YAKT: Temp, psi and homebrew IPA flavor

Discussion in 'Home Bar' started by pointyskull, Jul 27, 2017.

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  1. pointyskull

    pointyskull Zealot (651) Mar 17, 2010 Illinois
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    I kegged a Citra ipa almost 2 weeks ago, and did a slow carb at 14 psi.
    After about 7-10 days into the the first few pours were beginning to carb decently, with the big Citra flavor I tasted prior to kegging.

    Last night - approx day 12 - the Citra flavor was absent. Kegerator temp was 37, which today I bumped up to 40 after reading on serving temps.

    Is it possible that bumping the keg temp up a bit and lowering the psi might help get the hop aroma/flavor back?
    If/when I drop the psi do I need to purge the keg?

    Thanks for all the great advice this new-to-kegging homebrewer has picked up here....
     
  2. mikehartigan

    mikehartigan Maven (1,397) Apr 9, 2007 Illinois

    Hard to diagnose, but, while the 'correct' temp and CO2 level is critical to the desired flavor profile, I doubt that's responsible for the virtual elimination of hop flavor. I hate to break it to you, but my money is on an oxidation problem. How did you purge the keg before filling? I got obsessive over that a few years ago when one of my over the top hoppy DIPA's, was dinged by the judges for having no hop flavor or aroma. Fortunately, this only affected the bottles I filled for the competition, not the keg - it was fine (I later filled a couple of bottles and let them sit for a few weeks and confirmed that the hop flavor was, indeed, gone). I bought a beer gun and that problem largely went away. While I could be wrong, and I hope I am, this keg may be history, in terms of the hops. Still drinkable for a while, just without much of the good stuff.
     
  3. pointyskull

    pointyskull Zealot (651) Mar 17, 2010 Illinois
    Trader

    The oxidation could happen that quickly - a matter of a few days?
     
  4. mikehartigan

    mikehartigan Maven (1,397) Apr 9, 2007 Illinois

    Less than a week for my DIPA. The beer was not utterly destroyed yet, but the hops disappeared very quickly. Wet cardboard, etc evidently takes more time to develop with the presumably low level of oxygen. It's important to note that this was my experience. I'm not saying that this is necessarily what happened to yours. But it's one possibility.
     
  5. pointyskull

    pointyskull Zealot (651) Mar 17, 2010 Illinois
    Trader

    Thanks for the info.
    Ugh. I've been bottling for years and aside from the odd gusher I haven't experienced any obvious oxidation issues, so with the move to kegging I am discovering a new batch of things to correct/check/adjust.
     
  6. Seacoastbrewer

    Seacoastbrewer Initiate (0) Jun 5, 2012 New Hampshire

    It's been my experience that dry hop flavor at the homebrew level fades quickly. Thankfully you can afford more hops, right? Just dry hop again.
     
  7. pointyskull

    pointyskull Zealot (651) Mar 17, 2010 Illinois
    Trader

    That was going to be my next set question:
    - will dry-hopping an already carbed keg do any good?
    - what is the recommended process?
    I assume I have to purge the keg after shutting the C02 off and then open the lid to add the bagged hops?

    Man, I feel like a complete noob....
     
  8. Seacoastbrewer

    Seacoastbrewer Initiate (0) Jun 5, 2012 New Hampshire

    I'm sure dry hopping an already carbed keg is not going to hurt anything. Spend $8 on hops and if it doesn't knock your socks off, no big deal right? I mean you already said the hop aroma is not what it was, what have you got to lose?

    Yes I would purge the keg after dry-hopping. I would shut off the co2, vent the headspace, weigh down the new dry hop sack, seal it up and re-carb. No love lost.
     
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