RoaringBrewer
Well-Known Member
So, I brewed up my version of the Walker-San IPA. Basically it was 6lb. light DME, some crystal 60L, and a bunch of hops. Chinook for bittering, cascade and northern brewer for flavor. I did 8 hop additions between 30 mins remaining and flameout. I'm also dryhopping on 1oz. cascade and .25oz. NB. Safale US-56 yeast fermented from 1.060 to 1.012 in 7 days and went to secondary...
Anyway, I racked this to secondary 11 days ago and most of it is still on the dryhop. However, I wanted to get some idea of what I was getting into so I bottled the last two bottles that were in the carboy (nearest to the yeast cake). Anyway, 11 days later they are carbed and I'm unimpressed to say the least. Everyone says (and I'm sure they are right) that Walker's IPA rocks the house, but if this doesn't age better or the dry hop doesn't help this out a lot, I either did something wrong (i do not think this is the case) or I just don't know...
I know it is a green beer (and maybe that is the entire explanation) and these bottles are not dryhopped, but here are my impressions.
Very light mouthfeel (maybe not so bad if the rest of the hop profile was good), but lacking the hop flavor/aroma I had envisioned. How is this possible with 8 additions between flameout and 30 mins remaining?!? It is Definitely NOT lacking the bitterness. At the back of the pallette there is a very strong hop bitterness. This is so bitter it is bordering on astringency (but its not off-flavor astringency which I know from my first batch or two). I'm just amazed that the rest of the hop profile seems to be absent. Will these flavors show up over time?! I thouht hoppy beers were best drank fresh?! Will the dry hopping bring this desired middle palate hop profile out?!
I definitely hope so because this isn't something I desire to drink two cases of.
It's smooth and light in a way (I can see it might be a very good beer if the flavor/aroma were there), but the bitterness bite at the end seems a little over the top for only 50ish IBU. Further, it has no hop complexity in the mid-palate. What happened? Will this age better? Will the drop hop help that much? I sure hope so! Am I overreacting? I guess I'll just wait 3 more days of secondary, bottle, and wait three weeks in bottle before trying it again.
Someone reassure me that this is going to turn out OK though. Has anyone else brewed something similar to the Walker recipe and tasted it after only 18 days or so from brewing?
Anyway, I racked this to secondary 11 days ago and most of it is still on the dryhop. However, I wanted to get some idea of what I was getting into so I bottled the last two bottles that were in the carboy (nearest to the yeast cake). Anyway, 11 days later they are carbed and I'm unimpressed to say the least. Everyone says (and I'm sure they are right) that Walker's IPA rocks the house, but if this doesn't age better or the dry hop doesn't help this out a lot, I either did something wrong (i do not think this is the case) or I just don't know...
I know it is a green beer (and maybe that is the entire explanation) and these bottles are not dryhopped, but here are my impressions.
Very light mouthfeel (maybe not so bad if the rest of the hop profile was good), but lacking the hop flavor/aroma I had envisioned. How is this possible with 8 additions between flameout and 30 mins remaining?!? It is Definitely NOT lacking the bitterness. At the back of the pallette there is a very strong hop bitterness. This is so bitter it is bordering on astringency (but its not off-flavor astringency which I know from my first batch or two). I'm just amazed that the rest of the hop profile seems to be absent. Will these flavors show up over time?! I thouht hoppy beers were best drank fresh?! Will the dry hopping bring this desired middle palate hop profile out?!
I definitely hope so because this isn't something I desire to drink two cases of.
It's smooth and light in a way (I can see it might be a very good beer if the flavor/aroma were there), but the bitterness bite at the end seems a little over the top for only 50ish IBU. Further, it has no hop complexity in the mid-palate. What happened? Will this age better? Will the drop hop help that much? I sure hope so! Am I overreacting? I guess I'll just wait 3 more days of secondary, bottle, and wait three weeks in bottle before trying it again.
Someone reassure me that this is going to turn out OK though. Has anyone else brewed something similar to the Walker recipe and tasted it after only 18 days or so from brewing?