Great start, but unsatisfactory finish. Needs help.

[NinjaBear]

I created a rye ale recipe.

The head and aroma is savory.
The start of the sip gives a burst of flavor from herbs and spices that is unique from any other beer I've ever had.
The bittering hops make their presence known in the body.

But then they don't stop. The bitterness escalates through the finish. The finish is also very dry. Leaving the mouth parched.

The level of bitterness is good. It just stays with you and doesn't go away.

What ingredients can help smooth the finish, cut the bitterness so it doesn't linger, and remove dryness so each sip can be more satisfying?

 

[drainbamage]

Can you post the recipe? That would help pick out individual components that might be causing the issue.

In general, it sounds like you mashed too low, leaving a very dry body with very little residual sweetness.

 

[microbusbrewery]

It'd help if you posted your recipe and maybe some process details. It sounds like you may have some astringency issues with the "parched" description.

 

[brew_ny]

a recipe and your steps will help a lot

 

[Psylocide]

I was thinking astringency as well...

 

[treacheroustexan]

Recipe, OG/FG, Mash temperature, all that would help. I had a beer finish at 1.001 due to my mash temperature and it was kind of like you described.

 

[unionrdr]

Either that, or low mash temp with too many added sugars? Low malt content compared to batch size & yeast used? My 2c anyway...

 

[cannman]

We had this issue at our club a few months ago. Debate ran for a few weeks and by the time we opened another bottle up, the excessive finish had conditioned out. So just put it up and let it rest. Cheers!

 

[NinjaBear]

Sorry, started at work.

This is an outside the box, extract recipe.

Herbal Rye Ale

4 Gallon Wort
2 oz Chocolate Rye
3 oz Cara Rye
3 oz Crystal 60°L
4 oz Rye Malt
4 oz Flaked Rye
Steep 30 minutes at 155°-160°

Boil 60 minutes
6 lbs Gold LME
1 oz Columbus bittering hops

Here's where it gets weird.
I got this idea after researching herbs used before hops were the universal adjunct for beer.

10 minutes remaining
1 oz fresh, organic rosemary
Washed and chopped (leaves only)
5 minutes remaining
2 bulbs garlic, peeled and crushed

Wort Chiller to 80°
Pour through filter into primary.
Top up to 5 gallon mark.
Pitch Munton's dry Yeast
Airlock for two weeks.
Rack to secondary
After 1 1/2 weeks "dry hop" with
1 oz fresh oregano, washed and chopped
1 oz fresh basil, washed and chopped
Rest for 1/2 a week, filter into bottling bucket with 5 oz priming sugar in 1 cup water to bottle condition for two weeks.

The dryness/parched finish has actually increased with age.

Early bottles where strong flavor, strong aroma, and heavy body.

Aroma has maintained, flavor has mellowed, but stabilized. But bitterness, dryness, and parched mouthfeel has peaked.

Unfortunately, I didn't take OG/FG readings.

 

[microbusbrewery]

First off, I wouldn't classIfy hops as an adjunct. In brewing, the word "adjunct" usually describes a fermentable source other than malt (e.g. Belgian Candi sugar, corn sugar, etc.).

So, you bittered with an ounce of chinook, a high AA that would contribute somewhere in the neighborhood of high 40's to high 50's IBUs (assuming decent utilization), plus you added a mixture of spices that your research indicated were used in beer before hops (which would imply they add bitterness to balance out the malt sweetness) and you're wondering why it turned out overly bitter? I've never researched or tried using alternative bittering options, but it sounds like you've overdone it. 40-50 IBUs gets you in the range of a traditional English IPA. I'm not sure what the spice combination adds but I'd assume it'd add a fair amount more. Those spice additions seem like a lot to me too...but as I said, I don't have any experience trying to bitter with hop alternatives.

Spices do tend to mellow with age and hop bitterness will drop with age, so you could try waiting to see if it improves. The only other option I can think of is brew the same recipe with substantially less bittering and blend it with this beer, thus diluting the bitterness.

It still sounds to me like you're also dealing with astringency issues though. A harsh drying sensation like grape skins is the result of extracting tannins...could have come from the garlic or rosemary.

Edit: OP indicated Columbus, not Chinook hops

 

[NinjaBear]

It's not so much that it is too bitter. I like bitter beer, but the bitterness lingers with the harsh dryness accenting it.

Fixing the dryness should provide an overall impact in the right direction. Then if the bitter seems over the top, I can measure back on the others.

So what would be a way to reduce the dryness on the finish?

 

[Toga]

Ok to round out the bitterness first wort hop. It takes the sharpness off while still achieving the desired effect. 2nd back off on the bittering hop addition a bit. Or use a lower AA hop. To get rid of some of the dryness perhaps add some extra crystal. If you were brewing all grain you would just have to up your mash temp.

 

[invictusbrew]

So what would be a way to reduce the dryness on the finish?

You added two BULBS of garlic to "4 gallons of wort" (not sure if that's pre or post boil, but I suppose it doesn't really matter). That's a ton of garlic. If I were making four gallons of soup I'm not sure I would add that much garlic, and here you have added that amount to beer.

What you are most likely tasting in my opinion is the bite of garlic, it produces much of the same sensations you're facing and lingers. While I'm not sure if it would make much of a difference with the amount used, I'm also willing to bet that you did not roast the garlic and instead added it more or less raw?

If you were to do this again I would recommend only a couple cloves (the small sections inside the bulb) at most and you must roast them (wrap in foil and toss in the oven at 350F for a couple hours). I'm not so certain that this will create a nice beer, but it will certainly be an improvement from the garlic juice you are currently drinking.

 

[NinjaBear]

You'd be surprised. It's added right at the end. And really only attributed to the aroma.

When still young, the beer was a hit. But the dryness that is coming with age is what's unsatisfactory.

And I'm fixated on this because its really surprised those who have tried it. And they want more.

But I'd prefer something that can age longer.

 

[NinjaBear]

Ok to round out the bitterness first wort hop. It takes the sharpness off while still achieving the desired effect.

What do you mean by wort hop in this context?

As for reducing the bittering addition, that is a consideration. I've considered backing off significantly to give it more of a malty flavor.

Additional crystal will add to the body and could round out the final product.

 

[ong]

What do you mean by wort hop in this context?

As for reducing the bittering addition, that is a consideration. I've considered backing off significantly to give it more of a malty flavor.

Additional crystal will add to the body and could round out the final product.

He's saying "first wort hop," i.e., add the bittering hops to the first runnings before you bring the wort to the boil. This is supposed to result in a gentler bitterness.

I'd also point out that Chinook is a pretty rough bittering hop. You might try something a little less harsh, like Magnum or whatever (I tend to like Simcoe as a bittering hop as long as I've got some lying around).

Edit: sorry, I see your post says you bittered with Columbus. Someone posting below that said you used Chinook.

 

[NinjaBear]

I was assuming it was a different name for same hop.

I hadn't heard of adding hops before the boil before. I will definitely need to play with that next time I make an English bitter.

 

[microbusbrewery]

Edit: sorry, I see your post says you bittered with Columbus. Someone posting below that said you used Chinook.

Sorry, that was my bad, I must have had Chinook on the brain.