Everything's bitter?

[Brad]

Ok I am not too new to homebrewing I have made several batches ones a few years ago and just getting back into it and doing all grain. The last three batches i have done have had an off bitter flavor. Is this just boiling the hops too long I followed the instructions that came with the AG kit let it sit for almost two months for primary and secondary total. then kegged but when I went to take a sip yet again the beer tastes bitter. It does not have a beer taste in my opinion even for just a light cream ale it tastes nothing like I would imagine a cream ale tasting? What am I doing wrong? How do I get the beer to taste like beer?

 

[zodiak3000]

im sure a more experienced brewer will give you a better answer, but ill try. usually kits are slam dunk on style guidelines, so for a cream ale you shouldnt have much bitterness. post your recipe and process. it may have to do w/ the hops. you might want to check your cleaning and sanitation also. i never leave my brew fermenting for 2 months. 1 month tops, maybe 5 weeks for a big beer. you might be imparting off flavors from leaving it too long, or temp? there are many factors so its hard to figure out whats wrong unless you post details of your recipe and procedures.

 

[Brad]

first i clean eveerything with one step, then i go back and spray with star san and rinse
recipe6 lb. Gold liquid malt extract, 8 oz. Carapils specialty grains, 2 oz. of Cascade pellet hops, dry yeast standard brew procedure of any midwest kit ending boil for 60 min with 1 oz of hops then two min for last 1oz hops my sg came out right at 1.042 where it should be at i let it ferment till the airlock stopped bubbling. then checked two days in a row to see if reading held it did right at 1.010 again where it shold be then i moved it to a cleaned and sanitized better bottle let it sit for two months. then kegged 30 psi shake and over 2 days sitting. When I poured my first glass smelt ok a little bitter like all the other batches i have done came out and when i tasted it was bitter like all the other ones I don't know what went wrong with all of my beers they all have been like this i thought this cream ale would be less bitter that is why i tried it.

 

[zodiak3000]

first i clean eveerything with one step, then i go back and spray with star san and rinse
recipe6 lb. Gold liquid malt extract, 8 oz. Carapils specialty grains, 2 oz. of Cascade pellet hops, dry yeast standard brew procedure of any midwest kit ending boil for 60 min with 1 oz of hops then two min for last 1oz hops my sg came out right at 1.042 where it should be at i let it ferment till the airlock stopped bubbling. then checked two days in a row to see if reading held it did right at 1.010 again where it shold be then i moved it to a cleaned and sanitized better bottle let it sit for two months. then kegged 30 psi shake and over 2 days sitting. When I poured my first glass smelt ok a little bitter like all the other batches i have done came out and when i tasted it was bitter like all the other ones I don't know what went wrong with all of my beers they all have been like this i thought this cream ale would be less bitter that is why i tried it.

like i said, i never leave mine fermenting for 2 months. hopefully a more experienced brewer can chime in w/ regards to that possibly causing off flavors. also, does it have like a bitter hop flavor like say a DIPA or does it just have a wierd bitter flavor? what temp are you fermenting at? are you doing late extract addition? late extract addition usually increases hop utilization and imparts more bitterness. though the amount of hops your using shouldnt do that. in your initial post i thought you said you were doing all grain. you posted an extract recipe. maybe its just the extract "twang" your tasting. honestly, im kinda stumped as to why you would have bitterness? IMO though, that cream ale is light in terms of ABV and i would leave it fermenting for only 3 weeks....

 

[hopdawg]

There ain't much that needs to ferment for 2 months. 2 weeks for light wheats and 4 weeks for big beers as a "general rule of thumb, (don't you scientist shoot me for this statement). Is it a "hop" bitter you're tasting or a "chemical bitter" you're tasting?
Most beers will taste bitter at a young age. Leave them be for three weeks and holy schmoly they taste amazing?
Learn to love the bitter I say!!

 

[Hermit]

My son detects almost any hop flavor as bitter, not just what we consider bittering hops. Just his palate. Could be the same for you? I'd suggest finding a recipe that has only the initial hop addition without the later ones. Find some software to stick the recipe in and stick to malty/extra malty on the balance and see what you think and then work from there.

This is cooking. Do it to YOUR taste.

 

[whatisitgoodfor]

As you age you lose taste buds, so you become less receptive to flavors, bitter being one of the ones that drops off relatively early. (I know that I was 22 before I could tolerate the bitterness of BMC, and 25 before I could drink most micros.)

If you're over 20 I'd guess that isn't likely to be an issue though.

