Topaz - DH harshness?

[hlmbrwng]

I (and a couple of friends) recently did a dry-hopping experiment to see what hops might go with ginger beer. After primary fermentation, we split the beer into seven different 1L canning jars. We added a single hop (0.25 oz) to each of the jars. After 12 days we got together to taste the beer.

We like some, and some were okay. There was one that we straight-up disliked...Topaz. We found that there was a bitterness/harshness. I've recently used Topaz with varying success. One DIPA turned out great and another had a similar type of harshness...back of the throat bitterness.

The canning jars were refrigerated the night before. Even before placing them in the fridge, the hops were settled at the bottom. When we sampled from the jars, we used a pipette to ensure that we did not disturbed the hops.

Has anyone experienced this with Topaz? My thought is that it is simply Topaz, but if others here have not experienced this, then perhaps it was due to hop material being in suspension. I'm definitely familiar with the roughness of a dry-hop beer that still contains hop material.

 

[thehaze]

Topaz along with other Australian/NZ hops, is one of the hops I am planning on using on a Black IPA.

This page has some tips on using the hops: http://www.hops.com.au/project/topaz/ --- they apparently shine in higher gravity beers and late additions.

I think it is worth a shot to try 8-9% IPAs with this hop. It sounds like this is the way to use it. A session/medium ABV IPA might not be the way to go with these hops.

Hop material in suspension will add some " harshness ", which should / could mellow out in time. I have experienced that with heavily dry hopped beers. ( 8 to 14 oz of hops for dry hopping )

 

[bierhaus15]

Australian hops in particular can be high in polyphenols and other bitter substances that can impart harshness or astringency, especially when used as a DH. Ways to avoid this is to limit the amount of time the DH are in contact with the beer (<4 days) and avoid over agitating or recirculating during DH. Lower temperatures can reduce this extraction, although you'll lose some flavor/aroma potential. Another tip is to reduce your target BU's, as dry hopping will add its own impression of bitterness.

 

[hlmbrwng]

Thank you, both, for the info.