Will this cause a big difference in flavor?

I'm not worried that it's ruined. I'm still going to bottle it. And I'm most definitely going to enjoy it, as it was my very first batch!

I'm just curious how my error will affect the final product. I purchased a Brewer's Best Irish Stout as my first kit. Steeped the crushed grains for 20 min, brought it up to a boil, then stirred in the 6.6 lbs of dark LME. This was where I made the mistake. I forgot to add the bittering hops and maltodextrin at this point.

At the 55 minute mark, I was ready to add the finishing hops when I noticed I still had more ingredients. Realizing my error, I poured it all in (malto, finishing, and bittering) and boiled for another 15 minutes instead of just 5.

So what am I looking at here? A very bitter taste from adding the bittering hops at the end? A sweet taste from adding the malto late? Or maybe it won't make a difference at all.

I'll probably make this recipe again, as I really like this kind of beer. I'm just curious how this one may turn out differently from the intended target.

--I couldn't help but grin when I came down and saw it bubbling this morning. I didn't sniff the airlock though. I'm saving that for this afternoon when I get home from work.:cross:

Adding the bittering hops late will reduce the final bitterness by about half.

The timing of the MD doesn't matter, there is nothing in the brewing process that changes MD.

It'll be less bitter because it had no bittering hops at all. It will have lots of hop aroma and flavor though, since the hops that were supposed to be bittering hops became flavor and aroma hops. Can't speak for the maltodextrin so I'll let someone else.

david_42 said:

Adding the bittering hops late will reduce the final bitterness by about half.

The timing of the MD doesn't matter, there is nothing in the brewing process that changes MD.

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He is pretty much dead on. Your beer won't be as bitter as it would have been, but it will taste just fine. The MD has no affect.....a lot of people don't even use it. It is only there to increase mouth feel.

Yep, it will be much sweeter and hoppier than you intended, but it's beer!

If you do that again, just start the clock over at 60 when you add your bittering hops. You probably would need to add more water to get you back to your target volume, too. If you want to add that water for the boil, wait until you get a boil again before adding the hops and restarting the clock.


TL

Thanks folks! I wasn't worried about it being undrinkable. Just knew that I had strayed from the original course. I guess I did make the recipe my own though!