American IPA - Aroma Missing

[tworudysbrew]

Hi all - I just kegged an American IPA last week. FG was 1.008 so it was ready to keg (OG was 72). It was in the fermenter for two weeks and for the second week, I dry hopped 2oz of Cascade and 2 oz of Centennial. The aroma is just not I expected. Decent hop bite and a dry finish, but not a strong hop aroma. Kind of a bummer. Was Centennial a wrong kind for IPA? I figured you all would have some thoughts. Let me know if you need more info. Thanks - happy brewing!

[brewinhard]

First off, welcome to the forum.

Is your IPA properly carbed up to allow for a nice aroma?
How fresh were the hops you used and how were they stored (sealed, no oxygen, freezer?)?
Did you purge your keg with CO2 prior to racking your IPA into it?

Just some troubleshooting questions to help you try and get to the bottom of this.

[tworudysbrew]

Thanks for the welcome and for the feedback. Not fully carbed yet - kegged on Friday night so it may be a few days. Hops were sealed in foil bags and kept in fridge until I used them; I did not do the CO2 purge, so this is new for me. What does that do? I need to look up how to best do that before my next batch.

[Charlie]

The hops sound about right for a 5 gal volume, and noticeable in a 10.

When did you dry hop? My experience is that if you dry hop before the brew is almost still the yeast will blow most of the aroma out the airlock, and leave very little in the brew.

If that was the case try racking off the yeast when activity falls below about 1 bubble per minute (bpm). Then dry hop, and leave the brew on the hops 5 to 7 days (and agitate daily to re-suspend the hops) before kegging. In my hands that procedure puts the "Wow" in dry hopping.

Pellet hops will give more bang for the buck than leaf hops when dry hopping, but either will work. My procedure is leaf for the boil, and pellet for dry.

Charlie

[tworudysbrew]

Thanks, Charlie. I bet this is exactly what happened. I will do this the next time.

[BDawg]

Be careful not to introduce air/oxygen into the finished beer. It will quickly oxidize.

[brewinhard]

If your beer is not fully carbed yet then it is hard to say if your hop aroma is lacking. Once carbed up, the CO2 will push out the aromatics of the beer and liven up the hop nose. Report back after the beer is carbed and let us know if that makes any difference.

You should always purge the keg (and siphon hoses, if possible) prior to racking your beer into it. This will reduce oxidation and especially with IPA's, keep that fresh hop aroma lasting longer and stronger. Here is how one can do that.

1. Fill your keg with sanitizer of your choice.
2. Use CO2 to push sanitizer out of keg into another vessel.
3. Now your keg is empty and only has CO2 in it.
4. Sanitize all your transfer equipment, and just before starting your siphon, release the pressure relief valve on the keg, remove the lid and rack your beer in (preferrably without splashing).
5. When beer is fully transferred over, put the lid back on and blast the keg with 25-30 psi while pulling the pressure relief valve 5-6 times to clear out any introduced oxygen and helping to properly seat the lid.
6. Voila - kegging is done. Carb up your beer and enjoy!

[SoCal Surfer]

If your beer is not fully carbed yet then it is hard to say if your hop aroma is lacking. Once carbed up, the CO2 will push out the aromatics of the beer and liven up the hop nose. Report back after the beer is carbed and let us know if that makes any difference.

You should always purge the keg (and siphon hoses, if possible) prior to racking your beer into it. This will reduce oxidation and especially with IPA's, keep that fresh hop aroma lasting longer and stronger. Here is how one can do that.

1. Fill your keg with sanitizer of your choice.
2. Use CO2 to push sanitizer out of keg into another vessel.
3. Now your keg is empty and only has CO2 in it.
4. Sanitize all your transfer equipment, and just before starting your siphon, release the pressure relief valve on the keg, remove the lid and rack your beer in (preferrably without splashing).
5. When beer is fully transferred over, put the lid back on and blast the keg with 25-30 psi while pulling the pressure relief valve 5-6 times to clear out any introduced oxygen and helping to properly seat the lid.
6. Voila - kegging is done. Carb up your beer and enjoy!

Oh man! I got excited reading this!