Dry hopping leaves taste like chewing the pellets

[2cranky]

I just chuck'em in loose after 72 hours - this is when a start raising temp from 18 to 22. So after 3 or 4 days I'll cold crash to 5 then gel. and crash again to 2 for 24 hours.
so probably around 5 or 6 days from DH to keg.
my IPAs are dry hopped between 125 and 185 for a 19 litre batch.
no off flavours - unless you class delicious as one

 

[hirschb]

Reports I've seen described said flavours after 7 - 14 days, not 4. I'd say many brewers here dry hop for four days without a care in the world, and there's a reason for that.

Yeah, for most beers, you're 100% right. However, for super hoppy beers using certain hop varietals, reports of grassy off-flavors within a few days are not uncommon. Given his initial complaint (grassy flavor), the most likely culprit is dry hopping time. I'm not saying everyone should do 48hr dry hopping, but in this case, it'd be the first thing I'd try to troubleshoot the off-flavor.

 

[Bougie!st]

I must say, I really like how keen everyone is to help out on this forum. Thanks for all the discussion!

Re the FG - it was 1.010, bang on my expected.

There are a few ideas on here I can try, and I can use that recipe to see how it goes. Maybe make it a split batch next few times and try time/amount/timing/etc

The reason I do a 4 day dry hop was because I was getting those grassy flavours with a longer period. It literally had notes of tasting like chewing on grass. This is different though. It is that pungent, chewy flavour, maybe some bitterness (but that is not the word, and its not astringency), like munching on the hop pellet. I did four days so that I had 2 days of dry hop at the warmer temps, then straight into cold crash for clarity and to drop the hop material out. I often taste brews on the way through so I can understand what's going on - I've picked up this flavour from after a single day. Part of why I do the testing is so that I can also make adjustments on the fly. I found out that dry hopping with nelson sauvin tastes like burnt rubber to me, so was able to pull it out of a previous batch before it totally ruined it (when I was using hop socks)

 

[2cranky]

Burnt rubber? That's a bit different.
It's not your water is it?

 

[Bougie!st]

Burnt rubber? That's a bit different.
It's not your water is it?

I doubt it - only ever got that flavour with NS. I use metabisulfite, and am guided by Bru'n water using the water company reports. That particular beer tasted great with NS and mosaic together through the boil. It was when I dry hopped with them both (30g each) that it went horrible. I took the NS out after 3 days (and the original mosaic) and put in another 30g mosaic which balanced the flavour a lot more. Settled with time but never totally went away. I've found that description of NS dry hop as diesel/burnt rubber on other forums. It's like simcoe - I never get the cat pee that others get

 

[2cranky]

I haven't been brewing long and I'm yet to experience any bad flavours. It's weird I've checked through a few of my recipes and I've used the same hops as you, but not in the same combination.
I don't carb my dry hops though.
Ive just done a second batch of a loose Brew Dogs Punk clone that is heavily dry hopped 185g and uses nelson, Amarillo, simcoe and a few others. No grassy or burnt rubber in the last batch. I'll let you know how it turns out.

 

[manticle]

Just drop the dry hop out and go harder with late/aroma hopping. Then if you're not getting the aroma and flavour you like, start slowly adding in a judicious dry hop (both in terms of time and amount).

Everyone's perception is different, I personally don't go much for big dry hops but they do settle out with a bit of time.

And **** brulosophy. Waste of time. They could compare gose with Belgian quad in a blind taste test with six and a half people and probably get an insignificant result.

 

[Bridgey23]

You could make a hop tea and add to fermenter before bottling / kegging. Just leave your wort short the same amount as your hop tea 500ml, 1l for eg. Don't boil it just heat to about 60c. That way you can taste what your adding. Experiment with different strengths.

 

[Dave70]

When I began AG brewing, I recall this beer was pretty much the gold standard for double IPAs and received almost universal praise. Plenty of dry hopping, not just one, but count em, two additions. And plenty of days on those hops. Personally, once I started to get a handle on cohumulone levels in hops as it relates to harshness for example, and why one high IBU beer was delicious and the other turned your face inside out, my beers improved markedly (subjectively..). But, the secret is in the technique. And love. Of course.

https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/attachments/0000/6351/doubleIPA.pdf

 

[blink471]

If I could add my to this with limited experience. I made a beer that was my first venture into dry hopping, never bothered with it before. But it turned out fantastic... I used Mosaic, and added 20g to fermenter when I was happy it had finished and reached FG. I let it sit at ferm temp for 2 days, and then used fining and cold crashed. I kegged the other night and couldn't believe the unreal aroma the Cream Ale style beer had (I realise Cream ale style typically should have low aroma). I tasted it from keg last night and although its a bit early and not fully conditioned... I couldnt believe how fantastic it tasted. I didn't get any grassy flavours that I could pick, but the aroma from the beer is fruity. If I sound excited I am, as I cant believe I never dry hopped before, just used hops for bittering.