10 replies to this topic

[CaptRon]

So I brewed up a very pale/creme/hoppy type ale a couple/few weeks ago. In total it had about 7oz of nothing but Cascades including a FWH and some at 5 min and some at flameout. Anyway, it's been in keg for like a week and a half now and the hop aroma and bitterness seems to be dissipating rather quickly - the aroma more than the flavor.Is that to be expected and will it reach a plateau where it will stabilize and not lose anymore?

[jayb151]

I wouldn't think so. I've had and all Cascade IPA that I hang on to for a while to see how it would taste. Months later you could still taste it a bit, but it was much more malt focused. Lucky for you, you keg. You can always throw some more in as a dry hop!

[BrewerGeorge]

How cold are you drinking it?

[CaptRon]

How cold are you drinking it?

~38 I would guess.eta: don't get me wrong it is still all up in your face with hop flavor, just seems to not be as much.

Edited by badogg, 17 June 2010 - 02:39 PM.

[Slainte]

Is that to be expected and will it reach a plateau where it will stabilize and not lose anymore?

It's expected, and it will continue to lose hop aroma and flavor as time goes on. Don't save it, drink it as fresh as possible.Most hoppy beers are best a week or two old. As time goes on hop character only fades and becomes more and more disappointing, leaving you longing for that "fresh dankness."

[Beejus McReejus]

You've killed your taste buds with humulones.

[BrewerGeorge]

...Is that to be expected and will it reach a plateau where it will stabilize and not lose anymore?

I'll disagree with Slainte a little bit. I think very, very fresh beers - especially with big doses American hops - have a distinctive taste. That's when they are the most fruity/citrusy...fresh tasting. That's when you get Cascade tasting like flat-out grapefruit juice more than beer, and the big hits of mango and passion fruit from Amarillo, the rosemary pinesol from Simcoe, etc. I'm talking really early like when you taste hydrometer samples while it's still bubbling once every couple seconds. IME that character only lasts a few weeks, such that it's difficult to experience if you have to wait for bottle conditioning. Even with kegs you have to accelerate carbing and either filter or be willing to drink more yeast than is typical. After 3 or 4 weeks, the hops stabilize into a more 'mature' flavor that is what we typically think of when we think of a given hop. This mature flavor lasts much longer, but does degrade over time as Slainte describes above. If you can capture those super-fresh flavors in a glass, though, they're pretty extraordinary.

[zymot]

The glass you drink it from matters. My two favorites are 1- the Sam Adams special bulb, lip, etched ring on the bottom whiz bang glasses and the conventional straight sided 20 oz tumbler. Some beers I find I like the straight glass over the SA glass. I never frost the glass. Dry and clean at room temp glass only.BevMo has the Sam Adams on the shelf.Perhaps none of this news to you, but it is worth mentioning. Frosted glasses kill flavor and aroma beer.zymot

[Slainte]

I'll disagree with Slainte a little bit. I think very, very fresh beers - especially with big doses American hops - have a distinctive taste. That's when they are the most fruity/citrusy...fresh tasting. That's when you get Cascade tasting like flat-out grapefruit juice more than beer, and the big hits of mango and passion fruit from Amarillo, the rosemary pinesol from Simcoe, etc. I'm talking really early like when you taste hydrometer samples while it's still bubbling once every couple seconds. IME that character only lasts a few weeks, such that it's difficult to experience if you have to wait for bottle conditioning. Even with kegs you have to accelerate carbing and either filter or be willing to drink more yeast than is typical. After 3 or 4 weeks, the hops stabilize into a more 'mature' flavor that is what we typically think of when we think of a given hop. This mature flavor lasts much longer, but does degrade over time as Slainte describes above. If you can capture those super-fresh flavors in a glass, though, they're pretty extraordinary.

I should've added that I add gelatin to all of my beers, so they're going into kegs 8-10 days after brewday brilliantly clear, so they don't have any "green beer" flavor. If you don't add finings or filter, it's very difficult to capture those super fresh flavors because you have to wait for the beer to clear out first, and by the time that happens, it's already started to fade some...

[CaptRon]

Interesting development today. I pulled a pint out of the keg, and holy shit the grapefruit flavor is all up in your business with this one. I guess there was some flavor stuff happening and now the grapefruit is really pronounced. Kind of freaky actually.

[BarelyBrews]

You've killed your taste buds with humulones.

I agree with a lot of things said about this subject,i thought this also.I have a pacific wheat beer on tap now,and a friend of mine(bud light drinker) said it had a real bite to it.I barely can detect it(he picked up the cascade hops).I do know that after drinking/making a series of IPA's my taste buds are usually gone too. I agree with George though,hops do seem to change and mature with time.