Home Brew Forums > Home Brewing Beer > Beginners Beer Brewing Forum > question about bitterness




Reply
 
LinkBack Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 01-21-2011, 05:59 PM   #1
Feedback Score: 0 reviews
Recipes 
 
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Tampa, FL
Posts: 310
Likes Given: 2

Default question about bitterness

Is the bitterness after the boil an indicator of final taste or does it mellow after fermentation and bttling?


donjonson is offline
 
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Old 01-21-2011, 06:03 PM   #2
Feedback Score: 0 reviews
 
Diver165's Avatar
Recipes 
 
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Huntington, WVA
Posts: 526
Liked 8 Times on 8 Posts
Likes Given: 3

Default

No not really, most beers will mellow with age.


Diver165 is offline
 
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Old 01-21-2011, 06:05 PM   #3
Beer, not rocket science
Feedback Score: 0 reviews
 
Brewpastor's Avatar
Recipes 
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Corrales, New Mexico
Posts: 4,569
Liked 19 Times on 19 Posts

Default

This is a hard question. The fermented beer is definitely different. Over time you can gain a sense of how it will change. So, yes it will taste different after fermentation, but it won't become less bitter. If anything the reduction of sugars will cause the bitterness to stand out, but that is all relative to other changes in the flavor of the beer through fermentation.

I take it you have made a beer you think is too bitter out of the kettle?
__________________
Before I learned to brew I was poor, sober and lonely. Now I am just poor.
Brewpastor is offline
 
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Old 01-21-2011, 06:06 PM   #4
Feedback Score: 0 reviews
Recipes 
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Springfield, MA
Posts: 1,399
Liked 2 Times on 2 Posts
Likes Given: 2

Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by donjonson View Post
Is the bitterness after the boil an indicator of final taste or does it mellow after fermentation and bttling?
IMO the wort always tastes more bitter than the fermented beer.
__________________
"Just remember Scooty Puff Jr. sucks!"....Philip J. Fry
Clonefarmer is offline
 
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Old 01-21-2011, 06:18 PM   #5
Feedback Score: 0 reviews
Recipes 
 
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Tampa, FL
Posts: 310
Likes Given: 2

Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Brewpastor
This is a hard question. The fermented beer is definitely different. Over time you can gain a sense of how it will change. So, yes it will taste different after fermentation, but it won't become less bitter. If anything the reduction of sugars will cause the bitterness to stand out, but that is all relative to other changes in the flavor of the beer through fermentation.

I take it you have made a beer you think is too bitter out of the kettle?
Yes I think I may have gotten more hop utilization than the recipe intended. Used more water and added the extract at the end. I tasted the wort and it was much more bitter than I expected.
donjonson is offline
 
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Old 01-21-2011, 10:07 PM   #6
Feedback Score: 0 reviews
Recipes 
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Lowell, Massachusetts
Posts: 983
Liked 34 Times on 32 Posts

Default

Unless you were making a very bitter beer to begin with, the difference in hop utilization probably isn't much above the threshold of perception. For pale industrial American lagers the threshold of perception is about 5 IBU - i.e., you can't tell one is more bitter from another unless there is a difference of 5 IBU or more. And that's for flavorless "beer" (Bud etc). If you managed to increase your utilization by 10%, your original recipe would have to specify 50 IBU for you to have a chance of noticing an increase in bitterness.

Unfermented wort always tastes more bitter than I expect to me as well. RDWHAHB!


__________________
• KªRL •

FERMENTING
Battle Cruiser Blonde II
Supersecret sour beer experiment
BOTTLED
Bird of Prey Brown Ale
Victory Ale (grains of paradise + lime)
Battle Cruise Blonde Ale
Blood Of Our Enemies Porter
Imperial Khitomer Pale Ale
Andorian Apple Wine
Quadrotriticale Ale
Moch le' wIb ESB
Disruptor Imperial Ale
Captain Damage is offline
 
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Reply

Quick Reply
Message:
Options
Thread Tools
Display Modes


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Question about hop bitterness. brewd00d Beginners Beer Brewing Forum 15 12-27-2010 12:35 AM
APA extract recipe bitterness question SoonerDoc Beginners Beer Brewing Forum 11 07-05-2010 05:52 PM
Insane bitterness. RyanN Beginners Beer Brewing Forum 6 03-20-2010 01:04 PM
bitterness unit question billk911 Beginners Beer Brewing Forum 6 03-04-2009 02:56 PM
Reducing the bitterness? JnJ Beginners Beer Brewing Forum 11 10-18-2006 01:12 AM



FOLLOW US ON