TheMarquis
Active Member
New brewer here. I've done two IPAs with different hops for the flavor and aroma adds and the taste was almost exactly the same: not great. I think my problem is banana esters. I say "think" because I'm not sure exactly what I'm tasting and smelling but there is definitely a strong flavor that I'm not used to tasting in commercial IPAs.
Both brews were extract with half the extract added late. Both used US-05. The OG for both was calculated to be 1.067. Here are the differences:
Batch 1:
Boil size was 3 gallons.
Amarillo hops for late additions and dry hop.
Wort cooled to 72ish in 30 minutes in a bath.
Aerated by dumping into fermenter and topping off with bottled water.
Pitched one 11g packet by sprinkling on top of wort, much of which was starsan foam, then rocket the bucket a bit.
Airlock activity in 36 hours.
Batch 2:
Boil size was 5 gallons.
Equal parts Amarillo and Simcoe for late additions and dry hop.
Wort cooled to 72ish with immersion chiller in 10 minutes.
Wort aerated by siphoning from kettle and letting the hose splash the wort on top.
Pitched one 11g packet before siphon finished and I "watered it in" with the remaining wort.
Airlock activity in 24 hours.
Both batches were left to ferment in an ambient 63 degree basement. I know I should have FG readings, but I don't.
I do have two packs of US-05 left that I'd like to use, even if they are both on the same batch. But I can also switch to 1056 if that might solve my problem. And I can buy an aeration tool if that would help.
Edit: Both stayed in the primary for 3 weeks prior to kegging, with dry hopping the last week.
Both brews were extract with half the extract added late. Both used US-05. The OG for both was calculated to be 1.067. Here are the differences:
Batch 1:
Boil size was 3 gallons.
Amarillo hops for late additions and dry hop.
Wort cooled to 72ish in 30 minutes in a bath.
Aerated by dumping into fermenter and topping off with bottled water.
Pitched one 11g packet by sprinkling on top of wort, much of which was starsan foam, then rocket the bucket a bit.
Airlock activity in 36 hours.
Batch 2:
Boil size was 5 gallons.
Equal parts Amarillo and Simcoe for late additions and dry hop.
Wort cooled to 72ish with immersion chiller in 10 minutes.
Wort aerated by siphoning from kettle and letting the hose splash the wort on top.
Pitched one 11g packet before siphon finished and I "watered it in" with the remaining wort.
Airlock activity in 24 hours.
Both batches were left to ferment in an ambient 63 degree basement. I know I should have FG readings, but I don't.
I do have two packs of US-05 left that I'd like to use, even if they are both on the same batch. But I can also switch to 1056 if that might solve my problem. And I can buy an aeration tool if that would help.
Edit: Both stayed in the primary for 3 weeks prior to kegging, with dry hopping the last week.