Bottle conditioning dIPA - what temperature?

[grze]

Hi guys,

I just bottled my second batch of beer 3 weeks ago. It is a Pliny clone. I had a few issues during the process but nothing major. I tasted it right before bottling and although being warm and not carbonated obviously it tasted very nice, there was a nice hop punch aroma too. And then after 2 weeks of bottle conditioning I tasted it first time and it came our too sweet. On top of that it smells and tastes ok at the beginning (when it's cold) but then with every minute it becomes more sweet and sweet. Both aroma and flavor/taste. Last time I tried a bottle it also got some weird earthy-sweet aftertaste. Also, it's not a nice sweetness :/

Since the beer was ok before bottling, I'm suspecting two issues (but maybe there is something else):
1. too much priming sugar (I added exactly what was in the recipe but since it's a pretty hoppy beer and o lot of it was "lost" maybe I should've added less sugar?)
2. too high conditioning temperature. I'm in CA so the closet I keep my bottles in has around 73-76 degrees all the time.

Let me know what you guys think.

 

[freisste]

I doubt your conditioning temps are the issue. Lots of people condition there with great success. I've heard many reports that going higher has minimal effect, so again, I would say the temp is not the issue.

I've never had pliney, so I don't know a lot about it (although I've heard great things), but I understand it is relatively high ABV. Maybe your yeast cannot attenuate further? I'd have to see the recipe and know the yeast to make a real conclusion about that.

Is this the first brew to exhibit this issue? As a high(ish) ABV brew, it would probably benefit from longer than average aging. I know its an IPA and will lose hops aroma/flavor quickly, but if its too sweet, it sounds like it isn't enjoyable anyway.

 

[aiptasia]

I bet you used dextrose (corn sugar) for priming. I've stopped using dextrose because i've noticed it gives my bottle conditioned beers a "twang" that's somewhere between sweet and slightly sour. I don't like it, and i've switched to using brown sugar for priming. Light brown sugar for lighter ales, dark brown sugar for everything else. I've also noticed that corn sugar is so fine, it picks up flavors in your fridge if you store it cold.

Temperature generally doesn't have a negative effect on your priming and conditioning. I let mine carbonate on the top shelf of a dark closet in a box and it works just fine.

 

[grze]

Thanks guys. I used the white labs california ale yeast. And that was another thing I was considering. Maybe I didn't have enough yeast in the priming bucket somehow, or they were in bad condition due to slightly high fermentation temperatures as well :/ not sure.
But the type of sugar maybe right, aiptasia, you're right I used dextrose....So if you use brown sugar do you do anything extra to it to sanitize or whatever, or just boil it same way as dextrose, cool and add to priming bucket? I'll probably try that next time.