bw7hb
Active Member
I've been trying for a while now to brew a decent hoppy beer using extract + dry hops. I did about 6 attempts at a NEIPA and a few other dry hopped beer styles, and they all had this really strong flavor which, to me at least, made the beer undrinkable. The same flavor has occurred in all my dry hopped beers, but beers without dry hops have turned out fine. I'm not going to try describe the flavor as I don't think I have enough experience to describe it accurately, and I don't want a potentially inaccurate description to influence anyone's response. I know that the flavor I'm getting is definitely not normal - I've drunk various NEIPAs and other hoppy styles that don't have the issue.
I've done a lot of research and pondered this issue for around 4 months now. I've pretty much 100% ruled out infections and fermentation issues. The only thing I can think of is my water profile, and this is something I've never played with at all, as I've regarded it as a more advanced area that would only result in small improvements, but perhaps this is wrong.
I'm brewing using extract so I don't think it's anything to do with the wort prior to adding dry hops, but I'm wondering if my water is causing issues with the hop flavor imparted with the dry hopping. I'm using tap water (have also tried RO water, same outcome) and, according to information about my water supply, it has very low levels of both chlorides and sulfates. Around 10-20 ppm chlorides and around 3-7 ppm sulfates.
My questions are:
Any advice would be much appreciated.
I've done a lot of research and pondered this issue for around 4 months now. I've pretty much 100% ruled out infections and fermentation issues. The only thing I can think of is my water profile, and this is something I've never played with at all, as I've regarded it as a more advanced area that would only result in small improvements, but perhaps this is wrong.
I'm brewing using extract so I don't think it's anything to do with the wort prior to adding dry hops, but I'm wondering if my water is causing issues with the hop flavor imparted with the dry hopping. I'm using tap water (have also tried RO water, same outcome) and, according to information about my water supply, it has very low levels of both chlorides and sulfates. Around 10-20 ppm chlorides and around 3-7 ppm sulfates.
My questions are:
- What would you expect from a beer dry hopped with around 100g - 200g in a 23L batch with this level of chlorides and sulfates?
- What level of chlorides / sulfates should I try for my next beer (bear in mind I'm using all extract)?
Any advice would be much appreciated.