Bitterness and a lower then expected OG

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sudndeth

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Long story short I used too much sparge water and didn't boil the wort down enough to get to my target volume. I'd already done a 90min boil, and was going to push that and just boil it down, but I ran out of propane right at 90min. This would not be a huge deal, as I would just name this beer an IPA and not an IIPA as it was intended.

The problem lies in that it's an extremely bitter beer and I'm afraid it's not going to have the sweetness it should to balance the bitterness. I used a Pliny Pack from Farmhouse and I was making a Pliny the Elder clone.

What can I do? My starting gravity was at 1.062. The recipe said 1.070. I mashed at 150-51*.

This is getting frustrating, this is my 3rd all grain batch and none have been where I want them. I got really good at PM, and thought I had perfected it. I've yet to get this AG thing down. The beers aren't bad, but just not where I want them. Always something.
 
Just seems like one of those brewdays where the planets don't align. A longer boil (more propane) and less sparge water would have gotten you where you wanted to go, so at least you know what your issues were. As for this batch, how far does the recalculated IBU value differ from the target? If it's, say, a difference of 10 IBU, you shouldn't notice too much of a difference. I don't know what you can do, aside from blending with a second batch, if you don't like this batch. I wouldn't start sweating it until you actually finish it up, carb and taste it.

For the future, don't get too stressed. Missing your target OG by 8 points on only your THIRD AG batch is still pretty good. Stick with it and keep learning the nuances of your equipment. Take many and accurate temp and volume readings, and keep coming back here for help deciphering your system issues.
 
Pliney is such a hop bomb, I doubt you'll notice the difference in IBU. Once you get that high your senses can't tell the difference. It's takes a while to get you AG process down, so don't get discouraged. There is a learning curve. I've been doing AG for going on 3 years. I re-built my whole brewery around Christmas and with 5 brews on the new system I'm still trying to dial in my numbers. Relax and have a homebrew bro. If your really worried get some DME, boil it with minimal water and add to the fermenter.
 
That's true, I do need to relax a bit. Perfecting my process is just taking longer then I expected. I'll let it ride and see where it's at when I go to dry hop. Thanks for the encouragement. It's true at least it's not a mystery problem and easily fixed.
 
sudndeth said:
Long story short I used too much sparge water and didn't boil the wort down enough to get to my target volume. I'd already done a 90min boil, and was going to push that and just boil it down, but I ran out of propane right at 90min. This would not be a huge deal, as I would just name this beer an IPA and not an IIPA as it was intended.

The problem lies in that it's an extremely bitter beer and I'm afraid it's not going to have the sweetness it should to balance the bitterness. I used a Pliny Pack from Farmhouse and I was making a Pliny the Elder clone.

What can I do? My starting gravity was at 1.062. The recipe said 1.070. I mashed at 150-51*.

This is getting frustrating, this is my 3rd all grain batch and none have been where I want them. I got really good at PM, and thought I had perfected it. I've yet to get this AG thing down. The beers aren't bad, but just not where I want them. Always something.
Click to expand...


Might I suggest taking a look at my brew chart for some help? You can find it in my signature below. It is free and will walk you through the batch sparge process, as well as, take care of all the calculations/math, yeast pitch levels, reminders on process, etc...

If you decide to take a look and have any questions please don't hesitate to ask. There is a thread over on the Brewing Software board dedicated to it that you could utilize or feel free to pm as well. I think it would be a great tool to help you make big strides with AG.

cp
 

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