I skipped the middle 5-6 pages but, @StopTakingMyUsername, have you tasted a sample prior to dry hop to see if it has that grassy/bitterness?
I brew very much like you (minimal bitterness charge, tons of hop bursting and tons of dry hopping); averaging about 24oz hops per 10gal batch. I can't fix my dry hop either, and am getting very similar 'grassiness' that you are. I believe (2) things are at play; 1) temp at dry hop and 2) hop variety.
My last grassy batch tasted great before dry hopping with heavy charges of galaxy and citra. Afterwards, I almost couldn't drink it. My dry hop was broken up into (2) charges in primary and then keg hopped. But my latest IPA was brewed the same way but dry hopped a little cooler (65°F, I believe) and only citra. It tastes much better. So I'm thinking either the galaxy hop, dry hopping around 70°F, or both caused my grassiness. I've experienced it with other combos in the past. I'm just trying to narrow down what I like/don't like so I know what to avoid.
To your latest questions. I set my keg at 40psi for 24hrs and then drop it to serving pressure. It's 'ready' to drink after a day but tastes better after 4-5 days.
I only use TYB VT Ale yeast for IPAs now. It is much more in that juicy IPA style that I enjoy most.
I have. Now that you mention it, the hydrometer samples tasted lightly bitter as well. I guess I just expected the fermentation / dry hopping to mask it or change it into less.
The recipe I did a few pages back only had 0.25 oz magnum at 30, and then the rest was citra at 20, 10, and a whirlpool addition for a half hour. 5 day dry hop.
It's nice and juicy with no real bitter.
The magnum contributed kind of a light earthiness from the sample I pulled, but going forward I'd probably skip FWH/60/etc and just add the hops at 10 mins and then a huge whirlpool and dry hop.
The temperature varies, as they just sit in the bucket in my ferm chamber with whatever else is fermenting at the time. I may need to adjust temp up or down to meet the temp range for a new beer that's undergoing fermentation.
I've read that dry hop works better at room temp+ though...
Sounds like you better add an IPA in with your stout so I can test it out
I'm about to dry hop my latest ipa. I'll have to send you a couple when it's done. Used Wyeast 1450 for the first time in quite a while so I'm curious to see how it affects mouth feel. Forced ferment test shows it should finish at 1.010 from 1.066
Well, the stout won't carbonate in the bottle. Even dosed it with champagne yeast, and a week later, still nothing. So I dunno what to do.
I'm going to toss the bottles in the ferm chamber at 70 F and see if that kicks anything up. If not, I will have to dump it... which is really heartbreaking because its really good.
I still have that split half of the batch that I aged on oak, bourbon, and vanilla. I'm thinking I'll probably just rack that to a keg and force carbonate, since I'm paranoid of risking it on the bottles again.
Definitely down to try some more of your IPA though!!
Have you done an IBU calc with 23 ozs of hops? I am having a hard time with it. I understand how it works, but it always seems like the numbers are real high. The last ipa I brewed had a 45-50 IBU (wish it had more), but it tastes like it has maybe 30 ibus. A 5 gallon batch with 23ozs of hops seems like it would be atleast a 150-200+ IBU beer..?
Currently almost done with my reciepe. 2oz mash hop, 1 oz FWH, 1oz @ 60, 2oz @ 10, 2oz @ 5. IBU calc says I should be in the neighborhood of 104-138. Is this a solid guess, or will it be lower than, say, 90 IBUs? I also plan to try hop standing/whirpooling (is there a difference?) for the first time this batch. Still trying to figure out how to calc those IBUs..
That sounds like it would be insanely bitter to me. all those early additions...
but I dunno, I'm definitely no pro when it comes to IPAs
Curious how it turns out!
I never bothered calculating IBU though - adding the same amount of hops at the 60 versus at the 10 contributes wildly different numbers of IBU, and two wildly different beers. Plus, I don't like "bitter", so I've always just viewed it as "well, if it doesnt taste bitter I'm good..."
