Losing hop aroma after dry hopping/kegging

[The Giant]

Howdy All

Just tapped a Pug IPA keg on the weekend that I kegged a week ago. However really disappointed with the amount of hop aroma coming through to the glass.

I've had this the last few kegs and I was curious if anyone had any tips.

At the time of kegging the aroma was fantastic and was super excited to try this but come pouring one I was getting next to no aroma.

My normal process is to dry hop for 5 days whilst cold conditioning at around 1 degree. When kegging I use an old stocking to filter out any hop trub to ensure no hop particles make the keg.

Both last couple of kegs I dry hopped with 90g and the aroma in the fermenter at the time of kegging was great but nothing in the glass.

Any suggestions? What am I doing wrong or am I just immune to hop aroma now with so many hoppy beers out there?

 

[razz]

Hey The Giant. I think your problem is your cold conditioning and dry hopping at the same time and your not getting the hop profile you want. My preffered profile is drop temp to 14 degrees, rack off as much yeast as possible and then dry hop for 3-5 days. after that time cold condition to clear the beer before kegging. I'm unsure where I got the 14 degrees rest temp from, I think it was Matt Bryndelson from Firestone Walker brewery in the US. (a podcast maybe)
I just did this with an IPA I kegged four weeks ago and I'm quite happy with the beer. Mind you i think some hops will do better than others as far as aroma goes.

 

[Danscraftbeer]

Its the answer to my quest for hop aromatic beer as well. Sometimes its just an age conditioning thing. I can drink my beer at 8 days from grain to brain pressure fermented now. I can serve a glass of self carbonated beer pre transfer. With only late boil, whirlpool Hop additions for aroma etc. Sometimes I crack it and get a good one that lasts in Aroma. Sometimes the aroma dissapears. Still trying to find the pattern.
I keg. If I dry hop (or wet hop) only in the keg. Sometimes it gets to sit around at room temp sometimes straight into the fridge for serving. The keg that sits around in room temp for days is usually better. I sometimes remove the hop sock only to smell lots of aroma still in the hops. So sometimes leave the sock in until keg is empty.
Sometimes I've overdone the hops and it gives the beer a bad flavour until its cold conditioned on tap for a month. Then its crystal clear and all off flavours that can be dominant seem to drop out revealing the properly conditioned beer that you really designed.

So in a nutshell. New/green beer can be the preview. Going through the conditioning phases can seem to throw characters haywire for a while. Age conditioning may be the answer. I prefer to leave the hop sock in the keg because all I smell when I pull it out is the smell I wanted in the beer!

Its so confusing. :chug:

 

[Coodgee]

The glass can make a big difference to hop aroma perception in my experience. Like many people i have those fancy IPA glasses but in my opinion they don't really promote great hop aroma. My hefe glasses are much better. Give one of them a try. Other than that, dry hopping cold tends to promote more grassy, vegetative flavors at the expense of the nice aroma and flavor from my experience.

 

[Frothy1]

Any suggestions? What am I doing wrong or am I just immune to hop aroma now with so many hoppy beers out there?

I fear the same thing being a hop lover and I'm pretty sure I have Galaxy to blame.
Try savoring a plain biscuit like a Salada first and then have a sip and sniff.

Also, I dry hop for 3 to 5 days at yeast ferment temperatures and I throw them in when I've almost hit my FG. This has worked best for me and my system.
I think that dry hopping is better at warmer temps as it releases more of the hop oils but I've read that some people have good results dry hopping in cold temps.

I avoid any clearing agents like gelatin because I'm convinced it strips flavor and aroma.
Hop aroma dissipates with age too, if I've spent the dollars on hops for aroma, fresh is best.

 

[Dae Tripper]

Buy these http://www.victoriasbasement.com.au/Product/Details/88475?category=

They are awesome for aroma which you should have heaps of and try serving at slightly warmer temperatures.

 

[JDW81]

I fear the same thing being a hop lover and I'm pretty sure I have Galaxy to blame.

I don't think galaxy is the culprit, that is a beautiful dry hop and the staple of my two house beers!

 

[Belgrave Brewer]

I'm also looking to improve hop aroma. From what I've recently read, both oxygen and yeast activity can scrub aroma.

Have you tried:
Dry hopping in secondary after racking beer off the yeast?
Purging secondary fermenter and keg with CO2 before racking?

I'm following this thread and hope some good advice comes.

 

[Dave70]

Some varieties of hops must be better for dry hop applications than others. I'll bet this is the same of deal as you sometimes find with equivalent AA level hops giving off way different levels of perceived bitterness. The secret is surely in the balance between myrcene, humulene and caryophyllene (granted these may vary from harvest to harvest) Not to mention the malt profile and the pH of the beer itself. You can bet also a whole bunch of fresh citra flowers ripped straight from the bine and stired through will do more for the beer than some pellets sitting round in the fridge for a month.
Then onto others like the beer temp, age and shape of the glass. Getting great hop aroma shouldn't be a hit or miss affair when you think about it any more than consistently hitting your OG numbers.
If I were better at chemistry, research, knew how to use a gas chromatography and Windows 7 Exel I'd make up a graph. Probably.

 

[pcmfisher]

I have found that not so much a full keg but the less beer in a keg, the more the hop flavor/aroma disappears.

Now whether you just get use to it and therefore can't taste it or it does actually dissipate, I don't know.

My answer is to dangle a stainless hop ball full of hops down to the bottom by the pick up tube.
Makes for a little cloudiness, but you have taste.

 

[The Giant]

Thanks all. I've got the fancy glasses but imo makes jack all difference.

It's certainly not an age thing given my keg was a week old.

I think a few are definitely on the right track re temp that u dry hop at. I've just always been reluctant to dry hop for more than 5 days to avoid grassiness.

Maybe secondary racking and then bringing up the temp to dry hop may be the way to go?

Tempted to get one of those tea balls to dry hop in the keg but may lead to grassiness.

My home brew store recommend dry hopping on day 5 of ferment but I would have thought this would lead to a loss of aroma and again limit the he time I can cold condition to avoid grassiness.

Interesting to see I'm not alone