Trouble with my 90 Minute IPA Clone

[lonestar1]

I brewed the Dogfish Head 90 Min IPA recipe from the recipe thread according to the following recipe which I tweaked a little:
1lb 2-row (crushed)
1.5lb Thomas Fawcett Amber Malt (crushed)

I steeped those in a grain bag in 1gal of water between 152-155 for 30-45min.
I discarded the grains.
I added enough water to for my use pre-boil.
I added 11.2lbs Extra Light LME, and subbed per below.
I followed the recipe from there, and added water to get to 5.5 in the fermenter

I subbed out some of the LME for corn sugar for attenuation. I used 12oz of corn sugar, and about 12oz less LME.
I used the following hops:
3oz Amarillo
1oz Simcoe
1oz Warrior
I mixed all hops together, and hop continuously for 90min** (see note below)
I mashed at 149-150*
For Hops here's my schedule:
Boil: 1.5 Simcoe, 1.5 Warrior, 3 Amarillo divided into 10 equal parts; Added every 10-13 minutes.
I could not obtain WLP007, so I used two packets of Safale S04.
I kept the temp in the mid 60’s for the first week and then raised it to 70-72 degrees the second week. I racked it to a secondary fermentation container for one more week.
Dry hop:
2oz Amarillo
2oz Simcoe

I combined the hops into two bags and dry hopped one each week for the first 2 weeks. I did not stir. I carbed with 5oz of corn sugar/boiled water solution.
OG was 1.090; FG was 1.035l; ABV was 8.1%

My son and I tried a bottle yesterday; it being two weeks from bottling.
The beer was flat with no carbonation. There was an underwhelming lack of hop aroma and flavor. It was still pretty sweet. I am at a loss for what happened. It's my first disaster in brewing.
My thoughts are that the S04 died off before fermentation was complete. This also prevented the carbonation.
Any ideas as to what possibly went wrong?
Can this batch be resurrected? Can I open all the bottles and pour them into a fermenter with one S-04 packet of yeast for a week-ten days and then re- bottle? What temp would you suggest for fermentation? Would I have to introduce more corn sugar at bottling for carbonation?
Any suggestions to bring me out of the depths of depression would be appreciated.
Thanks!

 

[GMasher]

I feel your pain. I think your back to making another batch. I would try a good starter. Hydrate those yeast before you pitch them into your oxygenated wort. Make sure and whirlpool the wort before putting it in the fermenter. You want as little trum as possible. I am having the same problem but I am getting to 1.018 and that is also to sweet. Anyone? Also check your FG before bottling, could have possibly used wlp099 to help along

 

[lonestar1]

I spoke with my local brew supplier, Keystone Brewing in Bethlehem, PA, about my dilemma. One of the fellows there asked me some questions and came up with the following. He had heard of others who added all the LME up front in the boil. He mentioned that the high gravity destroys the hop flavor profile. He suggested splitting up the LME additions over the course of the boil,though I actually did not reach the boil point at any time. I kept the temp right around the recommended temp. He also recommended that I increase the amount of water in the boil.
He could not provide an answer as to why the yeast did not do its job. I could have possibly rehydrated the yeast before adding it to the wort in the fermenter. Two packs of S-04 should have done the trick. The hop flavor is a lost cause.
To try to save the beer from tossing, he suggested re-hydrating Lallemand's CBC-1 and then add 2-3 drops of the liquid to each bottle and then re-cap each bottle. It should be mostly done in three days, but to wait a week to try another bottle for carbonation. Conditioning should be at least another 2-3 weeks at a minimum.
Any ideas on this suggestion?
Thanks!

 

[ktblunden]

...though I actually did not reach the boil point at any time. I kept the temp right around the recommended temp.

Explain this please. Are you saying you didn't bring it to a boil? What temp did you keep it at? Boiling is required to isomerize the alpha acids in hops, which is where bitterness comes from. If you never boiled you would not get any bittering from the hops. Additionally, boiling is required to sanitize the wort for fermentation.

I'm having trouble understanding your process from your description, but you may want to go check out www.howtobrew.com and read through the "Brewing Your First Beer With Malt Extract" chapter all the way through and check your understanding of the brewing process.

 

[timrox1212]

Yea if you didn't boil your hops then there is the problem right there. You new to do a 90 minute boil to have a 90 minute clone.


Sent from my iPhone

 

[lonestar1]

Thanks fellas.