I admit to being rather concerned that this beer would not turn out very well. When I tasted it from the fermenter I was underwhelmed by the hop aroma and flavor. I did notice that the dry hops had floated to the top of the fermenter; which was a concern. Next time I’ll have to make sure they get submerged for better hop aroma/flavor extraction.
One week after being in the keg I still wasn’t every excited about the beer. However, now that’s it been in the keg a little over two weeks I’m happy to report it’s a very nice drinking beer. The hop aroma is still not what I was hoping for, but the hop flavor is really quite amazing. Maybe it just takes more time for Cryo Hop’d beers to develop?
Here is the fermentation chart for this beer. Note the temperature swings. Some day I’ll acquire I temperature controlled fermenter 🙂
Final product is a highly drinkable 6.2 % light bodied IPA with plenty of hop flavor. While the hop aroma is not intense you can detect the Simcoe and Cascade hops.
I feel like this beer would have benefit’d from a slightly more complex malt bill. Next time I’ll had some Carapils and/or Wheat. Or maybe split the base malt up with between two varieties. I’ll also make sure the dry hops stay submerged…