Hop loss

[Harbey]

Just sipping on one of my favourite brews so far - a pale ale hopped with loads of Citra, Mosaic and Cascade. It's lovely, but it's nothing compared to what it was. I brewed this on 6th April and will have bottled on 20th. It has, therefore, been in the bottle for just over 4 weeks but has already lost a lot of its character, turning into a very nice but not particularly remarkable beer.

I've noticed this a lot in my recent brews and just wondered if there was anything I could do to help preserve the initial flavour. I know hoppy beers are better fresh, but four weeks (two of which are for carbination) seems a bit too quick for it to be fading (and fading fast).

My own thoughts on this are:
. Water chemistry - other than a dabble in PH levels, I don't do anything other than add a Campden tablet.
. Bottles Vs keg - I only use bottles, would a keg be better? Perhaps reducing oxygenation?
. Storage temp - I store at room temp in dark cupboards in the kitchen. Do I need somewhere colder?
. The beer gods don't like me?

Anyone else suffer from this frustrating phenomenon?

 

[Brew_DD2]

If it is bordering on NEIPA levels of steep/whirlpool hop additions then kegging is likely to be the only solution to lengthening the time that the beer is fresh. All of my NEIPAs have gotten oxidised very quickly when bottled or minikeg-conditioned. All with minimal splashing an oxygen exposure. Maddening.

 

[dan125]

Anyone else suffer from this frustrating phenomenon?

I think we all do - although I'm regularly amazed at how well some commercial beers retain their hoppiness.
I've got not idea how water chemistry might affect this, but I think you are right to try to reduce O2 pick up as much as possible and keep storage temp as low as possible.
The other thing to consider is just using more hops, so there is more character retained after 4 weeks

 

[Harbey]

Oxygen certainly seems to be the prime suspect despite doing everything I can think of to reduce exposure. What I don't fully understand is why are the hoppy beers so susceptible to oxygen? Is it some kind of chemical reaction with hops that haven't been boiled?

 

[Hoppyland]

I think we all do

I'm not convinced that we all do. A lot of my beers (kegged or bottled) seem to keep their quality for a very long time - even if big-time hopped.
I have no really positive proof with my own beers, but my "informed guess" is that oxygen is the culprit. I use Hobbyweld 6kg CO2 cylinders, and I'm very careful to fully purge the beer on each transfer. Not quite so easy if you bottle - but again I try to keep air out as much as possible, and I do try to use oxygen-scavenging caps (although they don't seem easy to come by these days, for whatever reason).
I've just had a keek at the notes from a beer I pitched in mid-February this year, and kegged in mid-March. By mid-April, it was "very tasty". By the beginning of May it was nearly gone - but I'd said "Superb - Brew some more!" I reckon that I drank it too soon, not too late. No way had it lost it's zip!

 

[Drunkula]

I haven't tried it yet but I'm going to try a split batch with a 10ppm sulphite addition.

http://brulosophy.com/2019/02/11/po...at-packaging-has-on-beer-exbeeriment-results/

One campden tablet is enough to treat 29 litres of beer at 10ppm.

 

[Harbey]

While cold crashing with CO2 filled balloons in place of an airlock...
From the Brulosophy article mentioned above


Not tried the balloons but I only started cold crashing around Christmas time and it's the more recent brews that seem most effected. Certainly going to try not crashing the next batch (or maybe try a split batch to see if it makes a difference).

 

[Brew_DD2]

While cold crashing with CO2 filled balloons in place of an airlock...
From the Brulosophy article mentioned above


Not tried the balloons but I only started cold crashing around Christmas time and it's the more recent brews that seem most effected. Certainly going to try not crashing the next batch (or maybe try a split batch to see if it makes a difference).

I stopped cold crashing in the fermenter after reading more and more about oxygen exposure due to suck back. It was definitely a change that made a noticeable difference for me.