasting aroma.

^ This.

Consider moving the 15 min and 5 min hops to flameout or even a few minutes after that, and whirlpool for 30-60 minutes before cooling.

You still get some IBU contribution above ~175F, so some brewers move the 30 min hops to the whirlpool as well - just add more

 

[trailrunner13]

Thanks for the help guys. I'll change up the last 15 minute hop additions and dry hopping. I was hoping for the aroma to last a little longer than a week though. Hopefully, these changes will help on the next batch!

 

[Ski12568]

If you used them, I hear cold crashing and gelatin can cause aroma problems too.

 

[sky4meplease]

I would let fermentation go for a minimum of two weeks and nothing wrong with three prior to dry hopping.
No science to back it up but if there is still yeast doing clean up stuff in your bottles then your dry hopped aroma may suffer in the short term as a result.
The yeast are gonna do what they do to your kettle additions but you can make sure they are done working before you dry hop and one week may not be enough for that.
Or drink faster.

 

[unionrdr]

The boil additions at say, 20 minutes down to about 8 1/2 minutes are for flavor. 5 minutes or less for aroma in the boil. I generally dry hop IPA's for a week with some 3 1.2ozs of hops. But only after the beer in primary has settled out clear or slightly misty. The hop oils will cling to settling yeast/trub & go to the bottom if the beer is still cloudy when dry hops are added.

 

[sandyeggoxj]

I would let fermentation go for a minimum of two weeks and nothing wrong with three prior to dry hopping.
No science to back it up but if there is still yeast doing clean up stuff in your bottles then your dry hopped aroma may suffer in the short term as a result.
The yeast are gonna do what they do to your kettle additions but you can make sure they are done working before you dry hop and one week may not be enough for that.
Or drink faster.

3 weeks???

Don't do this. I brew hoppy beer at least once a month, every other brew, and I'm usually at terminal gravity by day 7 or 8 and I start dry hopping.

For a hoppy beer I would dry hop at a rate of 1-1.25#/bbl. For a 5-6 gallon batch that means 3 Oz is the low end. I like multiple additions and so do the brew master Vinnie and Matt. And they make great beer. I like to do a out a third of my hops for 3 days and then the rest for 4 days. Almost all the aroma is extracted in the first 24 hour. There is no sense of going for a week or more. You just risk extracting those grassy flavors

When selecting dry hops look for a high total oil content and a high myrcene content. I would also recommend keeping the beer cold after you carbonate it. The cold temperature will reduce the rate at which things will oxidize And degrade flavor and aroma.

 

[Smellyglove]

Did you store your bottles cold? Temperature has a big impact on those hoppy ones. So has Oxygen, combined they can just destroy a nice hoppy beer. The best for a hop-forward beer I think would be to fast carb it at a higher than normal temperature and as soon as it's carbed up drop everything you've got in your hands and shove the bottles in the fridge. Even the cap absorbs hop aroma, but I don't belive it's that much, allthough I really don't know anything about caps.
And, did you drink from the same type of glass? A wide-mouth glass doesn't really help on hop aroma.

 

[sky4meplease]

Yes three weeks.
I'm my opinion letting the beer sit at terminal for an extra week is better than dry hopping early and risk the less flocculant yeast dragging your hop aroma to the bottom of the fermentation vessel as unionrdr stated.
Most yeast at proper temps can do this in two weeks but other less flocculant yeast may need the extra time to settle.
Maybe that's why people are dumping extra dry hops in for aroma to make up for the lack in patience.
Just my opinion certainly not gospel.

 

[Smellyglove]

But OP stated that the first bottle he had was great. So hop aroma did make it to the bottles.

 

[unionrdr]

It was my belief that extra dry hops not only added more aroma, but would last longer in properly sealed bottles. Not always true, but good while it lasts. I also broke down & bought some colored caps, which are the "regular" ones. I've been using o2 barrier caps, so we'll see if there's any difference between them, other than longevity.

 

[Smellyglove]

Well, as we all know we need sealed bottles

But the o2-barrier in caps is just one step towards containing the aroma. The worst enemies of a fresh IPA are oxygen, heat and light. If you really try to eliminate these three things, you'll end up with a product which has much better chances of survival.

I went from normal bottle filling/carbing (open bottle + racking cane), to kegging in a closed loop where I don't induce more oxygen than what is present in the system, and then counter pressure fill bottles from a keg and I must say that my hoppy beers has a way longer "shelf"-life after this. I store all my bottles at 35F and even "old" IPA's which have been sitting around for 2-3 weeks feels quite fresh comparing to the old technique I used.

 

[unionrdr]

If I stored beer in a 42F fridge they freeze over time, let alone a 35F one. I'd store'em in our cold basement if it weren't nasty down there. I keep'em in the dark, but no cool place other than kitchen fridge. So if you're in a situation like mine, try getting the basement cleaned out of any nasty stuff & stor'em down there after carbing/conditioning.

 

[Smellyglove]

How can they freeze if stored above the freezing point of water?

 

[unionrdr]

Some spots in the fridge are colder than others, especially over time. The middle shelf towards the back in mine can get them slushy ro frosty given time @ 42F for some reason. The cold in those spots builds up & things can freeze or partly so. And mine has external settings panel too.

 

[sky4meplease]

In Stan Hieronymus's For The Love of Hops it reads that "Myrcene accounts for more than half of the oils in many American hops and little will survive boiling and fermentation". "That is why it must be introduced post-fermentation, usually by dry hopping".
This is why I would not hesitate to let fermentation go a little longer and get the temps up to promote a strong finish and clean up prior to dry hopping. I agree that the bulk of fermentation is complete by day seven but there is still a lot going on in the fermenter.
Try your recipe again and wait another week or two before dry hopping and see if it helps. I just finished an IPA that I brewed the end of August last year and while it didn't have all of the aroma it did back then, it still had some. I'm gonna miss that beer.