Cloudy IPA,s & Subdued Flavor

Greetings fellow brewers,


My first question is in reference to the Hop Forward beers I brew. For some reason, they all turn out quite cloudy.  However, it's not a typical yeast cloudy, it's more of a hops residue cloudy. Has anyone else ever experienced this issue? I'm certain I'm not dealing with a yeast issue as this happens with different strains.

My second question - and maybe it's related to the first question - it seems my hop forward beers seem to become subdued after about 2-3 months.  In other words, I recently brewed a double IPA and the flavor was outstanding, to say the least.  There was a very nice fruity nose and taste up front with a mild bitter on the back of your tungue on the finish.  Then, after about a couple months, it seems the up front fruit notes are gone.  The beer still tastes great, but just not the same.  The hops I like to use is citra, simco and more recently, mosaic for my "up front" flavors.

Any ideas on either of these subjects will be appreciated!

PS - I'm going out of the country for a few days in case someone has questions on these subjects. I will rejoin the discussion upon my return.

Having a slight 'haze' is very common with heavily dry hopped IPAs.  The hop oils from the dry hopping are not isomerized and are not water soluble.  This lack of solubility leads to light scattering.

The drop in hop presence over time is also pretty well known.  The hop aromas tend to fade with time which is why I prefer brewing my hop heavy recipes in 10 liter batches.  I'd rather brew them more often and enjoy them fresh.  It is one of the reasons that Pliny the Elder and Heady Topper have a small range of distribution (other than the fact that they are in high demand).  The time spent in distribution to distant places means a loss of hop presence with the respective breweries deem unacceptable.

That's a great answer, on both questions, oginme. Thank you. They make perfect sense. I am a huge fan of Dogfish Head 120 and it too is only produced in small batches only a few times a year.

Regarding hop forward beers and cloudy appearance, are you saying that it is the dry hopping that's causing the cloudy appearance? If so, is there any tricks that can be done to increase the aroma without dry hopping? Will a whirlpool addition work? (That's a process I have never tried)

I just judged American Pale Ales and American IPA's at a brewing competition.  Some haze is acceptable in the style when using dry hopping, as it is almost unavoidable.  Filtering is a possibility, but most homebrewers aren't set up to filter.

The homebrew suppliers sell hop bags and grain bags.  If you're going to dry hop, make sure that you're using hop bags and not grain bags.  Grain bags let more particles out of the bag, resulting in more haze.

That's good information, Scott.  I use muslin bags with my boil addition hops and my dry hop.  I pump from my boil kettle to a plate cooler so I can't afford large particles going through my system.  So, I'm grabbing the big stuff, but it's the small stuff I'm concerned about.  So I guess you're saying "don't sweat the small stuff"? Okay then! Thanks group for all your help!,