My first beer reviewed by my local beer shop

[avillax]

Hi guys, so like I mentioned in my first brew thread which is an IPA, I ran into a lot or problems including having to put my hand inside the bucket to adjust the spigot and pitching the yeast at high temp.

Anyways, after 2 weeks in bottle my beer was reviewed by the local beer shop and they say:

The smell is really good, lots of fruity tones and molases, it has a nice reddish color, good carbonation.

The taste is fruity, he says there are some signs of the yeast being pitched at high temps but it didn't affect too much, the bitterness is ok but I agree with him in the sense that it doesn't have much herbal hop taste/aroma, an ok bitterness is present but not a distinguishable hoppy taste.

It didn't get infected at all.

He says it is good for my first batch, I also think it's pretty drinkable, it is better than commercial IPAs here in Czech Republic which is really encouraging me to brew more!

He says I really need to do dry hopping next time, he says, it is done after it has done fermenting on the bucket and just add hops and wait for like a week but I didn't get into specifics or recipes.

Any recipe/description of dry hoping you want to suggest? Thanks.

 

[Hello]

Well done. Beer, in a weird way, can be pretty resilient. I've read that in earlier times people who brewed weren't even remotely as sanitary as we are today. While you should be in the habit of practicing good sanitization methods, little hiccups sometimes can still result in good, uninfected beer.

IPAs are great beers. I have grown to love them over the years. Dry hopping is VERY simple. In your current beer, all you would have done was waited for initial fermentation to be completed then you could have tossed in an ounce, maybe two or even three (depending upon the beer) of a hop that compliments what you used in the recipe OR the same hop. Dry hopping lends to aroma, not bitterness. Bitterness comes from boiling the hops. You can dry hop for just a few days or more. I never leave the hops in there for more than 7. That is why you wait for fermentation to be completed. After you've dry hopped, you'd want to bottle or keg your beer. I left a beer on some hops with a piney resinous character for about 12 days and hated the end product. I've dry hopped for 7 days and been satisfied but then started to dry hop for about 3-4 days and have been very satisfied. So I stick with that...3 - 5 days depending upon my schedule really.

If you used a hop that doesn't have an herbal characteristic, then you won't have an herbal characteristic in the final product. It sounds like you used a hop with more fruity characteristics, my personal favorite. Perceived bitterness could also change from person to person. It is always a nice idea to share your beer with others to get feedback.

Congratulations on your first beer!

 

[avillax]

Thanks, so you would use an ounce of hops for 4 gallons?

 

[GHBWNY]

Thanks, so you would use an ounce of hops for 4 gallons?

The effect of dry-hopping starts at about a 1-oz. minimum per 4-5gal. batch. This will give you a noticeable and pleasant aroma/taste above and beyond what the brewing has produced. Like Hello said above, you can use 2, or 3, or more ounces, depending upon the style of the beer and what hop aroma/flavor intensity you prefer. A Belgian saison, for instance might do very well with 1 oz.; an IPA, 2 or more. Again, it's both style- and personal preference, so experiment.

 

[Sammy86]

Thanks, so you would use an ounce of hops for 4 gallons?

I did a dry hop on an APA back in January. I used 1 ounce of Cascade and 1 ounce Citra for five days and it turned out amazing!

I would recommend using a brewing program like BeerSmith or Brewers Friend to help figure out how much you want and for how long.

 

[avillax]

Excellent, in that case I'm going to need to buy more hops.

 

[jamina1]

I'm also in the process of brewing my first IPA and should probably dry hop; however - what do you do to sanitize the hops before adding them?

I have half a package of Centennial left over that would be great in this small batch, but I'm worried about just chucking it in there with no sanitation.

Ideas?

 

[chuckthebutcher]

I'm also in the process of brewing my first IPA and should probably dry hop; however - what do you do to sanitize the hops before adding them?

I have half a package of Centennial left over that would be great in this small batch, but I'm worried about just chucking it in there with no sanitation.

Ideas?

hops do not need sanitation. they actually help to ward off bacteria. hence the name of the IPA (India Pale Ale) where dry hops were added to beer to prevent spoilage on long trips across the ocean to India. So just throw the hops in! look up the history of the ipa sometime it will help you to know the style you are brewing even better.

 

[jamina1]

hops do not need sanitation. they actually help to ward off bacteria. hence the name of the IPA (India Pale Ale) where dry hops were added to beer to prevent spoilage on long trips across the ocean to India. So just throw the hops in! look up the history of the ipa sometime it will help you to know the style you are brewing even better.

Great to know, thank you!

 

[chuckthebutcher]

Great to know, thank you!

Welcome. If you are putting them in a hop sock id recommend soaking the sock in sanitizer beforehand, but with only 1/2 ounce you won't need one. also 1/2 ounce won't be very noticeable aroma, if you can I would buy at least one more ounce. I usually do 4-5 ounces in my ipas

 

[jamina1]

Welcome. If you are putting them in a hop sock id recommend soaking the sock in sanitizer beforehand, but with only 1/2 ounce you won't need one. also 1/2 ounce won't be very noticeable aroma, if you can I would buy at least one more ounce. I usually do 4-5 ounces in my ipas

It's only a 1.5 gallon batch. Does that make a difference?

 

[chuckthebutcher]

It's only a 1.5 gallon batch. Does that make a difference?

yes it does. I mean I would still use another ounce but 1/2 ounce should be fine for 1.5 gallons.