Too much hops?

[Lost Dogma]

I racked an IPA last week and couldnt resist taking a sip to see how it was doing. Holy s##t was it bittttter!

Don't get me wrong I love hops to death, but I may have chosen the wrong type or amount for my recipe. I thought it would be a good recipe and it stll may mellow out and become one, but for now, I'm having my doubts.

What do you folks think of this?

4lbs. amber DME
3lbs. xtra light DME -added DMEs to 3gal. boil @30 mins
1/4lb. crystal
1/4lb. toasted malt
1/4lb. cara pils
1oz. Millenium pellet hops 16% alpha acid @60mins
1oz. Centenial pellet @30mins for flavor
1oz. Centenial pellet @15mins for flavor/aroma
used safale US-05 dry yeast

Racked after one week. Dry Hopped with 1oz. Centenial. Will bottle in two weeks. I chose Centenial b/c of its citrus-y character. I think the Millenium may be a little too intense for the amount of sugar used however.

 

[homebrewer_99]

Just because hops come in 1 oz bags doesn't mean you have to use the entire ounce.

Dang, 16%!! My HWs only use 3% for 60 mins. I know that's gotta taste like, well, I won't say it...

I'd recommend splitting/blending it with a sweeter brew...maybe another 5 gals without hop additions...another 7lbs of malt boiled for 5 mins should do it.

 

[RodfatherX]

I'm showing in beersmith that should only be about 55-63 IBUs depending on your utilization. And, an estimated OG or 1.062.....which is a bit too bitter but.... one thing I've found found is that beers taste much less bitter when cold compared to when they are warm. Such as SNs Stout...when it is cold it is awesome, but if it warms up to about 50ishF, it gets way too bitter. And it is 60 IBU

I bet yours will be ok cold

 

[sirsloop]

Too much hops? Heck no!

 

[homebrewer_99]

Too much hops? Heck no!

Ha!! Not too much hops...too many AAs...

 

[HOOTER]

What it taste's like now and what it will taste like after a few weeks in bottles is two different things. I bet it will be a killer IPA in time.

 

[g_rath]

Never (finally) judge a beer by the pre-finished taste. its going taste a lot better after its been bottled and aged a bit.

 

[z987k]

I've got that coming in a 126IBU with a 1.109 S.G. during the boil (before adding top-off water).

So even with the lower hop utilization because of the way extract brewing works, holy **** is that off the charts.

 

[Seabee John]

let er age a bit....she'll be just fine

 

[devaspawn]

Beersmith has that coming in at 99 IBUs assuming 7 1/3 gallons boil Vol and 5 1/4 Batch Vol and 10% AAU for the Centennial (what was the AAU on those by the way?). That will always be a strong tasting beer as far as the hops go. I'd say let it age for a few months. My understanding is that hop bitterness mellows with time. The tastes mingle with time as well producing a better flavor overall. Again though, that will always be a hoppy beer. Also, someone said something about not prejudging a beer before it's truly complete. That could never be more true. I always take a sip of my hydro sample after dumping the wort in the primary. If beer tasted like that, there's no way I would drink it and I probably wouldn't be brewing.

 

[NWernBrewer]

The bitter that I recently done tasted far too bitter when it was being racked. After priming and aging about 6 weeks it is a fine beer - in fact I wished it retained more of the bitterness. From what I am looking at it looks like yours will mellow out after a few weeks to a tolerable level.

 

[The Blow Leprechaun]

Too bitter is probably one of the easiest things to fix... just wait a while and try it again. Still too bitter? Wait longer!

Some other flaws won't age out, but being too bitter totally will.

 

[kingjam]

Don't ever say "to much Hops" on this site

 

[HOOTER]

Don't ever say "to much Hops" on this site

Amen! Hops are our friends.

 

[GloHoppa]

Actually, I was talking to our head brewer the other day since we will be introducing an Imperial IPA for our new Leviathan line (big beers, get it?)...well we have been doing some r&d with some double IPAs and imperial IPAs and their IBUs as tested vs IBUs as advertised.

