Harsh Hop Bitterness/Aftertaste?

[Stevorino]

I've noticed in 2-3 of my last hoppier ales they've had a fairly astringent/harsh bitterness in the aftertaste. Any idea what this could be attributed to?

I tried filtering one and it was just as bad as beforehand. Aging hasn't seemed to help either (one is about 6 months old).

 

[Sleepyemt]

recipe?

 

[ArcaneXor]

A recipe would definitely help, but here are some general pointers:

- Use low co-humolone hops like Magnum and Horizon for bittering
- Make sure you know your water profile and filter/treat it accordingly. Harsh bitterness can come from overuse of gypsum.
- You can extract tannins from the vegetable matter in hops when you do large additions. Try using T-45 pellets instead of T-90 or whole hops.

 

[Jawbox0]

Does late hoppping help? Getting the majority of your IBUs at 45 minutes instead of 60 or 90?

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

Do you have any idea how much Sulfate you have in the water?

 

[Dog House Brew]

Do you have any idea how much Sulfate you have in the water?

Agreed on water. If you haven't had your water tested I would send a sample to ward lab and find out. I have good tasting water, but when I got my test results it made perfect sense why my IPA's were so harsh they were almost undrinkable. My guess is it is your water.

 

[Fletch78]

subscribed

 

[Redbeard5289]

Dog House Brew,

What did you do to your water to counter the sulfite issue?
I think this maybe the issue I am having recently...

Redbeard5289
Btw, sorry if this seems like a hijacking of the thread...

 

[Redbeard5289]

Dog House Brew,

What did you do to your water to counter the sulfite issue?
I think this maybe the issue I am having recently...

Redbeard5289
Btw, sorry if this seems like a hijacking of the thread...

 

[Stevorino]

I've been brewing proven recipes from Jamil's Brewing Classic Styles and a couple other Brewing Network Recipes. I'm wondering if it could be the water profile. I have had my water tested by Ward Labs and it's very very soft - hardly any mineral content.

So I've been adding around 100ppm of Gypsum (and other salts) to get the calcium content up. I may try backing off on the Gypsum for my next batch to see what happens.

 

[gnuworldorder]

what hops and what yeast were you using?

 

[Stevorino]

what hops and what yeast were you using?

Centennial/Cascade

WLP001