Lack of hop flavor

[bluenotebrewery]

I just tried my first batch and as far as i can tell, there is no hop flavor whatsoever.
Its a belgian wit, which I know isn’t supposed to have a whole lot of bitterness, but i really cant taste any.

I boiled 1 oz of Mt. Hood for 60 minutes and another ounce for 15 minutes. The pellets were tied in cheesecloth and it was pretty tight, which I’m thinking may be why I’m not tasting enough hop flavor.
Also I’ve heard that chlorine messes with the hops, so maybe I didn’t rinse my bottles enough after sanitizing?
Any input would be greatly appreciated, this was my second batch and I’m still working out the kinks

[braufessor]

I wouldn’t expect to taste much in the way of hops with that beer.

I do agree that if you tied up the hops really tight in cheese cloth it could have reduced the hop flavor.

As far as the bottles/sanitizing - you should not be rinsing your bottles after you sanitize them - kind of defeats the purpose of sanitizing. Clean them with PBW or B-brite or something like that, rinse, and then soak in Starsan and don’t rinse them.

[haasfilm]

There’s probably more hops presence than you’re perceiving. If you like hoppy beers try an APA or IPA for your next batch and I’ll bet you get the hops that you’re looking for. I use hops bags to cut down on trub when lautering. I’ve never had any concerns about hops utilization. I’m not sure how you’re getting your bags too tight? I would recommend letting the bags have some space in the boil. I secure my hop bags with a metal clip in the handle of my pot. Occasionally stir during the boil and agitate the hops bag to make sure it’s getting a got soak and integrating with the wort. Don’t worry too much about it. It doesn’t sound like you have any major issues here.

Also I will +1 the recommendation NOT to rinse following sanitizing. That is assuming you’re using a no rinse sanitizer such as Star San.