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prrriiide · 06-13-2012, 10:25 PM

When I brewed this, I came up 15 points short on my PBG. SO I added 3/4# of Extra light DME at 15 minutes. It wrecked my hop utilization. Like, almost NO hop flavor, bitterness or aroma.

What I am going to do is this:

I used Summits, Simcoes, and Cascades in the original. So I am going to do a no-malt boil of 1/2 oz summits at 60, 1/2 oz each of the three at 15, and 1/4oz of simcoe and summit and 1/2 oz of cascade and tettnanger at 5. Then I'll cool it, pour it into secondary and rack over the top of it.

Should work, yes?

downtown3641 · 06-13-2012, 10:52 PM

I don't know if it would work, but I'm confused about how adding DME late in your boil killed your hop utilization. Wouldn't a lower pre-boil gravity improve hop utilization prior to the addition of the DME? Did you overshoot your OG with the DME addition? If not, the amount of sugar in the wort should have been the same as you intended. Regardless, you shouldn't have no hop character at all, especially bitterness.

prrriiide · 06-13-2012, 11:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by downtown3641

I don't know if it would work, but I'm confused about how adding DME late in your boil killed your hop utilization. Wouldn't a lower pre-boil gravity improve hop utilization prior to the addition of the DME? Did you overshoot your OG with the DME addition? If not, the amount of sugar in the wort should have been the same as you intended. Regardless, you shouldn't have no hop character at all, especially bitterness.

I'm not sure why either, but there isn't much hop character at all. I just tasted another sample and it's a moderately sweet, wholly unsatisfying ale at the moment. I did overshoot the grav by 4-5 points, but I wouldn't think that would kill my utilization either. I've overshot by natural causes that much before to no ill effect.

Oh well. It isn't drinkable now, so I don't have much to lose.

**daksin** · 06-14-2012, 12:10 AM

What was your recipe? There may be some insights there.

prrriiide · 06-14-2012, 12:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by daksin

What was your recipe? There may be some insights there.

5 gal batch

10# 2 row
2# crystal 20

158° for 45 min
168° for 10 min

Sparged for a pre-boil volume of 6.5 gal. Pre-boil grav was estimated to be 1.056, was 1.044 by refractometer. Added 1.75# light DME @ 15 min

.5 Oz magnum @ 60
.5 Oz cascade @ 15
.5 oz summit @ 10
.5 Oz simcoe @ 10
.5 oz summit @ 5
.5 Oz simcoe @ 5
.5 oz summit @ 1
.5 Oz simcoe @ 1

1 vial Denny's Favorite

Fermented for 10 days @ 66° ambient
FG is currently sitting at 1.014.

EDIT: in looking at my notes, I see that I overshot a lot further than I thought. Est. OG was supposed to be 1.056, actual was 1.072. That might be the problem is just that I added too much DME at the end. If the hop extract addition works, I'll go from a 5.5% to a 7.35%. Not a bad trade off if it works.

downtown3641 · 06-14-2012, 12:53 AM

That's a lot of crystal and a pretty high mash temperature. My best guess is that you wound up with a lot of unfermentable sugars and your beer is out of balance.

prrriiide · 06-14-2012, 01:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by downtown3641

That's a lot of crystal and a pretty high mash temperature. My best guess is that you wound up with a lot of unfermentable sugars and your beer is out of balance.

I know I didn't write it down, but I'm almost positive I didn't mash that high. I don't think I've ever done more than 155*. But yeah, I can see the unfermentables being pretty high. I did an IPA with that same grain bill a few months ago that came out GREAT. So I know it can work. But still, I think next time around I'll do 12# of 2-row and 1# of Crystal 40, mash at 154. And double the magnums @ 60.

Well, the concoction is cooling now prior to racking, so I'll know in a day or two if it worked.

Lennie · 06-14-2012, 01:07 AM

You can't boil hops in just water, it doesn't work. I'd just dry hop the beer.

Homebrewtastic · 06-14-2012, 01:39 AM

If you're really that worried about it I would throw a couple ounces in for dry hopping. What's more is that your beer will completely change by the time it's carbed and conditioned.

Did you know that eighty percent of taste is actually smell? And that you cannot smell a liquid, only the gasses coming off the liquid? That's why wine drinkers swirl their glasses, it allows them to get a better smell and ergo a better taste. So it stands to reason that a completely flat and unconditioned beer would not smell that hoppy nor taste that hoppy.

**daksin** · 06-14-2012, 05:41 PM

Yea, the beer you made, even if you mashed it at 155 is going to be very sweet, with that grainbill and even a medium-high mash temperature. IPAs should be dry, IMO- I mash at 148-149F. There's a fair amount of research that boil gravity has very little effect on hop utilization- I think the beer probably turned out the way the recipe was written. +1 to dry hopping heavily.