What water are you using, and what profile does it have? With AG brewing you need to be fairly careful with what mineral profile you use for your mash water, having a bad phosphate/chloride ratio can give you a very harsh/astringent kind of bitter flavor.

 

[Yooper]

first i clean eveerything with one step, then i go back and spray with star san and rinse
recipe6 lb. Gold liquid malt extract, 8 oz. Carapils specialty grains, 2 oz. of Cascade pellet hops, dry yeast standard brew procedure of any midwest kit ending boil for 60 min with 1 oz of hops then two min for last 1oz hops my sg came out right at 1.042 where it should be at i let it ferment till the airlock stopped bubbling. then checked two days in a row to see if reading held it did right at 1.010 again where it shold be then i moved it to a cleaned and sanitized better bottle let it sit for two months. then kegged 30 psi shake and over 2 days sitting. When I poured my first glass smelt ok a little bitter like all the other batches i have done came out and when i tasted it was bitter like all the other ones I don't know what went wrong with all of my beers they all have been like this i thought this cream ale would be less bitter that is why i tried it.

What were the AA% of the hops, and what was the size of your boil? If your recipe was designed for a 2.5 gallon boil, and you did a full boil, that could explain a stronger bitterness.

What kind of water do you use? If you're using tap water, do you know if your water company uses chloramine?

One last question- how long after the beer was carbed up did you taste? To me, fasting carbing by shaking the keg and keeping it at 30 psi can often cause a very harsh bitter carbonic acid "bite", at least for about a week or so, in lighter tasting beers.

I think we can help you figure out what's happening here. I'm just thinking through the possibilities.

 

[Brew-boy]

Yes please post the recipe. How many other cream ales have you tried?

 

[Brad]

the 1 oz hops alpha acid was around 7.1. This is the first AG and first cream ale that I have done but like I said even the malt extract kits I have done have tasted bitter? I am using just tap water from Superior WI. I don't know if they use chloramine when treating? The water tastes just like regular water I have made wine with it and had no problems befour this. only with my beers? What should i buy or use to check my water to see if that is where the problem is? I kept my mash temp at 153 degrees for 60 min, then sparged at 170 degrees for 45 min. Then boiled like I said all 5 gallons in my kettel. That is the process and for Recipe I dont' know what kind of grains they were because midwest only puts specialty grains so they don't give away there recipe it looked like as though it had some corn flakes in the mix. Fermentation held at right around 76 degrees. I tasted the beer after a week and a half of it being in the keg.

 

[Greyhound]

If you aren't already, you may want to weigh your hops before adding them to your wort. I find that a 1 oz bag usually contains more than 1 oz; sometimes significantly more. Although I appreciate the generous amounts, I always weigh the hops & only add exactly what the recipe calls for.

 

[Brad]

the 1 oz hops alpha acid was around 7.1. This is the first AG and first cream ale that I have done but like I said even the malt extract kits I have done have tasted bitter? I am using just tap water from Superior WI. I don't know if they use chloramine when treating? The water tastes just like regular water I have made wine with it and had no problems befour this. only with my beers? What should i buy or use to check my water to see if that is where the problem is? I kept my mash temp at 153 degrees for 60 min, then sparged at 170 degrees for 45 min. Then boiled like I said all 5 gallons in my kettel. That is the process and for Recipe I dont' know what kind of grains they were because midwest only puts specialty grains so they don't give away there recipe it looked like as though it had some corn flakes in the mix. Fermentation held at right around 76 degrees. I tasted the beer after a week and a half of it being in the keg.

 

[Yooper]

Just a couple of points- one, if you're boiling the full amount but the recipe calls for a 2.5 gallon boil, the beer will be MUCH more bitter. Hops utilization changes with a full boil, often drastically. We can help you calculate it out, if you post the original recipe, the AAUs of the hops, the recipe directions (how many IBUs in the recipe, the OG/SG, etc), and the exact size of your boil. When I do 5 gallons, I boil over 6 gallons to boil down to a finished 5.25, so we need that information so that we can calculate it out. (I'm talking about extract here- but the technique for the all-grain would be helpful, too, so we can give you the best advice)

Two, 76 degrees for fermenation is probably too hot for the ale. Was that the fermentation temperature (as shown by the stick-on thermometer or a temperature probe in the beer), or the room temperature? If it was the room temperature, it was probably at least 10 degrees too hot. If it was the fermentation temperature, it was probably only about 7 degrees too hot. Either way, lowering the temperature will improve the flavor of the beer.

