Just getting started. Couple quick questions...

[Mario_B]

Hey everyone, I just recently started brewing. Been stalking the threads here recently trying to soak up some knowledge. I brewed an APA about 5 weeks ago. Did 2 wks of fermenting in the carboy +1 more to dry-hop then bottled. I tried it after a week just to see how it was coming along and there was plenty of carbonation and the smell is great. However, and I'm not really sure how to describe it, but it seems to be missing some frontal flavor. Is that something that will get better with age?

I currently have a Belgian IPA fermenting right now. I am planning to dry hop with chinook and centennial but I am wondering if you guys think that it will overpower the Belgian yeast flavor? Also, my OG was 1.062 and target was 1.065. I decided to just say that's close enough, but what do you guys think? Would you say it's close enough or would you have made it exact? Will the only difference be alcohol % in the end?

Lastly, can I add bottled water to the bottling bucket to make up to 5 gal? I realize that it may give me a watered down taste, but I'm just curious if it's possible or if boiling bottled water would be required?

Thanks!

 

[hercher]

I'm not entirely sure I understand what you mean by "frontal flavor" but if your beer is only 4 weeks old (if I read your post right -- 2 in primary, 1 in secondary, 1 in bottle) you likely need to give it a little more time. If you can post your recipe we might be able to comment more.

The difference between 1.065 & 1.062 isn't significant, in my opinion. It is only a 0.28% difference. Don't worry about it.

As far as dryhopping your Belgian IPA, go for it! You may want to try a half ounce of each of those hops, or if you really like hops, an ounce of each. If you are looking for a more delicate flavor, then either skip the dry hop, or add just a .25 oz of each. Again, the complete recipe might help a little here.

Don't bother adding water before bottling. You are only going to weaken the beer, and since you want to avoid splashing the beer at this stage, you run the risk of not getting all mixed in completely, and having some bottles weaker than others. Just make a note of how short you are, and adjust the next time you brew.

Good luck!

 

[agentEhrman]

Hop flavor and aroma drops out with time, and IMO it starts this immediately. If it's not there now, it might not ever be. But this isn't law either, so time will tell your results.

What was your hops schedule like? Typical bittering additions are at 60 minutes. Flavor additions are to be added between 20 and 10 minutes left in the boil. And aroma comes from kettle additions from 10 to flame out, and dry hopping. This is a rough guide, some might say flavoring is up to 30 minutes. I prefer to get about half my IBUs from the bittering addition, and the rest form generous late additions. Hope that helps.

 

[agcorry00]

The difference between 1.065 and 1.062 is quite small- you should probably consider yourself as having hit the mark. RDWHAHB.

 

[prrriiide]

Hey everyone, I just recently started brewing. Been stalking the threads here recently trying to soak up some knowledge. I brewed an APA about 5 weeks ago. Did 2 wks of fermenting in the carboy +1 more to dry-hop then bottled. I tried it after a week just to see how it was coming along and there was plenty of carbonation and the smell is great. However, and I'm not really sure how to describe it, but it seems to be missing some frontal flavor. Is that something that will get better with age?

Probably. I think you might want to be a little more patient. I know, it's hard. But your patience will be rewarded. I rarely take my beer off of the yeast before a month has passed. Then another week in secondary for dry hop and cold-crash. Then into the kegs or bottles. Unless I'm doing something that needs a longer secondary. 3 weeks from pitch to glass is pretty short, even for a pale ale. Ya gotta give the yeast time to clean up after themselves and for the flavors to develop and blend. The only time I've ever been sorry with how long I leave beer in primary is when I didn't leave it long enough.

I currently have a Belgian IPA fermenting right now. I am planning to dry hop with chinook and centennial but I am wondering if you guys think that it will overpower the Belgian yeast flavor? Also, my OG was 1.062 and target was 1.065. I decided to just say that's close enough, but what do you guys think? Would you say it's close enough or would you have made it exact? Will the only difference be alcohol % in the end?

It'll probably be OK, just don't go overboard with the dry hops and you should be fine. I'd say that missing the grav 3 pts low is not a huge deal unless you're particularly anal. Hitting it exactly is not easy unless you have process control or a good amount of experience on your rig.

Lastly, can I add bottled water to the bottling bucket to make up to 5 gal? I realize that it may give me a watered down taste, but I'm just curious if it's possible or if boiling bottled water would be required?

You shouldn't need to boil it.

 

[Wirk]

Hello Mario

Beers changes a lot in the first weeks after bottling, I like to try my beer after 1 week bottled, in the week 2, and then in the 4 week(this is where normally I consider beer "ready"), and I can tell you that little you can say about the final product in only one week, some flavours mellow, others improve, even the colour and clarity of the beer changes.

