Added the wrong hops at the wrong time

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Kevbot

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My friends and I are brewing a new batch of beer: American brown Ale. After we lowered the temperature to avoid reaching a boilover, we added the wrong hops (instead of adding the bittering hops: Northern Brewer) I added the 1 oz of Cascade hops instead(aroma hops). We restarted the 60 min brew timer by adding the bittering hops 20 minutes into the addition of the aromatics; what are the consequences of doing this?
 
I would have just switched the two additions. Northern brewer is a decent flavor/aroma hop/ Not the most refined, perhaps, but it would have made great beer.

Not sure what you mean by "We restarted the 60 min brew timer by adding the bittering hops 20 minutes into the addition of the aromatics" - when did you end up adding what?
 
Well when I noticed that the wrong hops were in the wort(20 minutes after i added the aroma hops) I instantly added the bittering hops then restarted the boiling timer to let the bittering hops boil for and additional 60 mins.
 
You'll end up with a super-bitter beer with little hop flavor or aroma. Should still be drinkable, but may need some age.
 
Damn well is there anything we can do to save it, we have 2 oz of Cascade left to ad at the last 10 minutes of boil.
 
Damn well is there anything we can do to save it, we have 2 oz of Cascade left to ad at the last 10 minutes of boil.

Well, look at the timing already. If it's been boiling for a while (how long now exactly?), you can end the boil. You can add 1 ounce of cascade with 5 minutes left, and then an ounce of flameout. If you post up the recipe with the times you added the hops, we can help out a bit more.
 
Hey, don't sweat it man. Yeah, you did something silly, but hey, it's still going to be better than 90% of the crap you buy commercially, even the expensive "craft beer" b/c its fresh.

Next time, don't do that.
 
1 oz cascade added at 3:30 (beggining 60 min boil)
1 oz of Northern brewer at 3:50
it is now 4:28 adding the 1 oz of cascade....
 
1 oz cascade added at 3:30 (beggining 60 min boil)
1 oz of Northern brewer at 3:50
it is now 4:28 adding the 1 oz of cascade....

Ah, oh well. I was hoping that you only were boiling a few minutes so far. It's too late to fix anything now. Just add the cascade, turn the flame off and hope for the best.
 
Okay.. We've stop boiling..Thanks for everything so far.. Do you have any other advice?..
 
Relax and have a beer. :mug:

The beer will be fine and you'll enjoy it even more knowing you made it. Learn from the experience, and your beer will (probably) get better and better.
 
Sry if this is the wrong place to post this, I am new to brewing and honestly new to forums in general. I bought an ale kit that used the same hops for both aroma and bittering, but they were sent in the same package(that I was supposed to split in half) but I was in a hurry. So, I added the aroma hops and the bittering hops at the same time in the beginning of the boil. What consequences will this have? Keep in mind it is an apple ale which I added a gallon of 100% natural apple cider to. They sent me an apple extract with the kit that I was going to leave out but I can add it if it will help mask my mistake? Thanks again!
 
chappyman7 said:
Sry if this is the wrong place to post this, I am new to brewing and honestly new to forums in general. I bought an ale kit that used the same hops for both aroma and bittering, but they were sent in the same package(that I was supposed to split in half) but I was in a hurry. So, I added the aroma hops and the bittering hops at the same time in the beginning of the boil. What consequences will this have? Keep in mind it is an apple ale which I added a gallon of 100% natural apple cider to. They sent me an apple extract with the kit that I was going to leave out but I can add it if it will help mask my mistake? Thanks again!

have you already pitched the yeast? If so, I would leave it alone and see what you get. I would suspect your IBUs will be higher than intended.
 
Yes it has been in ferm for about 5 days, and it still smells at least okay to me but I figured I would ask the pros here in case I am just wasting my time. Would it be a huge increase in IBU? Or just slightly more than intended? Do you think adding that apple flavor would help "mask" the bitterness or should I just drink it until I don't care? :)
 
I have no idea on how much increase in the ibu(bitterness) that you will see, there are software programs you can use to calculate. but if you sampled when you took your hydrometer reading then you will have an idea of that. to add the extract now, imho, could be a mistake. you would have to boil it to sanitize which means you would have to as it to water. The boiled water/extract volume would change your gravity readings. I suggest patience and let the yeast work. it will likely be ok.
 
Best part about this hobby is that 99.9% of the "mistakes" still make great beer.

The so called rules to homebrewing can be bent and reshaped all the time to achieve whatever brew you want. Ferment the batch all the way through, bottle or keg, and consume. Who knows... it might turn out to be the best brew you have ever made. Or it might be a dud.

Chock it up to a lesson learned (good or bad) and keep on brewin'!

Gary
 
Thanks alot for the positive encouragement GAS! Refreshing to find a forum that isn't full of people looking to put you down for your mistakes.
 
Since this is the beginners forum, I'll 'splain terminology to the OP. For the rest of you experienced brewers, turn away. Nothing to see here.

When we describe the hops schedule, we usually say something like "1 oz cascade 60 minutes, 1.5 oz fuggles 15 minutes" what that means is:

once the wort reaches 212F and begins to boil, add 1.5 oz of cascade and set the timer for 60 minutes. When there are 15 minutes remaining on the timer, add 1.5 oz of fuggles. Understanding the terminology and using it consistently will help you explain what you have done and help you get better advice here.

there are usually 1 to 3 hops additions in a boil. The first is added for 60 minutes and provides the bitterness that balances out the sweetness of the wort. The second is 15 minutes for flavor and is where you use your "expensive" or " noble" hops. The third is for aroma, and usually goes for 5 minutes, or even at flameout. Aroma is the first beer sense that greets your brain as you raise the glass to your lips.

Bittering additions are done for 60 minutes because beyond that time, few alpha acids remain. They have been for the most part been disolved into the beer. Any hop can contribute bitterness, aroma or flavor. Its up to you to decide. The recipie is designed to have a certain level of bitterness. By adding first your (incorrect) flavor hops and then your (correct) bittering hops, you have turned them all into bittering hops. For future reference, if I were to add the wrong hops at 6o minutes, i'd probably leave it alone and use the bittering hops for flavor and see where it goes. You might even like it better. Just remember as you're drinking this beer in 60 days or so: this is more bitter than the recpie called for. Remember to record what you were SUPPOSED to do and what you ACTUALLY DID on your brew sheet. It really sucks when you make a mistake, LIKE it and then can't do it again.
 
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