Why doesn't the hop character of my beers taste the same as commercial beers

[masonsjax]

I would consider getting a smaller jug to dry hop in. Hop oils are hydrophobic and will move out into the headspace. Also everytime you take a sample or open the top those oils are flying out.

That's not how it works, oils don't fly. They can oxidize which breaks them down and they do slowly lose their aromatic properties, but the oil isn't sitting at the top of your wort, giving each other a boost to jump out of the carboy when you pull the airlock.

 

[kpr121]

Kegging is in my future however i have not yet obtained the necessary equipment

With all of your answers to our questions, I do not see how you arent getting the hop aroma you strive for. Kegging may be an answer to a lot of questions, but you still should be getting good results with what you are doing.

A few other possible issues and things you could test:

Have you had another discerning craft beer drinker try your HB? Do they feel that the hops are lacking as well?

Maybe you have a sensitivity to the sulfates you are adding? I go back to my previous suggestion to try a 1 gallon RO water with dry or liquid extract only, no salt additions, and the same hopping schedule as one you've done before.

I would be equally frustrated if I were in your shoes.

 

[Backslide]

Whoa. So that would be 7.5oz for a 5 gal batch?

I don't know anything about the science involved, but I imagine at some point you'd be running into diminishing returns. Did you work your way up to that amount or did you start at that high of a number? I would think that you could cut that back a bit and still achieve pretty much the same results.

I had a similar issue with lack of aroma in my ipa's. I started at 3/4oz and settled on ~ 1.5oz a gal (sometimes less depending on hops) sometimes I even keg hop on top of this

 

[Backslide]

Just wanted to ad that the 1.5oz per gal is only for IPA's. Hell they're ment to be over the top right? Lol

 

[mdbrewer1]

Just wanted to ad that the 1.5oz per gal is only for IPA's. Hell they're ment to be over the top right? Lol

The beauty of being your own boss, so to speak.

Perhaps there are some other factors in play that might be causing you to have to load up like that. I've never seen numbers that high for a single dry hop. Water chemistry is one factor that is often cited as improving hop flavor/aroma, and I read recently that dry hopping in the 70s can help as well.

 

[GarageDweller]

if you are using a 2nd-ary: cold crash, transfer, then dry hop. If you are kegging: cold crash, then dry hop in the keg, at room temp (if possible).
my 2cents.

 

[WayFrae]

I think you should start getting RO water and adding CaCl and Gypsum. It is amazing the effect those two salts have on your beer.

EDIT: I just realized that this thread has 7 pages and I only read the first page. Whoops!

 

[grathan]

That's not how it works, oils don't fly. They can oxidize which breaks them down and they do slowly lose their aromatic properties, but the oil isn't sitting at the top of your wort, giving each other a boost to jump out of the carboy when you pull the airlock.

That's interesting and no doubt that hop oil oxidizes. But most of the chemicals that give beer aroma/flavor are indeed hydrophobic. So if you had a hop flavor chemical that is practically insoluble, and less dense than water, where does it sit? I've heard Charles Bamford mention a significant amount of hop aroma is lost in the bottle cap itself of the beer because it climbed up out of the beer and into the lining.






To the OP:

Also check your serving temperature. If your in the 30's you shouldn't expect hop flavor and should aim for upper 40's or more suitable for flavor into the 50s.


More thoughts about essential oil degradation that you don't see mentioned much. The use of copper immersion chillers (or perhaps a home with newer copper water lines) and also aeration of the wort could be looked at. Instead of using 1056, dry dry yeast safale s-05 with no aeration one time.

 

[TheMilkMan]

For what it's worth: I've never had success with whole leaf hops and dry hopping. They just float on top and don't get saturated. I always dry hop with 3oz or more of pellets and dump them straight into the primary fermenter. Doesn't need more than 3 days. Since I started doing that I've gotten the commercial beer punch in the face aroma. Again, just my experience.

 

[riderkb]

For what it's worth: I've never had success with whole leaf hops and dry hopping. They just float on top and don't get saturated. I always dry hop with 3oz or more of pellets and dump them straight into the primary fermenter. Doesn't need more than 3 days. Since I started doing that I've gotten the commercial beer punch in the face aroma. Again, just my experience.

How do you keep the pellet gunk from getting sucked up in the siphon when you rack into the keg?

 

[TheMilkMan]

How do you keep the pellet gunk from getting sucked up in the siphon when you rack into the keg?

1. It mostly falls to the bottom after ~2 days.

2. I cold crash for a little bit(1-3 days depending on clearness of beer with regular flashlight, this is mostly for yeast but also works for hops a little bit.)

3. I move the carboy(on top of the chest freezer), swirling a little to agitate the top(where the hops are, because they float a little to top) and let it sit for 20 minutes(for everything to settle to the bottom).

4. Stick the siphon in, pump, then lower until I see gunk coming through the tube, the raise 1/2 inch from bottom. When it's almost done, I tip the carboy a little to move the beer to one side and try to keep the siphon going.

I get 95% of the beer into the keg this way.

Make sense? Sorry if any confusion, tequila EL MAYOR is pretty good.

 

[johnsoncurt1980]

Update a couple years later.... I was frustrated with the quality of my hoppy beers and quit for a few years. I wasn’t going to do it until I had the equipment for kegging. I do now and have made 4 batches. 2 of them showcasing hops that we’re from using old grains and hops. They turned out so good. Amazing what the keg did for me. If anyone out there is looking for more from their pale ales, ipas, iipa etc and are still bottling, look to the keg. It’s the only thing I changed. Wow.