Beer Forum

Just recently I've been having some problems with hop astringency in my IPAs. At first I thought it was the Columbus hops themselves, but now I'm thinking it's more of an issue of hop quantity rather than variety. I Googled "hop astringency" and came across a Q and A from BYO's Dear Mr. Wizard.
http://www.byo.com/stories/wizard/artic ... -mr-wizard

The Wizard's answer included the statements below:
"Hops contain bittering acids, aromatic oils and plant matter. It is the plant matter that imparts this potentially unpleasant flavor. If the quantity of plant matter added to the beer is reduced, so is the astringency in the finished product."

So, my question is how some guys are brewing "hop bomb IPAs", but with little or no astringency? The hop quantities are huge.

They might be balancing the hop additions with a broad malt backbone. This can help to even things out. Finishing gravity will also make a difference as well as what type of hops are chosen and at what times (how long) they are boiled. Hops have different cohumulone levels (%) which can make them impart a rougher quality vs. a cleaner quality in the finished product.

You could try switching your bittering hop to a cleaner hop with lower cohumulone levels (magnum, warrior, horizon, etc). That might be the best place to start. Water profiles can also play a role in leading to astringent flavors in the finished product.