What am I doing wrong?

[dward85]

What am I doing wrong? Attached is my recipe. The beer smells and looks fantastic but the flavor just is not there. It's almost bitter. Brewed on the anvil foundry and kegged three days ago.

 

[day_trippr]

While a bit light on the IBUs, that recipe is in the ball park of many neipa recipes, including a few I've enjoyed, so I'm not seeing anything majorly out of bounds.
Can you take a good picture of a fresh pour?
And perhaps describe your post-fermentation process through kegging, with a focus on keeping air out of the product?

Cheers!

 

[dward85]

While a bit light on the IBUs, that recipe is in the ball park of many neipa recipes, including a few I've enjoyed, so I'm not seeing anything majorly out of bounds.
Can you take a good picture of a fresh pour?
And perhaps describe your post-fermentation process through kegging, with a focus on keeping air out of the product?

Cheers!

Yeah I'm not really sure why I'm getting such a bitter and bad aftertaste. Pretty bummed. Pic of a fresh pour attached. Pressure transfer from fermenter into keg. Has been carbonating for 48 hours at 12psi

 

[day_trippr]

Ok, the good news is it doesn't look oxidized (which is tragically common 'round here with new-to-neipa brewers).
But now I'm wondering if you're getting a yeast bite? Which would explain a couple of characters.
The choices are to plough through it until you've pulled all the yeast, or let it sit for a few days and allow it to drop hard and maybe leave the yeast on the keg bottom...

Cheers!

 

[dward85]

Ok, the good news is it doesn't look oxidized (which is tragically common 'round here with new-to-neipa brewers).
But now I'm wondering if you're getting a yeast bite? Which would explain a couple of characters.
The choices are to plough through it until you've pulled all the yeast, or let it sit for a few days and allow it to drop hard and maybe leave the yeast on the keg bottom...

Cheers!

Thanks for the input. Appreciated! It really has a great smell but the flavor just isn't there. No hop fruitiness at all. It's very odd. The aftertaste is bitter. Just to add more info I DH day 3, DDH day 6, cold crash day 10, Keg day 12, tasted day 14 after 2 days at 15psi

 

[day_trippr]

fwiw, my pipeline puts two weeks minimum between kegging and tapping - including my neipas.
I'm inclined to encourage patience here...

Cheers!

 

[Mtrhdltd]

I can't say that I have ever tried one of my beers less than a month after brewing. I can say that my beers dont taste right until at least 2 weeks cold conditioning, but I brew west coast styles so I want bitter.

 

[deuc224]

I just poured my first NEIPA and it is tint orange lol but the hop tea made every single hop note come forward in spades. Wont do another one without it.

 

[dward85]

I just poured my first NEIPA and it is tint orange lol but the hop tea made every single hop note come forward in spades. Wont do another one without it.

What is hop tea?

 

[BucksIPA]

dry hopping can add tannins and effect taste in the ferement. You could ferement 1-2 weeks, drop and clear yeast, then start dry hopping. You could always try adding hop extract, alot of commercial beers do and the amount of hops used in whirlpool in homebrews always seems low to me.

 

[BucksIPA]

Also, citra can have the off flavors of cat piss. You could switch that out for amarillo

 

[Rob2010SS]

Also, citra can have the off flavors of cat piss. You could switch that out for amarillo

I think you're confusing Citra with Simcoe, right? Simcoe is the one that people always say smells like cat piss.

I've never heard anyone say Citra smells like cat piss. It's a pretty commonly used hop.

 

[Rob2010SS]

Perhaps your whirlpool could have been bigger. You went roughly .66oz/gal in your whirlpool. My last one I went roughly 1.2oz/gal and I thought the flavor was great.

@day_trippr might be on to something with the yeast/hop bite though...

 

[1HW]

What is hop tea?

Just another way to dry hop a batch. Rather than adding loose pellets which can cause some people issues with clogging the dip tube of their secondary kegs, you can make a tea from the hop pellets (think French press coffee) and use the tea to dry hop.

 

[1HW]

Just another way to dry hop a batch. Rather than adding loose pellets which can cause some people issues with clogging the dip tube of their secondary kegs, you can make a tea from the hop pellets (think French press coffee) and use the tea to dry hop.

Also, I second the votes for hop bite. Two days on the gas is young, and you may be picking up hops in the first few pours, which, if consumed directly, taste awfully bitter.

 

[dward85]

Also, I second the votes for hop bite. Two days on the gas is young, and you may be picking up hops in the first few pours, which, if consumed directly, taste awfully bitter.

the beer is pretty clear - didnt notice much hop particulate floating around but yeah i'm going to give it another week and hope the taste improves. if not i guess i'll dump it.

 

[BucksIPA]

I think you're confusing Citra with Simcoe, right? Simcoe is the one that people always say smells like cat piss.

I've never heard anyone say Citra smells like cat piss. It's a pretty commonly used hop.

Citra hops can have the cat pee. Im not sure about simcoe, i havent actually experienced it with simcoe. Ive used simcoe with amarillo alot and havenet noticed it.

I had this citra dry hopped cider, and that was the most ive ever expereinced it, I was aware of before from using it, but this was very pungent. I dont use citra anymore. I see it in alot of commercial brews, and i think sometimes it is an extract.

 

[brewdude88]

Never made a neipa, but 2lbs is an awful lot of table sugar imo. I'd drop at least half the table sugar, all the milk sugar and get my points from malt (mashed low for light body) and don't fear a 30min+ whirlpool. Water also looks heavy on chloride for a hoppy beer, but again, west coat ipa guy here.

 

[deuc224]

What is hop tea?

Sorry man just saw this. Hop tea is 50gr(1.7 oz) of hops to 500ml of water. Heat the water to 150 and put the hops in and cover in mason jar 24hr before using. Strain the particles and use the tea on your keg before adding the wort from your fermenter to the keg. No lie it has changed the way i will brew now, all the flavor none of the bite.

 

[Bobby_M]

I never understood the idea of drying a big beer like this out with table sugar only to fatten it back up again with disgusting lactose but I digress.

A beer this big with a single pack of yeast suggests you may have an acetaldehyde issue. Does it taste like tart cider or like you're smelling the interior of a freshly cut open pumpkin?

With your timeline and large dry hop dosage, I'd expect a significant hop burn. It should be burning your throat.