The difference between 1.062 and 1.065 is not much, relax, you should be more concerned about differences in the final gravity than little differences in the OG.

 

[Mario_B]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I made a mistake up there. I meant to type AIPA not APA.

I'm not entirely sure I understand what you mean by "frontal flavor" but if your beer is only 4 weeks old (if I read your post right -- 2 in primary, 1 in secondary, 1 in bottle) you likely need to give it a little more time. If you can post your recipe we might be able to comment more.

I didn't transfer to a secondary for dry hopping. Just threw the hops right in. Does that make a difference? I guess what I meant by frontal flavor was that the taste you get right away just doesn't seem to be full and/or as flavorful as I was expecting.

Here is the AIPA recipe I used:

9lb Pale LME
12oz Crystal 60L
1oz Columbus (60min)
1oz Centennial (20min)
1oz each Col/Cen (1min)
Dry Ale yeast (forgot which one )
Dry hopped 1oz each Col/Cen for 1 week.

Should I have extended the last 1 min boil of hops for more flavor?

As far as dryhopping your Belgian IPA, go for it! You may want to try a half ounce of each of those hops, or if you really like hops, an ounce of each. If you are looking for a more delicate flavor, then either skip the dry hop, or add just a .25 oz of each. Again, the complete recipe might help a little here.

I am using Stone's IPA recipe but substituting in a Belgian yeast. I attached the recipe pic. (Center bottom of pic) I used the extract Stone IPA clone and it was the White Labs 550 yeast I used instead. It was the liquid yeast and I made a starter for about 30 hours prior to pitching. I do enjoy super hoppy flavors and I have enough hops to double the amount listed for dry hopping. Do you guys think that will over power the yeast flavor?

I'd say that missing the grav 3 pts low is not a huge deal unless you're particularly anal. Hitting it exactly is not easy unless you have process control or a good amount of experience on your rig.

Would most brewers call that close enough though? Or is the thinking that well you are that close, you might as well make it perfect?

 

[prrriiide]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I made a mistake up there. I meant to type AIPA not APA.

I didn't transfer to a secondary for dry hopping. Just threw the hops right in. Does that make a difference? I guess what I meant by frontal flavor was that the taste you get right away just doesn't seem to be full and/or as flavorful as I was expecting.

Dry hopping in the primary is totally fine. I have found with most Belgian beers I have had that the front is much more subtle than the finish. So I would expect the taste profile to be back-loaded.

Should I have extended the last 1 min boil of hops for more flavor?

It depends on what you want to accomplish. That last 1 min in the boil is almost all aroma. You won't really get a whole lot of additional hop flavor until about 10-15 minutes. I had a delicious IPA recently that had no hop additions until the whirlpool. But, he had a truckload of hops to dump in there.

Keep in mind that the longer you boil hops, the more bitterness you extract. If you want your IPA to be more bitter, boil the hops longer (>20 min). If you like the bitterness where it is, but want more aroma, add more hops to the late additions. Search "hop bombing" or "hop bursting".

For my IPA, I do a single, small Magnum addition @ 60, and then fairly substantial additions of "American" C/citrusy hops at 15, 10 5, 1, and whirlpool. It only clocks in at about 55 IBUs, but it's got a great balance to it. It has a gigantic hop aroma and flavor, but it isn't a tongue-scraper with the bitterness.

I am using Stone's IPA recipe but substituting in a Belgian yeast. I attached the recipe pic. (Center bottom of pic) I used the extract Stone IPA clone and it was the White Labs 550 yeast I used instead. It was the liquid yeast and I made a starter for about 30 hours prior to pitching. I do enjoy super hoppy flavors and I have enough hops to double the amount listed for dry hopping. Do you guys think that will over power the yeast flavor?

Stone does this very same technique with their Cali-Belgique IPA (which is an incredible beer, IMO). Belgian yeasts are a pretty flavorful yeasts, so I don't think you'll overpower it easily. BUT...you need to make sure that the hops and yeast aren't fighting each other in flavor. So I would go easy the first time out of the chute. Not wimpy, just make sure that the two ingredients work with each other.

There's a big difference between super hoppy - flavorful and super hoppy - tongue swellingly bitter. The big difference is when you add the hops. If you want huge flavor, add them at 15 minutes or less. If you want bitterness, add them at 20 or earlier.

Would most brewers call that close enough though? Or is the thinking that well you are that close, you might as well make it perfect?

Again, it depends on what you are trying to accomplish. If you want absolute repeatability, then you want it to be exactly on the numbers. If you want something close to it next time, your probably close enough.