Experimental batch.. opinions wanted

The recipe
60 minute boil
7lb LME (3.5lb @ boil, 3.5lb @ 30 min)

Steeped Grains:
0.5 Lb Dextrin
0.5 lb American Crystal 40L

1 oz Amarillo Hops @ Boil
1 oz Fuggle hops @50 min
1 tblspn fresh ground ginger @boil
0.5lb honey @ boil

So I just tasted the wort after taking a gravity reading on day 9.
The good news was that my gravity went from 1.05 to 1.01.
The bad news was that it tasted terrible. Specifically it was very bitter, which I suspect is the result of the delayed extract addition.

So.
Will this get better with age?
Will dry hopping this in the secondary improve my flavor?
Do you agree that the exterme bitterness is likely from the delayed extract addition?
Was ginger a stupid idea?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

bitter is not caused from extract addition timing, it comes from the 2 oz of hops that were boiled for 50+min. some of the bitternes may fade but not much. the real prob is that there is not enough residual sugars to balance all the ibu's from the extended boils.

It should be drinkable in a couple months.

Forrest

You have no flavor or aroma hops, honey isn't supposed to be boiled, and the ginger probably shouldn't have been boiled either but for the last couple minutes maybe.

Dry hopping may improve flavor, if it's supposed to have a hop pressence, and it looks like a pale ale or IPA to me without any late hops, so I would suggest dry hopping, but it won't help a bitter flavor. Are you sure it's bitterness that your tasting? What was the ginger for anyway, just had some lying around and figure why the hell not?

I dont think the hops were the problem... ginger is VERY VERY strong and it probably the problem. So you basically have a lightly hopped pale ale with a ginger flavor and honey mouthfeel. IDK... give it three months and you'll be able to drink it.

LovetheHops - Late extract addition increases the hop utilization, the lower the boil gravity, the more bitterness and flavor is extracted into the final product.
Honey should be added at 5 minutes to after flame out. I add honey after I have turn off the heat, it is a pain as I need to lift up the IC (Immersion cooler), add the honey, mix and then drop the IC back in. If I'm lazy, I add it in with the yeast nutrient, Irish Moss.
And as Forrest said, your tasting the greenest of beer, you must give it time to condition, age and become drinkable.
But now you know what green beer taste like for that style. You see, you learn something from every style.

the Amarillo was boiled for 60 minutes. the Fuggles was boild for the last 10 minutes.

I think that other posters are right in that my late extract additons ramped up my hop utilization. Hopefully it will get better with time. I'll tast again after it's been in the secondary for a couple weeks.

Thanks for all your insights.

LovetheHops said:

the Amarillo was boiled for 60 minutes. the Fuggles was boild for the last 10 minutes.

Click to expand...

For future reference, you should type this part of the recipe like this then.

1 oz Amarillo Hops @ 60min
1 oz Fuggle hops @ 10min
1 tblspn fresh ground ginger @ 60min
0.5lb honey @ 60min

The amount of time after the ingredient is the amount of time it is to be boiled. Also, I am going to have to say it was the ginger that is causing your flavor, it's not something you typically have in beer.

I really doubt it was the late extract addition that caused your problem, and you should have used a program or something to let you know what you were making.

When doing partial boils, it is pretty unlikely that you will ever make anything too bitter because of the hops unless it is a really light beer. Go here to find out why...
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/how-many-ibus-do-i-gain-lose-when-using-87998/
or here
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/full-boil-vs-partial-boil-hops-utilization-88417/

I did a Gingerbread Brown for Christmas this year based on the spice blend in Radical Brewing. It only called for 1/2 tsp ground ginger (i used dry). 1 tbsp of fresh ground ginger should be even more potent. Lay it down for a while and the ginger should mellow a bit eventually. If you didn't want any of the honey character and just up the og and dry out the beer, then at the start of the boil is fine. If you wanted some honey character, which would be completely hidden by your tbsp of ginger either way, you want to add it at flameout.

I've planned a ginger mead that is going to get 4 oz of fresh ginger. A guy in my homebrew club told me to make sure I didn't make the same mistake as him and add 4 lbs. Unfortunately he didn't think something was up on the drive from one store to the next because he bought all the ginger root they had!

Thanks for the links and the anectodes.

We'll see what happens with this one. Lucky I have not put ginger in any of the other beers I have in the pipeline.

BarleyWater said:

The amount of time after the ingredient is the amount of time it is to be boiled. Also, I am going to have to say it was the ginger that is causing your flavor, it's not something you typically have in beer.

Click to expand...

While it isn't typical, some ginger beer is amazing.

I would have added it at flame out though. And perhaps half as much. But with time, all should be ok. If you can ever find it, the Hitachino Nest Ginger Ale is amazing and if you like ginger, you'd love that beer.

Just an update for others who may be curious about ginger. The ginger is starting to mellow out now after 3 weeks of conditioning. I added a cup of water that I boiled 3 cinnamon sticks in to add a little contrasting flavor to the ginger.

I am going to bottle this weekend and am now fairly confident that this will turn out to be drinkable at the very least. Which is good considering I am going to have 50 bottles of the stuff.

The hops is mellowing with age. It will continue to do so after bottling. Don't even think of dumping it unless it's still tough to swallow after six months erso.