So here's the deal:
I brewed an English IPA back on 09/17 and transferred it to secondary 09/25 where it sat for 2 weeks. I then added 1 oz. of dried whole East Kent Goldings and let it sit for 1 more week. When I bottled it on 10/14 the sample I tasted was delicious. It didn't taste green at all and I was pumped about this beer.
I just cracked open the first bottle today (10/20) and it tastes like sh&t. It tastes super, super green and is all around the nastiest beer I've ever brewed, by far. I know that it's too early (the beer has quite a bit of carbing up to do) but I've done this before and I've never been disappointed like this. I'm puzzled by the fact that the sample on bottling day was fabulous and didn't taste green at all, but after 6 days in the bottle it tastes like a completely different beer. I've never had this happen before. Usually, if my beer tastes really good on bottling day, it tastes really good as soon as it's carbed.
I'm thinking that dry hopping at the very end was a bad move and that I should have dry hopped it the first week of secondary and then removed the hops and let it age for 2 more weeks.
I'm also thinking maybe the EK Goldings I got were sh&t. Here's why: this is the first time I've ever used whole hops and I was really disappointed when I cut open the bag and smelled them. The pellet hops I'm used to using always smell really, really strong and really, really fresh but these dried hops just didn't smell that potent and they didn't smell like the EK Goldings pellets I am used to working with.
A few things to keep in mind: this is my first IPA, my first time dry hopping and my first time using whole hops.
What did I do wrong? I know the beer is going to get better, I'm not that much of a noob, but I've brewed enough now to know that this one's never going to be a good one. It will be drinkable, but it won't ever be a really good beer. I know time heals just about everything but I've got my process down pat. For a bigger beer like this I usually do 1 - 2 weeks primary and then 3 - 4 weeks in secondary and as soon as the beer carbs up it's always good right from the start. I never have to let it sit in the bottles for 3 weeks or whatever other people say that the "rule" is.
Here's the recipe:
Malt
9 lbs. Maris Otter
1 lb. Simpson's Medium Crystal
.75 lbs CaraPils
Hops
1 oz. Chinook (11.7% AA) 60 mins.
1 oz. EK Goldings (5.8% AA) 20 mins.
1 oz. EK Goldings (5.8% AA) 10 mins.
1 oz. EK Goldings (5.8%) 5 mins.
1 oz. whole, dried EK Goldings dry hopped in secondary 1 week prior to bottling
Yeast: Wyeast 1335
OG 1.069, FG 1.018, IBU 59, BU:GU ratio .86, SRM 11
I was going for a simple malt bill to really let the EK Goldings shine and, as I mentioned above, I thought I had nailed it when I tasted a sample on bottling day but now this beer is just a disaster.
I brewed an English IPA back on 09/17 and transferred it to secondary 09/25 where it sat for 2 weeks. I then added 1 oz. of dried whole East Kent Goldings and let it sit for 1 more week. When I bottled it on 10/14 the sample I tasted was delicious. It didn't taste green at all and I was pumped about this beer.
I just cracked open the first bottle today (10/20) and it tastes like sh&t. It tastes super, super green and is all around the nastiest beer I've ever brewed, by far. I know that it's too early (the beer has quite a bit of carbing up to do) but I've done this before and I've never been disappointed like this. I'm puzzled by the fact that the sample on bottling day was fabulous and didn't taste green at all, but after 6 days in the bottle it tastes like a completely different beer. I've never had this happen before. Usually, if my beer tastes really good on bottling day, it tastes really good as soon as it's carbed.
I'm thinking that dry hopping at the very end was a bad move and that I should have dry hopped it the first week of secondary and then removed the hops and let it age for 2 more weeks.
I'm also thinking maybe the EK Goldings I got were sh&t. Here's why: this is the first time I've ever used whole hops and I was really disappointed when I cut open the bag and smelled them. The pellet hops I'm used to using always smell really, really strong and really, really fresh but these dried hops just didn't smell that potent and they didn't smell like the EK Goldings pellets I am used to working with.
A few things to keep in mind: this is my first IPA, my first time dry hopping and my first time using whole hops.
What did I do wrong? I know the beer is going to get better, I'm not that much of a noob, but I've brewed enough now to know that this one's never going to be a good one. It will be drinkable, but it won't ever be a really good beer. I know time heals just about everything but I've got my process down pat. For a bigger beer like this I usually do 1 - 2 weeks primary and then 3 - 4 weeks in secondary and as soon as the beer carbs up it's always good right from the start. I never have to let it sit in the bottles for 3 weeks or whatever other people say that the "rule" is.
Here's the recipe:
Malt
9 lbs. Maris Otter
1 lb. Simpson's Medium Crystal
.75 lbs CaraPils
Hops
1 oz. Chinook (11.7% AA) 60 mins.
1 oz. EK Goldings (5.8% AA) 20 mins.
1 oz. EK Goldings (5.8% AA) 10 mins.
1 oz. EK Goldings (5.8%) 5 mins.
1 oz. whole, dried EK Goldings dry hopped in secondary 1 week prior to bottling
Yeast: Wyeast 1335
OG 1.069, FG 1.018, IBU 59, BU:GU ratio .86, SRM 11
I was going for a simple malt bill to really let the EK Goldings shine and, as I mentioned above, I thought I had nailed it when I tasted a sample on bottling day but now this beer is just a disaster.