fishermand715

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My brew is done with primary fermentation and i am racking to secondary. I tasted the brew and it was very bitter (throw-out bitter!). If anyone could tell me why or have any suggestion on how to bring the bitterness down it would be greatly appreciated. Here is my hole set up:

I am using a Munton's Hopped Amber kit. I put some malto-dextrin in to give it body, and i put irish moss into the boil. I boiled all for about 5 mins (just to mix it thoroughly). Then i put it into my primary fermenter. All my gravity readings were right. Also, i fermented for about 6 days and i did have some krausen form but i heard that was normal.

Again, i hope someone can help me with this. I would hate to have to throw a batch out.

Cheers, Dan

maltbarleyhops

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park it and let it ride. not sure but i believe the dextrins will take awhile to ferment out.

is it hop bitter or maybe well water bitter. i see that your from wentzville (im from Harvester) and depending where at in wentzville if your on a well there are a few things for you to do with your water first, before brewing.

if its not a hop type of bitter, i would say its probably a water or sani issue.

arturo7

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Bitterness can be a relative quality. Which beers do you typically drink?

__________________
Hey, knock that shvt off. We're drinkin' here.

lx302

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6 days in the primary, then to secondary?
You have to let it ferment first, the bitterness is normal, especially if you took it from the top of the beer near the kausen layer, which will be bitter.
You want to keep your beer in the primary at least for 10 days, and longer.

fishermand715

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I live in rural wentzville, and we do share a well with a neighbor and to remind you this bitter is not normal, verrrrry bitter.

So i should just let it ride for awhile?

thanks
Dan

fishermand715

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To reply to arturo,

I usually drink lights but have drink a few ambers and this bitter is not a normal amber bitter.

samc

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Let it mellow/age a bit. If that does not smooth it out, consider dry hopping. I'm guessing that pre hopped kit is not all that fresh and due to age it's gotten bitter. For $2.00 worth of hops you can usually save an over the top bitter beer.

fishermand715

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Samc

THank you for the reply, Just curious though, have you tried this method before?




Thanks
Dan

samc

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Sure did. Made 10 gallons AG of Pliny clone and the first 5 were awesome, perfectly balanced. The second 5 gallons were so damn bitter I could not drink more than an ounce at one sitting. Another HBT'er suggested adding dry hops figuring that the aging had killed the original hop aroma/flavor, he was dead on correct. I never got it to be as good as the first 5 gallons, but it was very drinkable. I often do a continuous dry hop in the keg and add new hops every few weeks if the keg is still going.

fishermand715

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samc

So your saying, dry hopping will lower my bitterness? I always thought hops made the beer more bitter and have more flavor/aroma?

Thanks
Dan