SOME DRY HOP ADVICE.

[mancer62]

I recently made a 40 pint Simply Pale Ale Kit (1.8kg). I added a total of 100g of cascade, amarillo & chinook. It is perfectly drinkable but to be truthful not brilliant. There's a def sharp hop taste which I'd like mellowed a bit. I used equal amount of the hops 33g each and am wondering should I adjust this? Which hop would u put less of in and which hop is it more likely to be the sharp overpowering one (chinook?).....I have 33g of each left and again another Simply Pale Ale kit.

I also have a Simply Stout kit....would any of these hops be ok to add if so amount?
If not what hops are suitable for stouts kits and also amount to use in 40 pints? Ty

 

[Twostage]

Hop flavour mellows over time so the sharpness you are describing should get better. So time is your friend (I know patience is hard when you’ve made a beer).

Difficult to give specific advice over which one could be overpowering as one person’s sharp is another’s dull.

Might be worth googling some stout recipes and see what hop combinations and quantities are like.

 

[Stu]

I recently made a 40 pint Simply Pale Ale Kit (1.8kg). I added a total of 100g of cascade, amarillo & chinook. It is perfectly drinkable but to be truthful not brilliant. There's a def sharp hop taste which I'd like mellowed a bit. I used equal amount of the hops 33g each and am wondering should I adjust this? Which hop would u put less of in and which hop is it more likely to be the sharp overpowering one (chinook?).....I have 33g of each left and again another Simply Pale Ale kit.

I also have a Simply Stout kit....would any of these hops be ok to add if so amount?
If not what hops are suitable for stouts kits and also amount to use in 40 pints? Ty

I have a NEIPA at the moment (in signature) which is ridiculously bitter at the moment - I've probably overhopped it.
I'll just keep trying it every week or two until it settles - and it will.

I made one before that eventually became very bland because I couldn't drink it quick enough!

 

[Hoppy]

How long did you dry hop for? This is the key. With dry hopping cold you only really extract linalool and myrcene in the first 24 hours, this does not increase over time, even a week. In fact it will start to diminish as other extracted components increase (4MMP etc). This is usually after 2 days. Any longer, you will then start to extract polyphenols (or if you agitate, earlier) this will increase your perceived bitterness.

 

[The Baron]

I do not dry hop for more than 2 days as the consensus is that the extraction is more or less done in that time and leaving them in longer may cause extraction of tastes not desirable.
I would make a guess that Chinook will give more harshness than the other 2 hops you have added from my experience

 

[Hoppy]

Amarillo is is very high in myrcene, around 70%, Cascade around 50% and Chinook about 40%. Myrcene has also the lowest threshold of around 13ppb. Others such a Humulene & caryophyllene, isomers of each other shouldn't be discounted either. These are higher in all 3 mentioned, and, I combination with myrcene, will give the notes, of raw hop you describe.
The key take away is to dry hop when there is still yeast activity, or simply reduce the additions.

 

[Agentgonzo]

You can do very small testing batches on the level of a single bottle at a time when experimenting with dry hops. You can either use your existing pale ale, or I've done this with 'simple' beers like plainish lagers so that you can taste the hops.

You can either do it in the bottle, or make up a hop tea.

Do it in the bottle (probably your homebrew):

• When bottling, chuck in a few T90 pellets of one hop variety into one bottle. Label it with which variety. Do the same with a different bottle and a different variety.
• If you're bottle conditioning, do this when packaging from your fermenter. If you're past this point, open a bottle, chuck the hops in and quickly re-seal (swing-tops are ideal for this). It may erupt, but that's OK if you get the cap on quick enough (do it in the sink). If it erupts, it'll push all oxygen out of the bottle, so oxidisation shouldn't be an issue.
• Leave for a few days, then fridge to let the hops drop to the bottom as much as possible
• Open both bottles, pour into labelled glasses leaving sludge behind. Taste the difference, then begin 'blending' the beers in something small like a sherry glass (you'll need multiple small/sherry/shot glasses). I normally go with 50:50 mix, 25:75, 33:67, 67:33 and 75:25 blends. After that, you're just chaising rainbows. Label everything, taste them all and see which one you prefer.

If you want to do it with a simple/plain lager, do the same as above, but instead of chucking the hops in the bottle, make a simple hop tea for about an hour (make it strong!), then blend the hop tea with the lager in small shot/sherry glasses as above to decide what you prefer.

 

[JockyBrewer]

I recently made a 40 pint Simply Pale Ale Kit (1.8kg). I added a total of 100g of cascade, amarillo & chinook. It is perfectly drinkable but to be truthful not brilliant. There's a def sharp hop taste which I'd like mellowed a bit. I used equal amount of the hops 33g each and am wondering should I adjust this? Which hop would u put less of in and which hop is it more likely to be the sharp overpowering one (chinook?).....I have 33g of each left and again another Simply Pale Ale kit.

I also have a Simply Stout kit....would any of these hops be ok to add if so amount?
If not what hops are suitable for stouts kits and also amount to use in 40 pints? Ty

I find Chinook at bit harsh used as a late/dry hop. A bit is ok, but too much is unpleasant. It does fade in time though.

Are you drinking from a keg, or is it bottled? Sometimes the harsher hop matter drops out with a little time, so you'll either find that it's not picked up in the keg any more or you just need to pour bottles carefully.

 

[Twostage]

You can do very small testing batches on the level of a single bottle at a time when experimenting with dry hops. You can either use your existing pale ale, or I've done this with 'simple' beers like plainish lagers so that you can taste the hops.

You can either do it in the bottle, or make up a hop tea.

Do it in the bottle (probably your homebrew):

• When bottling, chuck in a few T90 pellets of one hop variety into one bottle. Label it with which variety. Do the same with a different bottle and a different variety.
• If you're bottle conditioning, do this when packaging from your fermenter. If you're past this point, open a bottle, chuck the hops in and quickly re-seal (swing-tops are ideal for this). It may erupt, but that's OK if you get the cap on quick enough (do it in the sink). If it erupts, it'll push all oxygen out of the bottle, so oxidisation shouldn't be an issue.
• Leave for a few days, then fridge to let the hops drop to the bottom as much as possible
• Open both bottles, pour into labelled glasses leaving sludge behind. Taste the difference, then begin 'blending' the beers in something small like a sherry glass (you'll need multiple small/sherry/shot glasses). I normally go with 50:50 mix, 25:75, 33:67, 67:33 and 75:25 blends. After that, you're just chaising rainbows. Label everything, taste them all and see which one you prefer.

If you want to do it with a simple/plain lager, do the same as above, but instead of chucking the hops in the bottle, make a simple hop tea for about an hour (make it strong!), then blend the hop tea with the lager in small shot/sherry glasses as above to decide what you prefer.

I like this.

I suppose with either method you are not restricted to using your own lager. Something cheap and bland (insert your favourite here) would do.

 

[Agentgonzo]

I like this.

I suppose with either method you are not restricted to using your own lager. Something cheap and bland (insert your favourite here) would do.

Absolutely - you can use whatever you have to hand. Just use something you can taste the hops through. No point in using a stout!