yearlylesson
Active Member
I did my first batch of homebrew recently and just tried it tonight. It's only been in the bottle for a week so I think it's probably a bit too early to be drinking but I couldn't wait to try at least one of them.
It was a Brewers Best Irish Stout and I expected it to tast like a dry stout, like a Guinness. The recipe didn't have a lot of hops in it but this beer is very bitter. I think it's because I screwed up my measurements. I fermented it in a glass carboy and after adding the wort, I thought I had added enough water to take it to the 5 gallon level but I didn't have any kind of markings on the carboy so I just had to eyeball it. I transferred it to a plastic fermentor with a spigot in the bottom to do the bottling. After I finished transferring it the measurements on the bucket showed I only had 3.5 gallons.
I know some of the beer was probably lost from the blow off hose but I can't imagine it was nearly that much. The beer has a nice head and a nice flavor, I am enjoying it but it's not what I expected.
Is it safe to assume that this bitterness I am tasting is because I screwed up and didn't add enough water to the hops? Or is it possible this dry stout is supposed to be this bitter?
It was a Brewers Best Irish Stout and I expected it to tast like a dry stout, like a Guinness. The recipe didn't have a lot of hops in it but this beer is very bitter. I think it's because I screwed up my measurements. I fermented it in a glass carboy and after adding the wort, I thought I had added enough water to take it to the 5 gallon level but I didn't have any kind of markings on the carboy so I just had to eyeball it. I transferred it to a plastic fermentor with a spigot in the bottom to do the bottling. After I finished transferring it the measurements on the bucket showed I only had 3.5 gallons.
I know some of the beer was probably lost from the blow off hose but I can't imagine it was nearly that much. The beer has a nice head and a nice flavor, I am enjoying it but it's not what I expected.
Is it safe to assume that this bitterness I am tasting is because I screwed up and didn't add enough water to the hops? Or is it possible this dry stout is supposed to be this bitter?