In this discussion I learned two things:

First, our palates can only take so many BUs. This means that even though a beer can have a ridiculous amount of BUs on paper, we can only taste up to a certain threshold. I think he said its only like 120 or something...maybe less

Second and equally interesting is that even though a beer (this is commercial and HB) can have 150 BUs on paper, it can be 20+ BUs less than that in the actual testing. This is due to "top off" techniques, variances in hop additions, etc. Secondly, only the larger breweries most likely have the ability to lab test their BUs.

In the world of bioengineering, I think those are some really interesting things in the volatile world of hop oils

 

[The Blow Leprechaun]

First, our palates can only take so many BUs. This means that even though a beer can have a ridiculous amount of BUs on paper, we can only taste up to a certain threshold. I think he said its only like 120 or something...maybe less

I've heard this from a number of qualified sources, so I'm inclined to believe it's true. But I've also heard that you can benefit from using insane amounts of hops - even though the bitterness doesn't actually increase, the resins/acids/oils from the hops are still present in the beer and will contribute to its flavor.

 

[Haterade]

If you don't like them, send them my way. I have a snuff habit that consists entirely of crushed hop pellets.

 

[Lost Dogma]

At bottling some of the over bitterness has already started to subside. I may have been overreacting . I think late next month after aging, carbonation, and chilling it may just be pleasantly bitter.

One quick note on the dry hops, however. Although this brew smells really, really good, I will either back off a little on the dry hops or switch to whole leaf if it's available. The Pellet hops, I think, left alot of fine particulate that was easily disturbed during my siphon. Not a big deal I know, but still annoying.

 

[The Blow Leprechaun]

One quick note on the dry hops, however. Although this brew smells really, really good, I will either back off a little on the dry hops or switch to whole leaf if it's available. The Pellet hops, I think, left alot of fine particulate that was easily disturbed during my siphon. Not a big deal I know, but still annoying.

I found that when I dry hopped with pellets, I left a lot of it behind in secondary going to my bottling bucket, then left nearly all the rest behind in the bottling bucket. I've yet to actually discover any hop particulate in a finished bottle of my beer.

A good suggestion I got from a nurse for avoiding this in the future, though, is to get one of those pre-sterilized bandages, they come in like packs of two or something, and attach that to the front of your siphon. You don't have to boil, it's already clean, just make sure your hands are totally clean and you should be fine.

 

[GloHoppa]

If anything does get through, just cold crash the hell out of it!

 

[Lost Dogma]

Thanks for the input everone!

Hey Leprechaun, I grew up in Montgomery County. I havn't been back in that area as an adult. How's the micro-brew/ craft brew scene down there? Here in Maine there is a number of pretty descent pubs so I'm a little spoiled. My wife and I may be in that area late this summer so I can show her my roots (and maybe an O's game) but I don't remember any brew pubs and such from my childhood (obviously). Any suggestions? The best part of traveling for me is eating tons and drinking the local brew

 

[The Blow Leprechaun]

How's the micro-brew/ craft brew scene down there? Here in Maine there is a number of pretty descent pubs so I'm a little spoiled.

It sucks! Pretty much we've got a Rock Bottom in Bethesda and a Gordon Biersch in Gaithersburg. Other than that you've got to travel a little ways. There's also a place called Growlers, but I haven't been there yet, so can't vouch for it. If you're looking for a good brewpub, I'd say stop off in Baltimore and go to Brewer's Art, or go up to Frederick to Brewer's Alley.

There's a great bar in Silver Spring called the Quarryhouse, they do two things - beer and whiskey. Excellent selection, good prices, knowledgeable staff... it's across the street from where I work, so I end up in there a lot

 

[Lost Dogma]

Thanks for the info!

 

[Aleforge]

If you don't like them, send them my way. I have a snuff habit that consists entirely of crushed hop pellets.

Have you ever smoked hops?

 

[The Blow Leprechaun]

Have you ever smoked hops?

I believe they call that freebasing, and with the price of hops as they are, you might as well go get some cocaine!

 

[Aleforge]

I believe they call that freebasing, and with the price of hops as they are, you might as well go get some cocaine!

Very true!

I said that as a joke, as I know the Hops wont make you high or anything. But now thinking about it, if fully dried and added in with pipe tobacco I wonder what it would smell / taste like.

 

[The Blow Leprechaun]

But now thinking about it, if fully dried and added in with pipe tobacco I wonder what it would smell / taste like.

Probably mostly grass, and it would probably hurt.