WY1318 Questions

[couchsending]

It all depends how much you transfer over.. if you get a ton of yeast and hop matter transfered in my opinion it can make a difference.

 

[marjen]

So I did make a starter for tomorrow. But I liked the advise on here to boil right in the flask. Did that with the stir bar in it. This is after running through dishwasher. Should rule out contamination of the starter.

 

[Morrey]

So I did make a starter for tomorrow. But I liked the advise on here to boil right in the flask. Did that with the stir bar in it. This is after running through dishwasher. Should rule out contamination of the starter.

Is the stir bar made to withstand the heat of a direct boil? My stir bars are made with a hard molded plastic type coating that seems it may melt. Yours may be different.

 

[marjen]

Is the stir bar made to withstand the heat of a direct boil? My stir bars are made with a hard molded plastic type coating that seems it may melt. Yours may be different.

Guess I will find out

 

[marjen]

It survived.

 

[marjen]

So question for the group. I pitched about an hour ago. I used 4 total oz of hops in the kettle. 1 in the boil and 3 in a whirlpool. The whirlpool hops were in a hop bag. When I transferred I also ran it through a strainer to try and capture any hop particles and it pretty much went over clean, meaning the strainer really only picked out a little bit.

Now I am one hour post pitch and the fermenter looks like below. What is all the stuff at the bottom? Is it yeast? is it grains? I will say I do BIAB and when I pull out my grains there always seems like a lot less then when it goes in. Are grains getting lose and maybe that is the harshness I am getting? Should I dump some of this stuff or leave it alone?

 

[Bamsdealer]

A little of everything. Hot/cold break, particles from your grain thay werent converted to sugar, much of the hops will still make it through as well. That's typical of a well hopped beer.

 

[marjen]

Even when using a hop bag? The bag was full of hops when I pulled it out.

 

[couchsending]

That seems like a ton of trub to me.

 

[hezagenius]

My beers always look like that. It should compact down over a day or two.

 

[Bamsdealer]

Some hop matter still makes it through, but bags do a good job containing most of it. Don't be concerned... that looks like a typical biab beer.

 

[Hophunter]

Maybe I missed it but how are you transferring from kettle to fermenter? If it is infection related (not saying it is), tubing could be the culprit. If it hasn't been replaced it could explain why all fermentation vessels have the same issue.

 

[MerlinWerks]

Additionally, if any of your transfers include a ball valve that's been in use for a while it would definitely be worthwhile to completely disassemble and inspect it. Happened to a friend of mine, I got one of these after his experience: https://www.brewhardware.com/product_p/tc15_2pbv_ez_npt12.htm

More info: http://brulosophy.com/2014/11/13/problem-identification-or-helping-a-buddy-stay-in-the-hobby/

 

[marjen]

So I met up with a member of this forum today who has been brewing for a long time. I left him some of the beer to taste. He believes its a hopping issue and the beer is way to bitter. He thinks its from the dry hops not dropping out as he had a similar experience at some point. I tasted it myself yesterday and the taste was better than it had been and there was some aroma coming through so I do not think its an infection. Its still very cloudy but for of an orange/yellow than greenish color from last week. I am going to give it some more time to see if it gets any better.

For the batch currently in the fermenter I am going to only use 3-4 oz of dry hops instead of the usual 8. I will see if that helps at all. Not sure I am going to use a hop bag or not.

 

[marjen]

A couple updates. With the batch I brewed 19 days ago and kegged 10 days ago. It is now tasting pretty good. I dumped a few pints but it is quite drinkable at this point. Issue I feel pretty confidently with right now is it was hops not dropping out.

My next batch in the fermenter I used about half the usual hops. It’s day 6. I took a gravity reading and it is down to 1.010. The beer is pretty clear. I took a sample and no harsh taste like the last bunch of bad batches. I s mystery is solved. I will take steps to reduce hop residue going forward either via filters or hop bags. Glad it was not an infection.

 

[marjen]

Well I kegged the last batch at day 7. I then quick carbed it and we were drinking it on day 8. Tasting great already. I did add about 3 oz of hops to the keg in a bag held by dental floss.

Really confused why I am having issues with hops not dropping out during all those bad batches. I dont cold crash and maybe over the summer months it was just warm enough to be an issue? It also took a solid 3 weeks for the hops to really drop out of the last batch enough to be good, while this batch, even though i used half as much hops, tasted great at day 8. This is certainly an adventure.

 

[leesmith]

Well I kegged the last batch at day 7. I then quick carbed it and we were drinking it on day 8. Tasting great already. I did add about 3 oz of hops to the keg in a bag held by dental floss.



Really confused why I am having issues with hops not dropping out during all those bad batches. I dont cold crash and maybe over the summer months it was just warm enough to be an issue? It also took a solid 3 weeks for the hops to really drop out of the last batch enough to be good, while this batch, even though i used half as much hops, tasted great at day 8. This is certainly an adventure.

That's good to hear! Thanks for the update.

Be careful with the dental floss...it can break and then the bag will clog your dip tube.

I use butchers twine and a lid like the one in the post below. A friend made mine but you can buy them also.

http://www.laundrybrewing.com/2016/11/citra-epa.html

 

[couchsending]

I can’t really imagine drinking a heavily hopped beer 8 days after brewing it... most of the great hoppy beers are minimum 14 days and most 21 brew day to package. And most of those taste even better after a week in the can. You need to cold crash, plain and simple. Maybe not down to 32* but definitely below 40. Heady is supposedly cold conditioned at around 40 for two weeks before packaging. As long as you manage your O2 pickup well your beer will get better. This whole idea of rushing the process cause it’ll be fresher if you drink it while it’s still green is not really how it works.

 

[leesmith]

I can’t really imagine drinking a heavily hopped beer 8 days after brewing it... most of the great hoppy beers are minimum 14 days and most 21 brew day to package. And most of those taste even better after a week in the can. You need to cold crash, plain and simple. Maybe not down to 32* but definitely below 40. Heady is supposedly cold conditioned at around 40 for two weeks before packaging. As long as you manage your O2 pickup well your beer will get better. This whole idea of rushing the process cause it’ll be fresher if you drink it while it’s still green is not really how it works.

Yeah I’m not a big fan of a short turn around time and I’ve learned the hard way. A long enough primary with a slow carb and condition does a beer good. Some beers are ready sooner and some need more time...just depends on the recipe.

But I think the OP is finally figuring out his particular issue here. A least he knows its hops and probably not an infection.