IPA Opinions

Well, you want opinions? I've got 'em! Lots of good posts here, but I'll add my .02.

First, don't worry about odd smells or flavors for a while. A lot can and will change over those first couple weeks.

There are different schools of thought about when to dry hop and for how long. My opinion (you asked, right?) is that you should add the dry hops while fermentation is still slightly active so that the yeast will consume oxygen you're introducing, then let the beer sit for at least a week after primary fermentation ends. It depends on the hop, of course, but generally speaking I don't like to use more than about 3-4 ounces. I've found that using large quantities of hops in a hop stand/whirlpool (up to six ounces) and a relatively smaller amount in dry hopping (2-3 ounces) works best for me. Adding 5-6 oz dry hops is, IMO, usually going to be excessive: you're spending a lot of money for some aroma that is only going to be palatable for a relatively short period of time: hugely dry hopped beers tend to be too raw for my tastes for at least a couple weeks, and then once they're drinkable, the hop aroma declines over time--rather quickly, in my experience, in bottle conditioned beers (where introducing some oxygen to the finished beer is inevitable. (With that in mind, take care to avoid oxygenation as much as you can in bottling.) The aroma and flavor from a good hop stand is more to my tastes, and more long-lasting in my experience.

 

I'm about on board with this. 3 weeks total in primary, with the last week for dry hopping. Single test bottle at about day 8-9 after bottling to test progress. Sometimes they carbonate quite quickly, others not as fast.

 

Opinions about IPAs are kinda like a certain body part, in that everybody has one.