Brew number 2

[takkforalt]

So here we go. After brew one turned out to be more of a Belgian Trappist than an ipa. Still drinkable but certainly only 1-2 at a time, I'm on batch 2.

IPA, OG 1.045 (remembered to take one this time). Just took a reading and its 1.010. This sounds about ready to bottle to me, but the recipe didn't have any tips on final gravity. I make that to be about 4.6%.

Had a taste when checking the gravity and it's certainly not as much flavour as batch 1, which is disappointing. Should I be concerned or will flavour come with bottle conditioning? It's been pretty cold here recently so could that have affected the flavour?

Thanks in advance for tips and advice!

 

[takkforalt]

Oh and carbonation was very hit and miss last time. I have 330ml bottles and I added a sugar water solution to the bucket before bottling previously. Lots of almost flat beers. Any more tips on this?

 

[JimRausch]

Yes, most probably 1.010 is FG. But take another reading in a couple days to be sure.
Now- lack of flavor. Is that lack of hop flavor? Because if that's the case you can partially fix it by dryhopping. If you were hoping for more malty flavor, then you'll have to change your recipe for next time. However, carbonation almost always improves our flavor perception. so hopefully it will get closer to what you're hoping for when it's completely finished.
With carbonation, 1st check priming sugar amount with a priming calculator, then make sure the sugar solution is well mixed in your bottling bucket. After a couple of inconsistent batches, I now do a gentle mix about 1/3 and 2/3 of the way through my bottling. Then it's all about temperature and time- the 3 weeks at 70* is correct. Some can be carbonated before 3 weeks, but they should all be consistent if you wait the 3 weeks( I admit I'm never patient enough and always check at 1 and 2 weeks).
And remember- practice makes perfect, so get working on your 3rd batch!

 

[takkforalt]

Great advice.

I'm lacking hop flavour. I used a blend of 3 hops but feel they may have lost their flavour since batch 1 through poor storage. Not so keen on a strong malty flavour so fine with that, (although that was more batch 1)

What would dry hopping mean? Is this something for batch 3 or rectifiable now?

Cleaning the bottles now ready for the big day in a few days then

 

[hopjunkie26]

Agree with Jim, sounds like dry hopping is about all you can do at this point. Depending on the beer, I usually use 1-2 ounces for dry hopping, sometimes more. Again, it depends on the beer. Once you know which hops you want to use, and how many you want to use, you can toss them in the fermenter straight from the package, or you can sanitize a small hop sack, put the hops in the sack and then toss them in.

 

[takkforalt]

Just looked up dry hopping. Would this be effective in the final few days of primary. I'm going straight to bottle from this. Is there any disadvantage to leaving the dry hopping hops in the primary for a week (which would mean my beer was in the primary for 4 days longer than first planned?) will the beer suffer from spending longer in the bucket than going to bottle?

Also I only have summit 17.4%, chinook 13% and magnum 15%, would these be appropriate? (Other sources suggest lower).

Thanks again guys

 

[JimRausch]

Rectifiable for this batch.
Dryhopping is adding more hops after fermentation is finished- it adds aroma and because of that, flavor. Won't add bitterness though.
So, you can throw in 1 or 2 oz. of whatever hops you want- probably pick those in the original recipe. Leave them in there for a week or so, then rack to your bottling bucket.

 

[JimRausch]

Sorry, can't help you as to which of those 3 varieties- I'm not much of a hophead and tend to stick with Cascade and Centennial when I do PAs. But, others will undoubtedly pitch in with recommendations.
Recommendations for dryhopping usually seem to run 4-7 days, then package. But I've even seen people who dryhop in the keg and leave them there until it's empty, so I guess it's pretty variable.
Oh- as a general rule, only good things can happen if you leave the beer in your primary for longer than expected- especially if it's only a few extra days, or a few extra weeks. The yeast do wonderous things for us if we let them.

 

[takkforalt]

Fantastic. Will have a look around see what people say about dry hopping varieties. Thanks again all!!

 

[Puddlethumper]

Also I only have summit 17.4%, chinook 13% and magnum 15%, would these be appropriate? (Other sources suggest lower).

Thanks again guys

You can leave the beer in primary for several weeks if you need to. Generally a beer like an IPA or APA doesn't like to sit as long as a porter or a stout, but a few days one way or the other won't make a lot of difference.

All 3 varieties listed are bittering hops and I, for one, wouldn't choose any of them for dry hopping. (Magnum would be my choice if I was forced to decide.) Your safest bet is to look to your recipe for the aroma/flavor hops variety that you pitched at the end of the boil. Go with a second ounce or so of that one. Failing that Willamette, Goldings and Fuggles are almost always a safe bet.

Cheers!

 

[takkforalt]

Seems to be a lot of love for chinook online as a dry hop (from my three at least) think I'll try dropping some of them in.

 

[duboman]

At 1.010 you are at 80% apparent attenuation which is pretty good, not sure it's going to go lower than that! I wouldn't use any of those hops to dry hop and if it really is an IPA I would suggest at least 3oz of hops to dry hop, even up to 5 of a nice aroma hop like Cascade, Amarillo, Citra, etc.....

I like dry hop for 5-7 days in primary and if it takes you a few days to pick up some hops it's really no big deal, the beer will be fine in the mean time. Just get your hops, toss them in and wait 5-y days. Then, when ready to bottle you can cold crash for a day or two, or not. Put a sanitized muslin bag or lady's nylon, whatever over the end of the racking cane to filter the beer as you rack it tot the bottling bucket. Cheers!

 

[lowtones84]

It is mostly a bittering hop, but people definitely use Chinook for dry-hopping. I've never done it personally, but I've had beers that had a Chinook dry-hop that were good.

 

[Puddlethumper]

Seems to be a lot of love for chinook online as a dry hop (from my three at least) think I'll try dropping some of them in.

I find Chinook to be somewhat harsh. YMMV. Perhaps as a dry hop they behave differently.

Most recipes that call for a dry-hop addition call for an aroma hop variety. Simcoe, Citra, Amarillo, Cascade, etc. would be a safer choice for dry hopping. But then that is the joy of this hobby. You can try anything you like and if it works, great! You've discovered something. If it doesn't work, that's great too! You've learned something.

Cheers!

 

[dkennedy]

Personally, I wouldn't hesitate to dry-hop with the Chinook, if you like Piney notes.

 

[takkforalt]

Chinook in. Thx for the tips. Will let you know how it goes

 

[takkforalt]

Lots more bubble activity after dry hopping than prior to. Reaction to the hops? Having the lid off too long?

 

[duboman]

Lots more bubble activity after dry hopping than prior to. Reaction to the hops? Having the lid off too long?

Hops provide nucleation sites for the co2, that's all you're seeing, no worries.

 

[takkforalt]

Hops provide nucleation sites for the co2, that's all you're seeing, no worries.

Nice one

 

[takkforalt]

Beer still tastes a bit soapy. Probably not much left to do but bottle and hope for the best now I guess?

 

[takkforalt]

Maybe it's just like that. Also had some discussions regarding good priming calculators