Beer Forum

I brewed my very first extract recipe - a super hoppy Green Flash clone. The hop bill was intense (and expensive). Dry-hopped for two weeks and almost none of that fresh hop aroma. Added another ounce for a few days to liven it up and bottled today. Very tasty, although not as I remember GF to be. Very bitter, a little fruity with almost no hop aroma.

I know a number of things that I *#!*ed up - didn't cool the wort quickly enough, pitched and fermented way too hot (high 70s the whole time), drank too many beers while brewing...

Is there anything else that I could have done that might have killed that bright, citrusy hop aroma (besides being a rank amateur with cheap equipment and no experience...)?

Thanks!

Was this your very first brew? There could be a lot of reasons why you don't have any hop aroma. I would bet that it's numerous things. If you fermented high the you also produced a shit load of flavors and hot boozyness that would get in the way of fresh hop aroma. If you have a nice clean healthy fermentation those hops should come through. If this is your first batch don't worry about it. It will take many batches to get better results. Don't let this discourage you because nothing good ever comes easy.

Keep at it and don't get discouraged. One of the best things to do is brew again and you know you already have a second chance for something better made in the fermenter.

Keep listening to the BN and you will find your hop aroma!

High fermentation temperatures will drive off hop aromas. Getting your fermentation temperatures under control will go a long way towards improving your beer. You don't need a fermentation fridge with the fancy electronic temperature control. Something as simple as setting the fermenter in a tub of water and draped with a t-shirt to wick up the water so that evaporation will cool it down a few degrees. The next degree fancier than that is to have a fan blowing on it to and perhaps getting a bunch of frozen water bottles that you can stick in the water and trade out when the ice melts.

In the meantime, drink up what you have and try again. Good luck!

Wayne

If you haven't already, I would also recommend going back in the archives on the Session and listening to Nathan Smith's Double IPA show from 7/6/08. Even if you aren't brewing a double, there is a lot of good info in that show. He also has a show on dry hopping from September 2009 I think. I can't remember the particulars of that show, but I'd guess it doesn't suck much. Some of the Vinnie shows also have some good hop info. From the "for what it's worth department," in my personal opinion I agree with the advice above. If you can get your ferment down to a stable temp in the upper 60s, it'll go a long way to better beer and more hop aroma.
Neil