First batch from scratch...wrong yeast?

[SoulBrew]

Steeped 1 pound of rahr pale ale grain and 1 pound of weyermann carared in 3 gal for 20 minutes at 158. Added 3.15lb amber malt extract. Brought to rolling boil
1oz cascade leaf for 60min
1/2 oz crystal leaf for 20min
1/2 oz Zeus leaf for last 4 min before stirring in 1 3/4 lbs of clover honey
Chill with wort chiller to 100*
Topped off to 5 gallons
Add wyeast 1272 American II
1.042 og
One week after brewed checked gravity and at 1.002... tasted and its really dry I was going for honey Ipa. Planned on dry hopping with a 1/2 oz of cascade leaf and primming with same 1.5 lbs of clover honey before bottling... I think I used the wrong yeast for the flavor I was trying to get. Thoughts? Or do you think the honey I add before bottling will bring that flavor I want back?

 

[stanzela]

At what temperature did you ferment? Did you pitch just the vial of yeast, or had you prepared a starter? If a starter, what volume? Also, I'm assuming that when you topped up, this helped to bring the temp down below the 100* you cited - what was your pitching temp?

 

[SoulBrew]

Fermented at 65* pitched at 70* whole wyeast pack...

 

[eastoak]

Steeped 1 pound of rahr pale ale grain and 1 pound of weyermann carared in 3 gal for 20 minutes at 158. Added 3.15lb amber malt extract. Brought to rolling boil
1oz cascade leaf for 60min
1/2 oz crystal leaf for 20min
1/2 oz Zeus leaf for last 4 min before stirring in 1 3/4 lbs of clover honey
Chill with wort chiller to 100*
Topped off to 5 gallons
Add wyeast 1272 American II
1.042 og
One week after brewed checked gravity and at 1.002... tasted and its really dry I was going for honey Ipa. Planned on dry hopping with a 1/2 oz of cascade leaf and primming with same 1.5 lbs of clover honey before bottling... I think I used the wrong yeast for the flavor I was trying to get. Thoughts? Or do you think the honey I add before bottling will bring that flavor I want back?

it tastes really dry because you added an extra 1 3/4 pounds of fermentable sugars in the form of honey. if you want a honey ipa you have to use a bit of honey malt, like 1/2 pound or so. liquid honey gets eaten up by the yeast and there is very little honey taste left. some people claim you have to add it a a certain point and it will have a honey flavor but if you use honey malt you can't go wrong....unless you use too much.

 

[eastoak]

at 1.002 you will have a super dry beer, 1/2 oz of hops might not be enough for dry hopping. sounds like this beer is more of a lesson learned, but you can always brew another beer.

 

[Double_D]

I second the honey malt. I love that stuff! I like to do some crystal 20 also. I'd dry hop with a heavier hand though. I do 8oz in a 10 gallon batch, two additions a week apart.

 

[SoulBrew]

Will 1 1/2 lbs of honey give me enough for bottle conditioning? And is there any way to save my beer? I mean this beer should be about a 5% alcohol beer... could just drink it all up during xmas with my bro... just want to get it a bit more palletable I guess. It taste like a miller lite right now, which doesn't completely bug me. Just doesn't taste like a craft beer...should I even bother dry hoping?

 

[stanzela]

+1 on honey being the culprit. It's fully fermentable so it'll come out dry when the yeast have done their business.

Will 1 1/2 lbs of honey give me enough for bottle conditioning?

The sugars you use for bottle conditioning are going to depend on your volume, the desired amount of carbonation (CO2 volumes), and, to a lesser extent, the temp.

It'll be important to use your exact volume of uncarbed beer when doing the calculations.

I usually use a priming sugar calculator. This one will allow you to input the style of beer (honey ale/English ale/IPA, in your case) and will give you the proper range for CO2 volumes. It will also allow you to determine the amount needed of a range of different sugars, including honey.

 

[eastoak]

Will 1 1/2 lbs of honey give me enough for bottle conditioning? And is there any way to save my beer? I mean this beer should be about a 5% alcohol beer... could just drink it all up during xmas with my bro... just want to get it a bit more palletable I guess. It taste like a miller lite right now, which doesn't completely bug me. Just doesn't taste like a craft beer...should I even bother dry hoping?

you might get suggestions such as brewing another beer and blending, adding fruit, brett, lacto or something else. when i brew a bad batch i learn from my mistake and move on to the next beer asap. the taste right now is not the same as it will be with carbonation and conditioning. if you want to ride it out i would use an ounce or more for dry hopping. if you do not have some malt character and body the beer will have an unbalanced taste.

 

[SoulBrew]

Oh I have learned from this batch lol... so would it be crazy to steep some more grain and add it to this batch? Or should I just get this batch off the yeast now and dry hop?

 

[stanzela]

if you want to ride it out i would use an ounce or more for dry hopping. if you do not have some malt character and body the beer will have an unbalanced taste.

This is sort of a misleading comment. If the beer is already lacking in maltiness, then a dry-hop addition won't be adding any balance - it'll just add a flowery aroma to an already dry beer.

