Kit way off in IBU (Brewer's Best Belgian Caramel Wit) - REALLY?!?

[Wooden]

So, brewed up a kit the other day with my dad - a Brewer's Best Belgian Caramel Wit Extract kit. It's advertised at 15-20 IBUs. Figured that would be perfect for dad who doesn't like too hoppy, and for showcasing a special ingredient of ours...

It's maple sapping season in our neck of the woods, and heard from someone having good luck doing a sap beer with a Belgian, so we decided to go for it.

Anyway, when trying to decide whether or not to make any adjustments to the recipe or hops addition (since we were doing a full boil and my dad doesn't like "too" hoppy; etc., I put the recipe into Brewersfriend.

Based on the "default" AA values for the German Hersbrucker (4%) hops provided, a FULL boil of 1 oz at 60 minutes would have been around the 15-20 range (as advertised on the kit).

However, actual AA% on the provided bag of hops the hops provided said 2%. This put me is at 7-8 IBU for the recipe.

Personally, I am really surprised that they would provide the kit with such a difference in AA. I'm not one for overly bitter, but a little concerned that there just might not be enough to balance out the flavors (especially since the sap boosted the OG a bit).

Unfortunately, LHBS was closed by the time we already had the boil going, so there was not a lot we could do.

What do you guys think? Will we be drinking a syrupy mess? The beer had OG 1.07 and will come in at FG 1.018-1.02 (surprised inputting the additional sugars in to the calculator didn't show the beer "drying out" more). Yeast is T-58.

Anyone have experience with a kit being WAYYY off in terms of IBU? In my case it's only off by 7-8 IBU but that's about 50% under what it was advertised to be. Woulda been even less if we were doing a regular partial boil as most extract brewers would have!

 

[IslandLizard]

That's really bad from that company, if it's their kit, it should have at least matched the final recipe IBUs.

You could have boiled it with only a fraction of the extract, like 20-30% then add the remainder at flameout. Lower gravity gives better hop utilization, but it won't double it.

If your maple sap contained 1% of sugar, did you add the total amount of sugar in BF? Even if you did, it's still a very small amount by weight. If you wanted more maple sugar in your brew, you should have condensed the sap first, to say 10% or higher, then added the hops at some point and given them a 2 hour boil. Then add all the extract at flameout. The longer boil would have increased the IBUs a bit too.

Maybe you've reached the point in your brewing career to buy loose ingredients for the many good recipes you find here and elsewhere. Some kits also disclose their ingredients.

 

[Wooden]

That's really bad from that company, if it's their kit, it should have at least matched the final recipe IBUs.

You could have boiled it with only a fraction of the extract, like 20-30% then add the remainder at flameout. Lower gravity gives better hop utilization, but it won't double it.

If your maple sap contained 1% of sugar, did you add the total amount of sugar in BF? Even if you did, it's still a very small amount by weight. If you wanted more maple sugar in your brew, you should have condensed the sap first, to say 10% or higher, then added the hops at some point and given them a 2 hour boil. Then add all the extract at flameout. The longer boil would have increased the IBUs a bit too.

Maybe you've reached the point in your brewing career to buy loose ingredients for the many good recipes you find here and elsewhere. Some kits also disclose their ingredients.

True. I'm probably at this point in my brewing career (and just did my first "solo" recipe I made on my own last weekend), but wanted it to be a kit just to make it more straightforward for my dad so he can look at and follow along with the instructions.

The sap was a little over 1.02; we boiled it a bit beforehand to get it to caramelize a bit.

The sap was the brew water, including the steeping water. The latter was a questionable decision on my part, as it may have affected the "steep-to-convert" (mash?) of the grains, but we did a full boil. I figured it would affect hops utilization but not hugely.

I AM surprised they missed this bad on the IBU's. Usually I have to make a judgment call with kits (IPA types mainly) of cutting the hops or adding later, but I at least want to the option/materials of making the kit to style, esp for something like this.

I don't think I have ever had a belgian and been like, "dam. That beer is way too hoppy/bitter".

The experience was kind of eye - opening: check your kit first and don't just blindly accept their numbers.

Also a bit off were the gravity calculations for OG and FG (this was without the sap accounted for) but I could figure that might be a limitation of the Brewer's Friend software (no option for "steep-2-convert")

 

[IslandLizard]

Kit instructions can be faulty too. Many still call for racking to a secondary fermentor after x days. There's no need for doing that, and can cause problems, e.g., infection, oxidation, stalled fermentation, etc. Just let them be in the original fermentor for 2-3 weeks. Your beer will love you for it.

The other problem with kits is they can sit on the shelf forever, which is not good for the hops either. They're best stored frozen, or at least refrigerated. Yeast too should be at least refrigerated. Dry yeast can be frozen for longer keeps.

Doing a full boil is indeed advantageous when using maple sap, but concentrating it first is necessary to be able to detect any of the maple characteristics later. 1.020 from the raw sap is actually pretty good, yet it contains very little sugar (~4.4%) and even less flavor. From what I've read most flavor is developed during the concentration process due to caramelization and possibly some Maillard reactions once it gets thicker. The sugar simply ferments out, leaving only a hint of "maple" behind. Honey flavor fares a similar fate and only if added after primary fermentation is completed, it can leave a subtle hint.

Real Belgians are not very hoppy, although there are some "Belgian style IPAs" around that are. Flying Dog's Raging ***** is a good example of packing in a good hop punch. Belgians are all about yeast character.

Sugars from your steeped malts are calculated in BF. Their calculators are very good. The 1.020 sap should not have a negative influence on your steeping extraction if you steeped in 5 gallons. How was the crush on those grains? If very coarse it takes more time to dissolve all the sugars. A dunking agitation and a good squeeze at the end should get most of the goodness out. I used to sparge the steeping grains too, but you need a way to control the pH or you risk extracting tannins. pH should be below 6.

I'm sure the beer will be good, alas a bit less bitter and hoppy. You could make a quart of "hop tea" and add it at bottling time to correct that.

 

[kayaker]

Damn, I brewed this on the 16th, a week after Wooden posted and thought, "Hmmm, an ounce of 2.0 AA hops seems pretty low. Oh well, it must be what the style calls for". Today as I racked to a secondary, I thought about it some more, noticed the kit IBU range (15-20), did the calculation with the 2.0 ounces of 2 AA Hersbrucker... sure enough, 7.3 IBU. :-/

So, Wooden... did you just let it ride? Did you get to F.G. and taste it yet? What do you think?
Mine is at 1.018 as I'm racking it (O.G. was 1.060)... still very sweet with no offsetting hop bitterness.

I'm not sure I want to spring for a $25 ounce of IsoHops just to add 6 drops in this batch (and have no idea of the shelf life on the IsoHops...I'd probably have it forever).


- Kayaker