Hop boil out

[newbuffalo]

Hello All,

I've been doing home brewing for a bit and I have run into the issue that everything I produce seems under hop'd. When I have a slow boil going it sticks to the side of the pot and seems to boil out. Is that normal or should I be mixing it back into the boil?

Second question, one of my Cream Ale batch turned brown in the fermenter. Is that infected or did something just go wrong with the yeast?

Thanks all.

 

[pericles]

everything I produce seems under hop'd

You have two options: (1) add more hops; (2) use hops with a higher alpha-acid level.

it sticks to the side of the pot and seems to boil out

That's normal. You can push the hop residue back into the pot if you'd like, but I've never found it necessary. Instead, I go back to my original point: add more hops, or use hops with a higher alpha-acid level.

one of my Cream Ale batch turned brown in the fermenter.

I need you to be more specific. Do you mean the top got foamy and tan? That's normal - it's called krausen. Do you mean that you had a light blonde wort that miraculously changed color into a dark stout? That's. . . less normal.

Regardless, a change in color is ordinarily not something attributable to yeast OR infection. Color is determined, almost wholly, by the grains you use. Or maybe in your case, (if it actually changed color in the fermenter,) by magic.

In all seriousness, my philosophy is this: if you know that your beer can get infected, and you're doing everything you should be to prevent your beer from getting infected, then it's almost certainly not infected.

 

[dcp27]

by under hop'd do you mean not bitter enough, or not enough hop aroma/flavor? if its #2, add more hops late in the boil (15mins or less remaining)

 

[newbuffalo]

Its just everything seems kind of sweet. All the beers have been on the sweeter end to start, Klosh, Honey Cream Ale, Honey Wheat (We have a hive)I wasn't sure if it was suppose to stick to the sides like that.

The brown Honey Cream Ale kind of spooked me since this is the third batch, and it go allot darker in the fermenter, the rest came out a bright golden color and this one is straight up brown. I tasted it before bottling and it was more bitter and alcohol-y then pervious but not bad, could I have just burnt the malt?

This weekend it hits too week, it has a nice yeast cake at the bottom, so I’ll drink it and see what happens. I just want to know, why it happens.

 

[Tall_Yotie]

If by under hopped you mean not as high IBU as the recipe you have claims, then it can be water chemistry. I ran into this issue, adding a little gypsum can help with hops utilization.

As for the darker Cream Ale, an infection would make it look like the swamp man moved in, not that it got darker. Is your brew extract? You could have caramelized the extract if you didn't stir well enough and thus would darken the beer.

edit: posted while you posted. Burnt flavor means burnt sugars. As for the sweeter start, did the brews ferment out as far as you expected? If so, then the sweetness could be from the burnt sides as well (caramelized will give a sweet perception).

 

[Grumpybumpy]

Adding half your LME or DME later in the boil also helps with hop utilization.

 

[dcp27]

Its just everything seems kind of sweet. All the beers have been on the sweeter end to start, Klosh, Honey Cream Ale, Honey Wheat (We have a hive)I wasn't sure if it was suppose to stick to the sides like that.

all of those beers are meant to be kinda sweet, they have very low bitterness. if its too low for you, bump up the IBUs a little next time

 

[Jayman931]

+1 on dcp27's comment

 

[newbuffalo]

I'm going to hold off on trying the beer till Thursday so if I poison myself I have the long weekend to work it though the system. I'll report back on the results. I'm thinking it just caramelized and everything will be fine.

 

[newbuffalo]

I drank one of the browner beers and I didn't get sick. It just has a very strong alcohol taste to it. I don't find it enjoyable at all. I'm not sure what caused this. I think I left it in the fermenter a week longer, maybe that was the issue? I didn't take good notes on that batch since I had done it twice before.

 

[Yooper]

I drank one of the browner beers and I didn't get sick. It just has a very strong alcohol taste to it. I don't find it enjoyable at all. I'm not sure what caused this. I think I left it in the fermenter a week longer, maybe that was the issue? I didn't take good notes on that batch since I had done it twice before.

Leaving it in the fermenter longer won't cause alcohol taste. But will cause a "hot" alcohol taste is a warm temperature fermentation. My gut feeling is that this beer got above 70 degrees, probably way above.

 

[newbuffalo]

Ah, ya that would make sense, that whole month was rocking 100+ temps, I kept it in the closet but it was 78+ in the house with the AC never turning off. Now its starting to cool off again it shouldn't be a problem.

 

[daksin]

Ah, ya that would make sense, that whole month was rocking 100+ temps, I kept it in the closet but it was 78+ in the house with the AC never turning off. Now its starting to cool off again it shouldn't be a problem.

Sounds exactly right. Hot fermentation will definitely give you that burn (it's just a flavor, not any extra alcohol). Had the same thing with my first batch, but I was amazed how much it mellowed out in the bottles.

I'd leave it in bottles for an extra extra long time and see how it chills out.