Soulbrew, I am always of the opinion that you are your own best judge. You know what your tastes are better than anyone on here. Dry-hopping will add hoppy, flowery aroma. Typically, beers with a big-hop aroma are balanced with a maltier background. If you love hops, and feel that the beer could use a little something else, then go ahead and toss an ounce of some nice aroma hops in there. You're very unlikely to ruin anything, and if it's too hoppy, the flavours will dissipate over time - so you can always let it age and mellow out. If, however, you feel that this beer wouldn't really be suited to a hoppier profile (from the sounds of things, you were after a sweeter taste, not more flowery) and you are precious with your hops, then just leave them out and save them for making your next batch all the better.
There are a lot of great brewers on here, and a lot of great advice and opinions, so it can be tough to remember to trust your own instincts too. It's something I have to work at often. I would really say that you should think about what it is you're after, and to trust your judgement. Maybe this will just be one of those 'not-perfect' brews that will inspire you to make the king of all beers (no, not Bud) next time, and maybe you'll want to flower it up a bit, but in the end, it's going to come down to your tastes.

 

[SoulBrew]

I think dry hoping will just give me an over hoped dry beer... thing I should just get this beer off its yeast, and bottle it up using a caramel sugar primer.thoughts?

 

[stanzela]

While I don't have much experience bottling with anything but dextrose, I would agree that you're probably best to go ahead and bottle. You can certainly try any of the many priming sugars (honey, caramel sugar, brown sugar), just be sure to look into how much you'll need for your batch size. If you aren't doing a batch-prime (adding the sugar to the whole batch in a bottling bucket) then you could even try a few different sugars to test how each one affects the taste. It might be a nice test to see what you'll like for the next brew. Batch priming will be easier, and give you more consistent carbonation, but again, it'll depend on what you value more for this batch.

Good luck to you, and let us know how it turns out!

 

[SoulBrew]

I'm gonna move it to my carboy, add oranges without the peel for like a week before racking...

 

[eastoak]

Originally Posted by eastoak
if you want to ride it out i would use an ounce or more for dry hopping. if you do not have some malt character and body the beer will have an unbalanced taste.

This is sort of a misleading comment. If the beer is already lacking in maltiness, then a dry-hop addition won't be adding any balance - it'll just add a flowery aroma to an already dry beer.

i was talking about two different things; use more than 1oz of hops to dry hop in general, and separate point, the beer he brewed probably does not have much body or malt character so dry hopping would add to the imbalance of the beer. i did not make the point very well in my original post.

 

[eastoak]

I'm gonna move it to my carboy, add oranges without the peel for like a week before racking...

oh boy. keep us posted.

 

[ChadChaney]

Maybe a better idea would be to add orange zest since the essential oils you are after are actually in the rind, not the fruit itself.

 

[SoulBrew]

Oh boy lol... I feel like I'm just polishing a turd...

 

[eastoak]

Oh boy lol... I feel like I'm just polishing a turd...

do you have the bottles/kegs/fermentors to keep this batch around while you brew another? i kept my first 4-5 batches around waiting for them to improve, 2 of them did and the others went down the drain 3-4 months later. my beers have gotten way better with time so i see the popular "time heals all beer" ethic as "time makes me a better brewer". any beer can be worked on with spices, moar hops, fruit, blending, time or whatever but there is no way of really knowing what the end result will be; better or worse?

 

[stanzela]

i was talking about two different things; use more than 1oz of hops to dry hop in general, and separate point, the beer he brewed probably does not have much body or malt character so dry hopping would add to the imbalance of the beer. i did not make the point very well in my original post.

Yeah, sorry, Eastoak. I figured that's what you were getting at. Just wanted to make sure the point was clear for the original poster. I felt like a bit of an a$$ making the post, so I hope no offense was taken, as none was intended.

As for the oranges, I would echo what others have said: if you're going to do it, use the zest or the peels and not the whole oranges. Those are full of sugary juice that's going to be fermented out by the yeasties and I would have no idea what the end product would taste like... beer meets orange wine, or something. I've zested oranges before and put the zest in the oven at super-low temps (170-200) for about 20mins to dry them up a bit and release the aromatic oils. You may just wish to bottle this one as is, though, and see how it turns out. It might surprise you. I sounds drinkable so you may not want to risk turning it from a 'kinda-crappy-but-drinkable' beer to a sink-filler.

 

[SoulBrew]

Well here's my over proofed miller lite...lol... broke my hydrometer in the process. May just get rid of this bad carma, and head up to northern to pick up supplies for my next batch...

 

[stanzela]

Hey man, it looks like you did most things correctly. You didn't get an infection and, in the end, you made some beer. Don't get too down on yourself just because it doesn't taste perfect. You'll definitely get there. It's probably a good idea to get your supplies and get brewing again as that's the best way to improve and to get over the crummy-batch-blues. Plus it will help you to kill the time as you wait for these bottles to carb up.

No bad karma though, don't think that way. It's all good. After all, it's only beer, and there will always be more to come.

 

[SoulBrew]

Thanks for all the words of encouragement, and great advice, u guys are great...