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I'm certainly using distilled water. I don't think that's the problem. I've been looking at wine coolers as a possible fermentation chamber. They are typically digitally controllable from 45-75 degrees, and often completely silent (thermoelectric cooling rather than compressor)

It's possible that the FF fermentation times are more accurate at the high end of the temperature range (80-84)?

Not just that, but the instructions to pitch the hops after 3 days are clearly bogus. I'll wait for complete ferment next time. In fact, I'll be hopping into the serving keg so they will stay on until the keg is kicked :) Although, that plan will mean I can't cold crash before racking unless...

I borrowed someone's Facebook account to browse the picobrewers forum - it's *full* of people having the same problems as us with IPA/IIPAs. One guy says he has it figured out after 15 batches, his method is: - pitch half pack of yeast - FF ferment for 7 days for normal beers, 10 days for...

It's day 11 now of my Little RIPA fermentation, I just pulled up on the fast ferment valve and there is still significant gas escaping (I've been checking this the last couple of days) Should I wait until this is no longer happening before I rack?

Okay, I just read a bit more on oxidation, and you're right - there's no way those effects would show up on the very first pour. Gotta be incomplete ferment. I was going to rack this batch tomorrow evening (6 days ferment, 5 days on dry hops), but maybe I'll wait another day or two.

To be fair, I think you mentioned the half pack thing after he and I had already pitched :) Next batch I will definitely try it!

Sweetness can also be from oxidation, and I'm not really sure which one its from. My ambient temp is around 71-72F, no clue what the wort temp actually is though. Not being able to ferment at room temperature would be a huge negative for me.

Was that using the FF valve or standard ferment? Either way, 11 days @ 68F seems like more than enough time to have a good fermentation no? The upside is that if either of us does figure it out we should be able to deduce what made the difference!

I am scared of oxidation only because A) My three batches up to now have all exhibited off flavors associated with oxidation (sweetness, lack of hop character), and B) From what I can tell hop-forward IPAs are particularly sensitive to oxidation. Since these were my primary motivation to...

Thanks. The contrary opinion is that its best to add dry hops when a little bit of fermentation is still going on, so that a little CO2 will be produced to prevent the beer from oxidizing during dry hopping phase. For my next batch, I'm going to ferment for 7 days, and then rack to another...

I have not seen that - can you elaborate? This last batch I actually purged the keg with a bit of CO2 after opening to pitch the hops, just to minimize chances of oxidation. Based on feedback here my current batch I allowed to ferment for 6 days, and am now dry hopping for 5 days. It will be...

That is disappointing to hear. Is there *anyone* on this thread that has had great (or even good) results with any of the IPA recipes? It seems like it should be the easiest thing in the world to have a strong hop nose from a dry hopped beer that is only literally days old!

Looks like they are coming along with the Freestyle software: https://www.cnet.com/products/picobrew-freestyle/preview/

Thanks. The Pico spunding valve is a completely manual spring type, not adjustable or controllable, but I believe it is around 5 PSI max. I really only want to rack with around 1-2 PSI, so I'll probably have to keep pulling it manually to release pressure. But I thought connecting a loose hose...

Thats a great idea too. How do you achieve the counter pressure? I'm thinking of two ways with the included Pico equipment: 1)use the included racking tube attached to the IN of the serving keg (liquid pushed into the OUT). The length of the tube should create a bit of back pressure, maybe...

I suspect you are right just because it's really only 2 days between racking and first pour - seems like not nearly enough time for oxidization to be significant. I'm thinking more about the dry hop step - opening that lid exposes the beer to oxygen that is trapped in the keg for 5+ days. Maybe...

Could be. The other think I was thinking about is purging/priming the serving keg with CO2 first before racking to it. Since I am serving from another corny keg I think I'll go right from ball lock out to ball lock out, that way I could keep both kegs essentially sealed during racking. Again...

Here's another thought - has anyone tried racking using CO2 instead of the Pico unit? I'm wondering if the Pico unit is potentially adding too much oxygen as a result of the pumping?

I'm certainly willing to give it a try on my next batch :) Cheers