1st Batch - English IPA - some ???'s

[caliKOng]

Brewed my fist batch on Saturday, an English IPA kit from Alternative Beverage including the following:

7lbs Light DME
2 tsp Gypsum
1 Bag (unknown quantities) of: Carapils, Crystal & Wheat Malt
1 1/2 oz Bullions - bittering
1 oz Kent Golding - bittering
1 tsp Irish Moss
1 oz Fuggle - flavoring
1 oz Fuggle - aromatic
2oz Plain Oak Chips (2 days soak after primary fermentation calmed)
1 C of Corn Sugar (not yet added)
1 packet of Safale #04 Whitbread Yeast (primed & pitched)

Initial gravity around 1.050 (adjusted). Delicious!

Fermentation was quick and active with a blow-off system around 68 degrees. After two days I added the Oak Chips and attached the airlock to my carboy.

Today I racked into the secondary and took a gravity reading at approx 1.011 (adjusted). Bubbles in airlock around every 3 mins and it seems it's probably ready to bottle but I'm going to let it clarify.

Questions:

1) How long should I let this clarify in the secondary? I tasted what I siphoned off for the gravity reading. Very hoppy (me likes) but also some leathery/tannin flavors...quite bitter. If the final product is a carbonated version of what I tasted today, I'll be disappointed. Does this time in the secondary also mellow flavor or just clarify the beer?

2) How long should I let this bottle condition to mellow the hops? Remember, it's my first batch, and I'm impatient

3) Will adding the corn sugar sweeten the final product any? I know it's meant to carbonate, but I wouldn't mind if this sweetened a little.

4) When I topped off the wort with cold water, I added 3 gallons (started with two in the kettle) rather than topping it off to a full five gallons...will this effect the beer any? Make it stronger?

5) For my next batch I want something delicious and quick to get to the finished product. Suggestions? Preferably a style quite different to IPA or Pale Ale.

My first post, so thanks in advance to anyone who has some advice. Also, if anyone is homebrewing in NYC, drop me a line.

 

[El Pistolero]

1) Two weeks if you can stand it...yes it should mellow with time in the secondary.

2) Two weeks if you can stand it.

3) No.

4) Your beer will just be a little "bigger"...higher abv, and maybe a little hoppier than your target.

5) Do an English mild or brown ale...different from an IPA and should finish quick.

6) Relax, be patient, have a brew.

 

[caliKOng]

Thanks for the quick reply.

Don't think I'll manage to wait a full four weeks for secondary and bottle conditioning. Guess I'll bottle half in about a week, then the other half a week after that. That way I can taste some before flying to California for XMas with the family. And when I get back in mid-January, hopefully the rest will have mellowed nicely.

I'd love to do a Brown Ale next. Somthing along the lines of Newcastle, but a little bit creamier/heavier, would rock my world. Suggestions, anyone? I can only manage extract or mash-extract.

And has anyone found a good Lagunitas Maximus Clone? How about Hoegaarden?

 

[SwAMi75]

Hoegaarden extract clone: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=557&highlight=hoegaarden

Welcome aboard!

 

[JOHN51277]

Welcoma to the boards, these guys are a great help when you need it, and usually quick too. I am a beginner and they have answered all of my queations(even the simple ones) without any bitterness. I still have alot to learn. The best thing to do is just spend alot of time reading books, and asking questions. Good luck to you and your brew.

 

[homebrewer_99]

1) Two weeks if you can stand it...yes it should mellow with time in the secondary.

2) Two weeks if you can stand it.

3) No.

4) Your beer will just be a little "bigger"...higher abv, and maybe a little hoppier than your target.

5) Do an English mild or brown ale...different from an IPA and should finish quick.

6) Relax, be patient, have a brew.

What he said.

As for #4, if you hopped per the recipe and do not have the full 5 gals then it will be hoppier than the recipe suggests. If you go over the 5 gals the brew will have a slightly less body as well as less bitterness.

You'll learn to adjust accordingly, especially if you take good notes while brewing and all the steps in between until you drink one.

Bitterness dissipates over time. IMO, sweetness does not.