Not Bitter Enough...

[smata67]

I don't think I got the stated bitterness from my latest Pale Ale. I should have ended up with about 40 IBUs, but I think, and talking off the top here, I got somewhere near 30. The particular recipe I used specified Nottingham Ale dry yeast. Can I end up with a lower than programmed bitterness with this yeast? I like how quickly it fermented and how quickly it carbonated in the bottle and makes a hard yeast cake that won't pour out, but I think this may have been a factor. Also, my boil is what can be described as a "rolling" boil, it is not vigorous and there is no danger of boiler over with my level of heat. I'm boiling 2.5 gallons and I'm getting a nice hump in the center, but I think maybe I'm not boiling "hard" enough, could this be a factor? Should I really press the heat on my boil, go at it real hard, to the point of risking a boilover? Is this the proper way to boil?

 

[steelebrew]

yes the better the boil the better the hops utilization. Don't fear the boil over, wait until the hot break before adding the hops. Then just monitor after each addition until it gets to a rolling boil again.

 

[Turbulence]

Are you factoring in that you are only boiling 2.5 gallons as opposed to a full boil? The smaller volume of wort greatly reduces the bitterness in the beer, assuming you are topping off to a 5 gallon batch.

 

[northernlad]

Yeast has nothing to do with hops. You want a packed yeast cake that won't pour out. A rolling boil IS vigorous. It won't boil over after the initial foaming has subsided.

 

[smata67]

My recipe was not clear on the size of the boil, but I'll check on that. It may very well have been designed for a full 5 gallon boil. So, what would be the impact? By how much would the hop utilization be affected?

 

[smata67]

This was my recipe:

http://www.brewmasterswarehouse.com/recipe/45d02989/shoultzmeyer-brewery-sw-pale-ale

Seems to me like there is plenty of hops in there even for a 2.5 gallon boil. The boiling hop (centennial) is 8.8% AA.

 

[smata67]

Yeast has nothing to do with hops. You want a packed yeast cake that won't pour out. A rolling boil IS vigorous. It won't boil over after the initial foaming has subsided.

I have read somewhere that Nottingham does affect hop bitterness in some way, I'll dig it up.

Edit: Here it is, Danstar's own website

"may reduce bitterness levels..."

http://www.danstaryeast.com/products/nottingham-ale-yeast

 

[smata67]

How do I figure out how to adjust my boiling hop level given different boiling sizes, is there a program for that somewhere? Does anything else need to be adjusted when I'm using a 5 gallon recipe with a 2.5 gallon boil?

 

[mtnbikerbrewer]

I have read somewhere that Nottingham does affect hop bitterness in some way, I'll dig it up.

Edit: Here it is, Danstar's own website

"may reduce bitterness levels..."

http://www.danstaryeast.com/products/nottingham-ale-yeast

Also, in my experience and research, yeast has an effect on the *perception* of hop bitterness and/or flavors/aromas. For example, US-05 vs S-04... US-05 is going allow the hops to shine through a bit better than the S-04 which will help the malt profile comparatively.

 

[smata67]

According to Brewmaster's, all their in-house extract recipes (those titled Shoultz-Meyer) are designed around a 2-3 gallon boil (talked to the recipe developer himself), so my bitterness should be right on. Week 4 and the brew is still a bit cloudy, not bad, though.

 

[Starderup]

I'd run those numbers through BrewTarget to double check. Then, I'd add an ounce of Magnum to the 60 minute hops and see who comes out on top.
BTW, Pale Ales are supposed to be more on the flavor side as opposed to bittering hops, so you are probably dead nuts on with the IBUs.

 

[smata67]

I also ran the recipe through beersmith and I get the stated 42 IBUs. Thing is, the beer seems noticeably less bitter than Sierra Nevada which is reported to be 38 IBUs. Could just be an "apparent" bitterness not being as pronounced in the S-M recipe. I'm finding out 40 IBUs is about my upper limit for bitterness tolerance.