Bad Hopping Choice Related to Iced Tea Taste?

[Clint Yeastwood]

I made a lager the other day. I have great confidence in the fermentation process. I did it under pressure using 34/70, and there were no problems. It's not infected. The grain bill has worked in the past. It has never seen oxygen since it was fermented, so it can't be oxidized.

It tastes weird. I would say it's a little bit like iced tea. Not astringent at all. I mean there is a flavor in there like iced tea. The aroma, however, is perfect.

I made a booboo when I ordered hops. I wanted to use Nugget and Crystal, but my HBS didn't have Nugget. I read that Galena was an okay substitute, so I ordered it. The plan was to bitter with Galena and finish with Crystal.

I didn't check the AA content when I ordered, and when the Crystal got here, I realized I didn't have enough to make my bitterness. I slapped Crystal and Galena together to make up the difference.

Here's what I did, unless I had too many beers on brew day and entered it incorrectly:

1 oz. Galena 12.6% boil 60
0.27 oz. Galena and 0.1 oz. Crystal (2.9%) boil 45
1.25 oz. Crystal steep at end

Beersmith thinks I have an IBU figure of 48.8, which is about 5 higher than I really wanted. Don't ask me why I ended up with extra bitterness when I was concerned about having too little. The answer is not in my notes.

In the past, I loved this beer. Here is what Beersmith said I did:

0.75 Nugget 75
0.5 Crystal 45
1 oz. Crystal steep

I am guessing combining Crystal and Galena in one dose was a bad idea, since this was the only weird part of the brew. Sound plausible?

The beer is fit to drink. I would much rather have it than Bud or water. But I'm drinking it more to get rid of it than to enjoy it.

I ordered 4 pounds of hops from Yakima Valley, so I am serious about preventing future hop substitutions and mistakes.

 

[camonick]

An online description of Galena hops

—Galena’s fruity flavor profile really kicks with clean and agreeable notes of citrus. Some brewers have noted its better when boiled in smaller quantities and that later additions bring forth stronger aromas of blackcurrant.

Directly descended from Brewer’s Gold, Galena was brought about via open pollination and was officially selected in 1968 by agricultural scientist Richard R. Romanko in the state of Idaho. Commercially, Galena is most noted for it’s purported use as the only hop in pale lager, Corona Extra.—

If you used them at 60 and 45, you would mostly get their bittering qualities and little to no flavor. Galena and Nugget are both descendants of Brewer’s Gold and are all listed as substitutes to each other. I doubt the tiny amounts of galena and crystal used together at 45 minutes is even noticeable.
You have repeatedly said in numerous other posts that your taste is skewed from Covid symptoms. You’re going to have to accept that this side effect could possibly last indefinitely according to many different sources including many responses to your other posts on this forum. I personally had it 17 months ago. I used to love Pepsi. I can’t stand the taste of it anymore and it tastes like musty dirt to me now. Who knows if it will ever taste the way I remember it in the past.

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

It's a very bizarre disease. I hope it doesn't turn out we paid for its creation.

Far as I can tell, everything else tastes normal, but perhaps that is not conclusive evidence the problem is gone.

 

[Group W]

I recovering from Covid also. My taste is off as well.

Galena at 60 for bittering is fine. I wouldn’t hesitate to combine Galena and Crystal, but would probably send them in at 10 rather than 45. Mid 40’s IBUs is a bit much for a lager, but I like them hoppy also.

I know you said it isn’t astringency. But anyway, what did you do for water? What salts? Did you fly sparge?

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

Thanks for the reply, and be careful who you sit next to on that bench.

I live on a farm, and I use whatever comes out of the well. I started brewing again in January, and I figured the best thing was to get up to speed on equipment, methods, and the basics and then worry about things like water quality later.

I live on a limestone aquifer. That's about all I know.

I use a Braumeister, so it does 90% of the work. It pumps wort through the grain during the mash, and when it's done, I lift the grain out and let it drain without sparging.

I think I see a problem. For some reason, I programmed the Braumeister to mash at 130 and then 150. No idea where I got that notion.

 

[Group W]

We were on a farm using well water that was a little alkaline. Even though I used acid per Bru’n water, I struggled on lighter beers until I started using RO. Try using bottled RO on the next batch. You need some calcium in that water also and BeerSmith can calculate that. Cheers

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

Thanks for the advice.

I don't think I need more calcium. The water here is loaded with it. Lime is a real problem here.

I don't know how brewers get their water tested. I was thinking of visiting a local brewery and just asking them what they thought of the local water.

 

[Group W]

Look up Ward Labs for testing.

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

Thanks. I will do that.

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

A few days ago, I got a 12-pack of Sierra Nevada Torpedo to use as a covid taste reference, and I drank one today. I would have to say it tastes basically normal, but perhaps a little soapy, more bitter, and less sweet than usual.