PeteOz77
Well-Known Member
OK, so seeing as how I am new, and like a lot of NewBs, I can't leave well enough alone, I tried adding bittering hops to a couple of my extract brews.
Brew #1, is a mild Munich Lager (not really a lager, it has ale yeast and doesn't require lagering). I made this as my first brew with 12gm of Hallertau in a teabag type aroma hop packet, it was nice, but I decided to go bigger this time. It was an afterthough, and the fermenting process was complete. I decided I wanted a higher ABV, and while boiling 2 litres of water and 1KG of dried brew blend (malt/dextrose etc) I dropped in about 3/4 oz of Simcoe hops. This was split between two batches of brew, so 1.1lbs of LME and 1/8 ounce of hops per fermenter, or the entire lot across 46 litres of beer. I am happy with the taste, but the hops have given it a bitter aftertaste that I would like to deaden if possible.
Brew #2 is am American Pale ale extract kit that again, I loved before I started messing with it. This one, I boiled 25gm of the simcoe hops in 1.5 litres of water.. no sugars at all. I added this to 23 litres of wort at the pitching stage. Again, I love the flavour of this brew, but the hop bitterness is putting off everyone I serve it to. I can drink most anything, and I just ignore the aftertaste and enjoy the great flavour of the beer.
My question is..can anything be done now at the kegged/serving stage to tame the bitterness in the aftertaste?
Both brews are kegged and force carbed Brew #1 is 24 days old and Brew # 2 is 27 days old.
I assume that if I just leave them alone, they will mellow with age, but if that is not the case, or if there is a way to mellow them out, what might I be able to do?
Brew #1, is a mild Munich Lager (not really a lager, it has ale yeast and doesn't require lagering). I made this as my first brew with 12gm of Hallertau in a teabag type aroma hop packet, it was nice, but I decided to go bigger this time. It was an afterthough, and the fermenting process was complete. I decided I wanted a higher ABV, and while boiling 2 litres of water and 1KG of dried brew blend (malt/dextrose etc) I dropped in about 3/4 oz of Simcoe hops. This was split between two batches of brew, so 1.1lbs of LME and 1/8 ounce of hops per fermenter, or the entire lot across 46 litres of beer. I am happy with the taste, but the hops have given it a bitter aftertaste that I would like to deaden if possible.
Brew #2 is am American Pale ale extract kit that again, I loved before I started messing with it. This one, I boiled 25gm of the simcoe hops in 1.5 litres of water.. no sugars at all. I added this to 23 litres of wort at the pitching stage. Again, I love the flavour of this brew, but the hop bitterness is putting off everyone I serve it to. I can drink most anything, and I just ignore the aftertaste and enjoy the great flavour of the beer.
My question is..can anything be done now at the kegged/serving stage to tame the bitterness in the aftertaste?
Both brews are kegged and force carbed Brew #1 is 24 days old and Brew # 2 is 27 days old.
I assume that if I just leave them alone, they will mellow with age, but if that is not the case, or if there is a way to mellow them out, what might I be able to do?