Best Bitters overattenuate when dry hopped in fermenter

[pym99]

The last two best bitters I’ve brewed have both overattenuated when dry hopped in the fermenter. I’ve had this problem with two different recipes with different yeasts and hops. After initially finishing after 5-7 days in the 1.012-1.010 range, I added 1/2 to 1 ounce of pellet hops to the fermenter to dry hop. Both beers then attenuated further to the 1.007-1.006 range over the next several days, resulting in beers that were considerably dryer than I was targeting. They’re not bad but it’s not what I wanted to achieve.

I understand that dry hopping can introduce fresh enzymes that can promote further attenuation, but is there anything I can do to prevent it? I am about ready to give up dry hopping my best bitters. I don’t have this problem with other styles I brew, like IPAs.

Dry hops are traditionally added to the cask for British ales. Does that somehow prevent overattenuation, as opposed to using them in the fermenter after primary? I usually finish fermentation by raising temps to 72 F or so to allow the yeast to clean up diacetyl etc. Should add the dry hops at a cooler temperature?

 

[Jag75]

Are you sure it's the dry hopping? I dry hop quite a bit and dont have any issues. That seems like a big drop. If your IPAs dont do that I dont know why your bitters would. Could be water profile or diastaticus yeast. What was your projected FG on the bitters? Have you done an IPA in between the bitters or have your bitters been back to back?

 

[pym99]

I’ve done four batches of different beers in between the bitters that overattenuated. I brewed a NEIPA using Imperial A38 Juice right before the last batch of bitter that had this problem. The NEIPA fermented normally and was heavily dry hopped in the fermenter in two separate additions, one towards the end of primary and another after active fermentation had stopped. I then rinsed the yeast from that batch using boiled RO water and several sterilized mason jars, then pitched that yeast into the new batch of bitter.

The last bitter had an OG of 1.048 and was projected by Brewfather to finish at a FG of 1.010, which it did. It held steady at 1.010 for three days and then I added 1/2 ounce of First Gold pellet hops for five days, at the end of which the beer had further attenuated to 1.007. It’s not a huge deal, but it is drier than I would prefer.

The two bitters were different recipes, but both had 1/2 lb of torrified wheat and a Maris Otter base. I mashed at 66 C both times. They used two different yeasts, the first one WLP023 Burton Ale and the second A38, both of which produced much more vigorous fermentations than I usually get, and they’d both been rinsed and repitched.

Maybe that right there is my problem with these two bitters. Something is getting in there when I’m rinsing the yeast and repitching, even though I was careful to boil the jars and use Star San. I think that’s probably the issue; just a coincidence that I dry hopped both in the fermenter. Not sure what I’m doing wrong with the rinsing, but for now I think I’ll stop doing it and just make a fresh starter for each batch. Not worth the risk to save $8.

 

[Jag75]

Try making your bitter with new yeast . I'm gonna guess it will be fine .

 

[tennesseean_87]

I used to get really dry beers when repitching. It was a few years ago, but I was following the received wisdom of the time which said to use distilled water to rinse, let trub settle, and keep the floating stuff. My unscientific conjecture is that my harvesting process was selecting the least floculant/most attenuative yeast each generation, which gave me drier than desired beers.

 

[dmtaylor]

Time to try Danstar-Lallemand London ESB or Windsor yeasts. Both have average attenuation in the low 60s. Then even if your dry hops lower the gravity a little bit, final gravity will still be much higher than your previous batches.