High IBU... but not bitter?!?!

[Tall_Yotie]

Howdy all!

So, I made a ruination clone, from that dern magazine:

5gallons
14lb 2-row
1lb Crystal 40L
3oz Columbus hops 14%AA 90min
1.5oz Centennial hops 10%AA 15min
0.5oz Centennial hops 10%AA 5min
2oz Centennial hops (dry hopped 7 days)
WLP002 2L starter
155F mash
OG: 1.060
FG: 1.013

The calculations say it should be over 100 IBU. 2 weeks in the bottle I am tasting the brew. Tastes delicious (and a little sweet), strong hops aroma, minor hops flavor, and barely any bitterness. So, where did my bitterness go? This is the first time I have done a strongly hopped brew, so not certain if this is a RDWHAHB thing and the hops comes out over time, or if something odd happened and I somehow lost all of my alpha acids.

Thanks for any info!

 

[joel4482]

I am no calculator, but I would add 1-2 ounces of columbus at 60min and a couple ounces of centennial at 30 min and you would have a similar flavor with more bitterness. Sounds like you were hoping for a little more bitterness. Looks like a good recipe the way it is though. You could also try a lower mash temp 150-152 to get a little lower FG. That may allow more bitterness and less sweetness to come through. Water can make a big difference on the bitterness as well.

 

[Alemaker]

How do you add hops to the boil? Do you use a hop bag? Also, how's your water? Maybe it needs some calcium.

 

[Tall_Yotie]

The hops are in a hops bag, space in the bag kept to let the water soak through the hops. The water is from a well, so it is not like city water. No idea what is in it. Now that I think about it, all the brews I have done up at that spot (father in law's) have never been particularly hoppy.

I am pretty new to doing the heavy hopping, so not particularly versed in what gets the bitterness. I thought boil_time and hops_AA% was the only real factors, affected by the OG though slightly. What else affect the bitterness? I wish to learn! Father-in-law is a hop-head, so if his water is against this he may be rather unhappy.

Edit: @joel4482 Yeah, wanted far more bitterness. It is still a really good beer, and my wife and I will gladly drink it, but it is just not what i was aiming for.

 

[Alemaker]

Harder water will give more bitterness from hops. If you have soft water, try adding calcium carbonate or gypsum.

 

[Tall_Yotie]

May have to look into that and get him to analyze the water. Should be interesting. Thanks for the info!