Help Me Fix My Pale Ale

SevenOaks · Jun 14, 2016

A while ago I brewed Yoopers Pale Ale according to her posted recipe. All went well during the brew and fermentation and it has been kegged now for a month. Maybe my Cascades were old or something but this tastes very bland - zero hop flavor. Not surprising but nobody likes it. There's still 3/4 of the keg remaining so I was thinking I could dry hop in the keg to give this some life. I have an ounce of Motueka pellets available that I'll probably go ahead and add.
Any predictions on how that will turn out?

theseeker4 · Jun 14, 2016

SevenOaks said:
A while ago I brewed Yoopers Pale Ale according to her posted recipe. All went well during the brew and fermentation and it has been kegged now for a month. Maybe my Cascades were old or something but this tastes very bland - zero hop flavor. Not surprising but nobody likes it. There's still 3/4 of the keg remaining so I was thinking I could dry hop in the keg to give this some life. I have an ounce of Motueka pellets available that I'll probably go ahead and add.
Any predictions on how that will turn out?

Lots of people dry hop in the keg, but if you are adding hops to an already carbonated beer, be careful. The addition of the hops can cause severe foaming, and you could end up with a beer volcano in your keggerator. It might be best to turn the gas off and release the pressure a couple times a day until the pressure is pretty much gone before you put the hops in. Someone with more experience might have a better idea.

Also, is it possible that your beer got oxidized? Other than the cardboard flavor lots of people describe, one common sign of oxidation is loss of hop flavor and aroma. Good luck!

SevenOaks · Jun 14, 2016

Thanks for the tip about possible foaming. I will definitely depressurize over the next few days first.

theseeker4 said:
Also, is it possible that your beer got oxidized? Other than the cardboard flavor lots of people describe, one common sign of oxidation is loss of hop flavor and aroma. Good luck!

Anything is possible, but interestingly, this is the first beer that I transferred from fermentor to keg with CO2 and a SS siphon. The reason I suspect the hops is that I got them from my LHBS and they had been repackaged into 1oz ziplocks from who-knows-what.

potseeslc · Jun 14, 2016

SevenOaks said:
Thanks for the tip about possible foaming. I will definitely depressurize over the next few days first.

Anything is possible, but interestingly, this is the first beer that I transferred from fermentor to keg with CO2 and a SS siphon. The reason I suspect the hops is that I got them from my LHBS and they had been repackaged into 1oz ziplocks from who-knows-what.

The fact that they were in Ziplocks and not vacuum sealed scares me. Plus Cascade if not handled correctly loses Alpha Acids faster than most hops.I think you are correct that it could be your hops that are at issue.

Look at this chart.

SevenOaks · Jun 19, 2016

Keg-hopping with an ounce of Motueka made a huge difference. Still not the best beer I ever made but now I look forward to my next pint instead of dread.