Very bitter "Green" beer : overdid the hops or just too soon?

So this is regarding my 3rd batch of beer and it's quite odd. First batch was very similar and came out nicely, 2nd batch was a hef. that is quite delicious. 4th and 5th batches were darker but simple all-grains that are now on tap and quite tasty.

But this one, was in primary for 11 days (attenuated on or before day 8) and then bottled and primed for 2.8 vols of CO2. It had been in the bottles two weeks and change at room temperature and I chilled a good number for a little party.

Anyways, poured several that what quite tasty. Very much what I expected from this experiment. Then my friend, who sometimes likes hops and sometimes hates them, had one and complained that the aftertaste was way too bitter. Weird I hadn't tasted it up until that point, but I could taste it in his. A very harsh bitter kick at the end of the taste.

Beer #1 was similar recipe, lower starting gravity (more like 1.043) and similar IBU's but All-cascade and less oz's for the flavor and aroma additions. (I believe it was 1.5, 1, 1). I realize that though the IBU's show to be similar, the flavor and aroma additions were way bigger and I kind of wanted that but don't fully understand what effect it might have, or how to judge how much flavor and aroma hops to add....

AND NOW THE WEIRDEST PART (or maybe not)... This beer got packaged into different types of bottles after priming. After some further tasting last night, I've come to the conclusion that the ones packaged in 15.2 oz Grolsch bottles taste smooth, like the flavors have come together with no jarring kick at the end, yet my 12oz bottles taste just OK then wollop you with bitter. This is the weirdest part to me, I wouldn't think the 3 extra oz would make a huge difference in bottle conditioning....

so my plan is to take all the 12oz left in the fridge back out for further aging and maybe try a 22oz and just see what consistency there is and how the 12oz'ers taste after another week.


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Here is the recipe: too much late hops?

[size=+2]Palesner[/size]
[size=+1]0- Untitled Style[/size]



Size: 5.5 gal
Efficiency: 75.0%
Attenuation: 75.0%
Calories: 161.82 kcal per 12.0 fl oz

Original Gravity: 1.049 (1.000 - 1.100)
|===============#================|
Terminal Gravity: 1.012 (1.000 - 1.100)
|=========#======================|
Color: 3.58 (0.0 - 50.0)
|=========#======================|
Alcohol: 4.78% (0.0% - 10.0%)
|===============#================|
Bitterness: 45.7 (0.0 - 50.0)
|======================#=========|

[size=+1]Ingredients:[/size]
4.0 lb CBW® Pilsen Light Liquid (Malt Extract)
2.0 lb CBW® Pilsen Light Liquid (Malt Extract)
1 lb German 2-row Pils
1 lb Vienna Malt
.5 lb Dextrine Malt
.75 oz Centennial (9.2%) - added during boil, boiled 60 min
1 oz Willamette (4.9%) - added during boil, boiled 20 min
.25 oz Centennial (9.2%) - added during boil, boiled 20 min
.5 oz Cascade (7.5%) - added during boil, boiled 20 min
.5 oz Cascade (7.5%) - added during boil, boiled 1 min
.75 oz Willamette (4.9%) - added during boil, boiled 1 min
.5 oz Cascade (5.4%) - added during boil, boiled 1 min

[size=+1]Schedule:[/size]
Ambient Air: 70.0 °F
Source Water: 60.0 °F
Elevation: 0.0 m


[size=-1]Results generated by BeerTools Pro 1.5.7[/size]

Perhaps it has something to do with the colors of the bottles. Grolsch bottles are green and let a certain amount of light through, causing the beer to oxidize. The advantage of the dark bottles is that this doesn't happen...maybe it has something to do with changing the bitterness?

shot0rum247 said:

Perhaps it has something to do with the colors of the bottles. Grolsch bottles are green and let a certain amount of light through, causing the beer to oxidize. The advantage of the dark bottles is that this doesn't happen...maybe it has something to do with changing the bitterness?

Click to expand...

Interesting theory, though they were covered with a towel the whole time, in a fairly dark room.


I get the impression from some more searching that you might expect to age this IBU longer. I guess I was expecting similar results to the simpler recipe, which had almost the exact same IBU but a lesser overall hop addition.