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kbrewer1 · 06-19-2008, 01:43 AM

My past two brews have been (to me anyway) noticeably too sweet. My first of the two I made recipe-kit Oktoberfest and followed all of the instructions, and sanitized everything.

My second of the two was a partial-mash doppelbock. Thinking perhaps I either didn't ferment/condition long enough, or added too much sugar for carbonation, I slightly extended the fermentation from a week to 10 days and put it in secondary from a week to a month, as well as cutting down on the sugar for the carb. It worked out better but still was quite sweet.

I haven't had this issue in the past, but I'm assuming I didn't use enough hops. Although the fact I followed the recipe of the first one and got the same result makes me wonder if that's the case. Any suggestions? I'm about to make a white ale and I don't want this to happen again!

**Coastarine** · 06-19-2008, 01:59 AM

If you post your original gravities and final gravities for the beers we could see what attenuation you are getting. There are things you can do to get higher attenuation if it is indeed low(eg yeast strain selection, pitch temp, aeration, and starter size), which would result in a dryer, less sweet brew.

If that's not the issue, then you could counter the sweet with more bitter from the hops as you mentioned.

**beerthirty** · 06-19-2008, 01:59 AM

I had the same problem with my first kits, I put it off to kits trying to make everyone like it. when I switched to extract recipes the problem went away. maybe I just learned a few things or maybe it was a commercial idea. but since you didn't post OG and FG or kit maker. its kinda hard to tell if we had the same problems. you seemed to go long enough on fermentation but what was fermentation temps? more info would help t/s greatly.
wow!! second brew already going to PM. I found it easier to analyze my failures when I kept at the same technique untill I had a handle on possible problems.
costamarine got a point. hops will balance the sweet, but i would be more concerned with what was making it sweet

homebrewer_99 · 06-19-2008, 02:09 AM

1. Either you under hopped or

2. You didn't let it ferment out all the way (which includes a stuck fermentation). The OG/FG ratio can tell us whic one it is.

Post your recipe..also OG and FGs are important to know.

I'd guess you underhopped. This can be corrected by making a hop tea.

If you bottled it will be impossible to correct in the bottle, but correctable it is. If you kegged then you can just add hop tea to the keg to balance it out.

For balancing a bottled batch you could pour several bottles of homebrew into a pitcher and either blend it with a more bitter brew or add some hop tea to the pitcher before serving to your guests (at the table like at a bar).

Never toss out an under or over hopped brew. You can always blend it with something to make it drinkable.

kbrewer1 · 06-19-2008, 02:19 AM

I had done other kits in the past with no issue, but in terms of the previous two:

Oktoberfest- OG: 1.054 FG: 1.015 Pitched @ 71

Doppelbock- OG: 1.075 FG: 1.020 Pitched at 70

I used a 'Brewer's Best' kit for the Oktoberfest. I used the sane yeast for each (Danstar). I probably could have aerated the wort better, now that I think of it, but is there possibly anything else?

homebrewer_99 · 06-19-2008, 02:33 AM

We're not talking about the other kits here...what's the recipe/OG/FG for this recipe?

Using an attenuation of 75%:

your Oktoberfest - OG: 1.054 FG: 1.015...the FG should have been around 13

your Doppelbock - OG: 1.075 FG: 1.020...the FG should have been around 18.75

Based upon those two samples, I would have to say that you are bottling too early. The brew's not fully fermented and it would be sweeter.

This leads me to think that you are impatient (in a hurry). Fermentation is a natural process that can not be rushed. Allow the brew to do its own thing. Your reward will be greater if you wait it out. Trust me on this one. You won't be disappointed.

**Bobby_M** · 06-19-2008, 03:03 AM

Honestly, I don't think 1-2 points of FG being high is the main problem here as much as an underhopping issue. What is the volume of your boils and what does the kit recipe expect? If you're doing a more concentrated boil than the original recipe design, you're getting less utilization. They might also be subbing some lower alpha hops in this shortage situation and didn't adjust the recipe. What was the hop schedule for the oktfest?

homebrewer_99 · 06-19-2008, 03:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bobby_M

Honestly, I don't think 1-2 points of FG being high is the main problem here as much as an underhopping issue. What is the volume of your boils and what does the kit recipe expect? If you're doing a more concentrated boil than the original recipe design, you're getting less utilization. They might also be subbing some lower alpha hops in this shortage situation and didn't adjust the recipe. What was the hop schedule for the oktfest?

If he's doing a reduced boil and adding all the malt in the boil would result in underhopping. I can see that.

**Coastarine** · 06-19-2008, 03:56 AM

Your Oktoberfest had an apparent attenuation of 71.2%
your Dopplebock had an apparent attenuation of 71.9%

You might be able to wring a little more attenuation out of those but not a lot. Those are both pretty healthy. Best to up your hops a bit.

malkore · 06-19-2008, 04:14 AM

some DME isn't as fermentable as it should be. especially the brand...laglander...lallamander...something with an 'L'. I've ready lots of complaints about it being less fermentable than other brands.

Old DME supposedly can have some sugar degradation, so I have heard.

I really think its an under hopping issue. How large was your boil? Do you recall what hops, how much, and what alpha acid % they were?

I've been reading about a lot of substitutions in kits, and I wonder if they weren't forced to make a 'bad' substitution resulting in low IBU for the style.