Will the taste of my fermented wort improve? (please excuse me I'm new to this)

Hi all,

I kegged my 3rd all grain brew this evening. All 3 of my beers were heavily hopped and after cooling ect I ended up with 46 liters. I used 100 grams warrior (60 min) for bittering and 600 grams of aroma hops in the hop stands and a 250 gram dry hop for each keg (2 x 18L kegs in total)

The wort tastes the same for all 3 beers and i'm worried about spending anymore money in case i'm making a huge mistake.

Does the hop aroma improve with conditioning? It doesn't smell or taste of beer. (more like soap)

This is what i'm doing:

stage 1: adding bittering hops 60 min into the boil.

Stage 2 : adding aroma hops for a 30 min hop stand.

Stage 3: adding wort to fermenter/pitching yeast starter

stage 4: transfer beer to 2 x 25 liter kegs and dry hopping for 1 week

Stage 5: transfer to 2 x 18 liter coke kegs and condition.

All of my beers taste the same at stage 5. will they improve? HELP!!!

All 3 of my beers were heavily hopped

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Maybe that's why they all taste the same. Try making a style that doesn't use a ton of hops. Perhaps a stout (not an Imperial), or a porter, ESB, session ale, blonde ale, or something other than an IPA. Go to the store and try a few different styles. Fine one you like, and then make a batch.  Just because you're making homebrew doesn't mean you need to make something with a ton of alcohol and hops. I personally aim for a starting gravity of around 1.040 and rarely use more than two ounces of hops in a batch.

Wort changes flavor depending on the malt you're using. If you're using extract, changing it up with a partial mash will really improve your flavor. Trying Munich or Vienna malts, as well as some Cara and crystal types will broaden your flavor range.

Molly said:

Does the hop aroma really come through when the beer has conditioned?

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It depends on the type of hop and the amount, but typically, yes. For aroma, what you're looking for are hop oils. Oils are not measured by IBUs, but there is a loose correlation between alpha acid and oil percentages.

As long as you're using the same recipe, you can expect the beers to be the same (or pretty close). If you're unsatisfied with the hop aroma, try dry hopping for 3 to 5 days by adding the hops right after primary fermentation has finished.

A minimum of 50 gm is my recommendation for a healthy aroma at either hop stand or dry hopping. The sky's the limit for the upper end.

Will the fermented wort taste similar even if different hops were used?

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To a certain extent, yes. For example if you do one with all Cascade, and another with all Kent Goldings, you will notice a difference. The one with Cascade with have more citrus and spice notes, while the one with Kent Golding will be more earthy.

If you're using extract, changing it up with a partial mash will really improve your flavor.

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Good suggestion. Try mashing a few pounds of grain in a batch. The difference will be eye opening.

WOW... I can't believe the amount of hops you're using...try cutting back on the amount and use hops with a higher A.A. for bittering .. and smaller amounts of aroma hops for dry hopping.If too much hops are used you'll end up with a grassy flavoured brew!!  I like a good IPA too, but after 80-100 IBU's  the difference in bittering becomes negligible.

I agree with Dhellmann, that is some amount of hops for a batch that size??
Also that is one expensive beer !!
I am no expert and like you I am still learning.
I have however made a few IPA's which prove to be very popular.
My recent batch was 38 liters and the hop content was as follows:
42.53g Galena -60 mins
21.27g Northern Brewer - 60 min
42.53 Cascade - 10 min.

The taste and nose is excellent