Did I ruin my second brew-IPA?

Hello, I'm pretty upset. I sampled my Racer 5 clone after bottle conditioning for a week and it was basically undrinkable. I know I'm probably a week or so early but is there any hope for a recovery? Everything throughout the brewing process seemed fine, airlock bubbled, gravity was correct before bottling and everything looked fine in the carboy. The only issue was I made about a half gallon extra. The brew I drank had very little hoppiness and I'd compare it to the first pour of the day at a bar that didn't clean their lines. Any thoughts?


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You need to provide more details. What ingredients did you use? How did you hop it? What is "undrinkable" about the beer?

- Joe

 

+1

The more information provided the better.

Also, an additional half gallon of beer is not a bad thing.

 

Here's the recipe. I got the kit from homebrewing.org. I kept in in the primary the whole time, dry hopped at 2 weeks for 6 days, cold crashed and bottled at 3 weeks 1 day.
http://www.homebrewing.org/assets/images/AIH 2013 Recipes/AIH Racer V Clone1.pdf


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I'm a newbie for sure so I don't know all the terminology but I thought it was heavy, flat and malty. I was over the top about sanitizing and my first brew [irish red ale] turned out just fine.


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It wasn't bitter at all though. I sample the Irish red ale a week into bottle conditioning and I could tell what it was. If someone told me this was an IPA I'd say no way. Will the taste change?


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If you had an extra half gallon of brew then you may have watered down some of the hopiness. Here's to hoping it works out for ya.

 

In my own experience, the carbonation plays an absolutely crucial role to flavor of a beer. The bite and bitterness from the co2 helps make some flavors more bright and mellows others. Same with temperature--a warm sample tastes dramatically different from a cold one.

Will the taste change? Yes. As much as it seems you're expecting? Probably not. Re-evaluate your brew day and procedure to make sure you didn't miss anything.

Looking at your recipe, though, I do have to say that is no where near enough hops to make a good IPA. I love Racer 5, but I can't see them getting that much flavor from so little hops.

 

I definitely agree that the amount of hops look a little light but I am not familiar with Racer IPA. With the extra volume, lack of carbonation, and the amount of hops in the recipe I am not surprised that you don't think it resembles an IPA.

The beer isn't ruined but it won't be a clone. I'm sure you will be able to enjoy it once you let it fully carbonate.

 

Thanks everyone. That said who makes a good kit for a pretty hoppy IPA with a citrus finish?


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