 

[Brad]

This was an all grain I was just saying that in my previous extract kits they came out bitter also in the extract i was only boiling 2.5 gallons. I am just frustrated as to why both ways extract and all grain would come out the same "bitter". but my extract recipe for the liberty cream ale is
2 oz cascade hops at 5.5 AAU
7# domestic 2 row barley
2# flaked corn
8 oz carapils
I held mash at 158 degrees for 45 min
then sparged with 168 degree water
aquired 6 gallons to be boiled
ended with 5 gallons of boiled wort
sp/og was 1.042

 

[Brad]

and my fermentation was not actually 76 it was 66 as shown by on the bucket thermometer.

 

[Brad]

This was an all grain I was just saying that in my previous extract kits they came out bitter also in the extract i was only boiling 2.5 gallons. I am just frustrated as to why both ways extract and all grain would come out the same "bitter". but my extract recipe for the liberty cream ale is
2 oz cascade hops at 5.5 AAU
7# domestic 2 row barley
2# flaked corn
8 oz carapils
I held mash at 158 degrees for 45 min
then sparged with 168 degree water
aquired 6 gallons to be boiled
ended with 5 gallons of boiled wort
sp/og was 1.042
fermentation was 66 on fermenting bucket

 

[blackwaterbrewer]

i would say that your thermometer is off. if you mashed at 158, you would have a lot of non fermentable sugars which would leave you with a malty sweet beer. it sounds like you mashed lower than you thought. also, the corn will dry out the beer quite a bit which may lead to a bitter aftertaste. it also may just need another week or so in keg.
check your thermometers with ice and boiling water

 

[blackwaterbrewer]

looks like you missed your gravity by .007 even still, with the hop schedule you listed, it only comes out to 26.58 IBU's which is right on for the style and should have very little hop bitterness. i really think you mashed at a much lower temp than you thought or your yeast attenuated more than it should have due to higher ferm. temps. good luck

 

[Brad]

Thanks for the input don't get me wrong the beer is drinkable just not quite what I was expecting i like malty beer im not a huge fan of bitterness i hope to come into that eventurally any recomendations on a recipe to try?

 

[Yooper]

Thanks for the input don't get me wrong the beer is drinkable just not quite what I was expecting i like malty beer im not a huge fan of bitterness i hope to come into that eventurally any recomendations on a recipe to try?

If you like a malty beer, my Dead Guy clone is a malt bomb!

What kind of water are you using? I am wondering if your water chemistry is giving you a harsh bitterness, so that it's coming across as more bitter than you planned. Sometimes a lighter colored beer is especially harsh if your water is high in alkalinity.

 

[Brad]

im not sure on the water break down but its just water out of my faucet i live in superior WI. Next batch i do i think i will stop and pick up some 6 or so gallons of jugged water and see if that is what my issue is. Yeah i am just trying to make beers i really enjoy but the bitterness is pretty harsh to me just because i don't drink it all the time.

 

[Brad]

im not sure on the water break down but its just water out of my faucet i live in superior WI. Next batch i do i think i will stop and pick up some 6 or so gallons of jugged water and see if that is what my issue is. Yeah i am just trying to make beers i really enjoy but the bitterness is pretty harsh to me just because i don't drink it all the time. any malty recipes or even just ones that are not too bitter and good i would love to try.

 

[Brad]

Alright so in my next attemps to make anything that does not have an off bitter taste I went out and bought some gallon jugs of water for my belgain wit extract kit from midwest supplies.
Ingredients:
Belgian Wheat Wyeast #3944
6 lb. Wheat liquid malt extract
8 oz. Carapils specialty grains
2 oz. Hallertau pellet hops
1 Tbsp Coriander
1 Tbsp bitter orange peel

At boil I had six gallons I followed Midwest directions like I always do clean, Sanitize, Steep for 30 at 155 Degrees, add malt extract while off burner, add 1 oz of hallertau hops for 60 min boil, add 1 Tbsp coriander and 1 Tbsp Orange peel for last ten min, add 1 oz of hallertau aroma hops for last 2 min.

SG was 1.046

Then I used my new Counterflow chiller to cool down wort to 70 degrees close to my basement temp where it will ferment so I don't throw yeast into a fit. Then I let it ferment in the basement for a week and a half till I went to check the gravity. Where I took a sample and a taste.

FG was 1.010

Taste was bitter like all of the other ones. Its not really like a bitter like lime bitter but a bitter twang where it tastes off. I have tried other homebrews and they taste way different then anything I have made yet and I like the way those taste. All of the ones I have done have just tasted strange and I don't know why???
Please help