Hopefully no home brewers make this mistake...

[themanc84]

I brewed two 3 gallon all grain batches--an IPA and a Saison.

I took a gravity reading on my IPA today and it tasted like crap, there was absolutely no hop flavor.

It took me a little while to realize why, then I realized that I was adding .03 oz of hops per increment instead of the .3 oz of hops my recipe called for.

Both batches are ruined. At least I know how to use a scale now.

 

[flars]

Would adding a hop tea for bitterness and dry hopping save the beers?

 

[rupert130]

Add souring bugs to both, low IBU will let the bugs do their thing and won't become harsh when sour.

 

[JonM]

Ruined? No way. Less than perfect, sure, but ruined? No. Bottle, carbonate, chill and drink them. They're still beer.

 

[DrunkleJon]

For the IPA, just throw a bunch of hops in it for a dry hop. If you have several ounces of spare hops throw them in. You should get some bitterness, and even more flavor/aroma. It should at the very least make it more drinkable. It probably will be more of a Hoppy Pale than an IPA though.

And as far as I am aware Saisons have low to no noticeable hop bitterness. How is that one ruined?

 

[themanc84]

Several ounces? How much would you recommend?

Sure the saison isn't supposed to be hoppy, but we're talking about a total of .2 oz of hops here

 

[castillo556]

Dry hop the IPA and saison's aren't supposed to be hoppy or bitter anyways.

Are you sure they are ruined?

 

[DrunkleJon]

I have added upwards to 4-6 oz of hops in a dry hop to great effect. Hasnt added all that much bitterness that I could tell but was an explosion of flavor and aroma. I have been binge listening to the back episodes of Basic Brewing Radio, and remember there was one where a guy sent James a brew where all hopping was late in the boil (like 10 mins through dry hopping and he used something like pounds of hops though) and it turned out amazing. You could also boil a hop pellet tea to add to see if you can up the bitterness some.

As for the Saison. Dont give up on it until you try it. I think the hops are in there more for preservation than anything else (much like in a dry stout or any other barely hopped style) hence why most styles are around 10 IBU and up, with lambic and gueuze styles being the only ones that go lower. The unnoticeable hop bitterness is to prevent other bugs from taking hold which are wanted in the lambics.

 

[Cheesy_Goodness]

Sounds like your finished product is less than perfect, but unless it's infected with an undesirable bug, or the fermentation temps went super crazy, you can probably still salvage both beers.

Dryhopping the IPA is a good idea. Id start with about 2-3 oz for your 3 gallon batch and work your way up from there if necessary. You could dry hop the saison too, but I'd be more tempted to make a hop tea and add that to your fermentor.

Ruined =/= not turning out as expected

 

[DrunkleJon]

With beer, as with painting (apparently, according to Bob Ross), consider these types of things to be happy little accidents rather than ruinous. Its only ruined if you have to dump it because any time you take a sip you start uncontrollably expelling all of your bodily fluids from every possibly opening.



Bob knows best.

 

[themanc84]

Thank you for the responses. I enjoyed the Bob Ross Youtube video. I'm going to dry hop the hell out of this IPA and see how it turns out.

I'll look into making a hop tea for the saison right after the weekend. I'll report back with the results.

 

[themanc84]

Just one more question if anyone can provide insight. I know that dry hopping is not recommended for more than a week, but in this instance would it be advisable to dry hop a little longer to infuse as much aroma and flavor as possible?

 

[doug293cz]

Just one more question if anyone can provide insight. I know that dry hopping is not recommended for more than a week, but in this instance would it be advisable to dry hop a little longer to infuse as much aroma and flavor as possible?

Probably not. It's a case of diminishing returns. Most of the hop flavor and aroma is extracted in the first day (ref.) Leaving them in too long can result in grassy or vegetal flavors.

Brew on

 

[Smellyglove]

Probably not. It's a case of diminishing returns. Most of the hop flavor and aroma is extracted in the first day (ref.) Leaving them in too long can result in grassy or vegetal flavors.

Brew on

In my experience thos vegetal flavors will go away, I guess they just drop out. But I keg, I don't know how it would act in a bottle.

Btw, maybe opening up a small can of worms here..

I've done some "tests" where I've samples my DH IPA's every day, up to the 8th day mark, at ferm-temps (19C). I've gotten the best and most flavor at day five, by far way better than comparing to day two (after 24 hrs). But i leave my DHs in. If I'd pull them on day two, any guesses on how the beer would be on day five?

I've cold crashed IPAs after one, two, three days after DH, and it's just not the same as leaving the stuff in for five days. But for fun, would it be the same if I'd pull them on day two, and let the beer sit until day five at ferm-temps?

 

[doug293cz]

In my experience thos vegetal flavors will go away, I guess they just drop out. But I keg, I don't know how it would act in a bottle.

Btw, maybe opening up a small can of worms here..

I've done some "tests" where I've samples my DH IPA's every day, up to the 8th day mark, at ferm-temps (19C). I've gotten the best and most flavor at day five, by far way better than comparing to day two (after 24 hrs). But i leave my DHs in. If I'd pull them on day two, any guesses on how the beer would be on day five?

I've cold crashed IPAs after one, two, three days after DH, and it's just not the same as leaving the stuff in for five days. But for fun, would it be the same if I'd pull them on day two, and let the beer sit until day five at ferm-temps?

Sounds like an interesting experiment. The study author measured concentration of specific hop compounds in the beer as a function of dry hop time. I don't think they did taste evaluations as a function of time. It may be that it takes some time for the flavor of the hop compounds to mature after they are extracted.

Brew on

 

[Kahless]

When a similar thing happened to a beer of mine as to the underhopped IPA, I made a hop tea and added significant dry-hopping. When I opened the first bottle it tasted both sweet and bitter at different points in taste, and was not pleasant, but after another month it was fantastic; the flavours mellowed together into the most drinkable beer and the dry hop aroma was still there.
I've had more compliments about that beer of accident than any other beer i've made, so give it a try.

 

[themanc84]

When a similar thing happened to a beer of mine as to the underhopped IPA, I made a hop tea and added significant dry-hopping. When I opened the first bottle it tasted both sweet and bitter at different points in taste, and was not pleasant, but after another month it was fantastic; the flavours mellowed together into the most drinkable beer and the dry hop aroma was still there.
I've had more compliments about that beer of accident than any other beer i've made, so give it a try.

That's good to hear. How much hops did you use for dry hopping? I added about 3 oz of hops for a 3 gallon batch.

 

[Kahless]

I've no idea as it was a long time ago (before my current brew calc). It'd depend on the type of hops and the characteristics you want from them eitherway. I'm sure 1oz/gallon will be grand :rockin: