All Grain

[Joeq]

I have been All Grain brewing for a number of years now and have found that filtering the hops from the wort before it goes in to the fermenter is a problem. If I leave the hops in the wort they keep on adding to the bitterness for weeks after increasing the IBU's and sometimes spoiling the beer. I tried using hop bags, in some cases four seperate bags for each hop stage, also using mesh filters when adding the wort to the fermenter. late last year I purchased a stainless steel 'Cowbell' brand milk filter from a farm supplies business, quite a large funnel with a clip at the bottom for attaching a filter bag. I place this over the boiler, hanging just above the boiler, with a hop bag attached and simply add the hops to the boil as required. Removing the funnel and hop bag at the end of the boil removes all hops and removes the need to filter when adding the wort to the fermenter. Photo attached (hopefully)

 

[mje1980]

Odd, i have always let the hop matter go into the boiler/cube/fermetor, and have never noticed the beer getting anymore bitter. Good idea you have there though, must be a lot easier to clean the kettle!!

 

[Joeq]

I have made some beautiful beers, only to be ruined by too much bitterness weeks later. Maybe I have missed something here.
Cheers

 

[mje1980]

I don't think that's hops doing that. Mind you, im not sure what it could be. Does doing your new method stop it from happening??

I have an amber ale in the keg now that has hop floaties, and the yeast cake was bright green. Bitterness has smoothed out, which is always the case for me.

 

[Sammus]

I'm pretty sure bitterness compounds are only extracted from hops at high temperatures...like... boiling temperatures...maybe hops have nothing to do with it and there's something else happening?

 

[Joeq]

I don't think that's hops doing that. Mind you, im not sure what it could be. Does doing your new method stop it from happening??

I have an amber ale in the keg now that has hop floaties, and the yeast cake was bright green. Bitterness has smoothed out, which is always the case for me.

Yes this method halts the bittering action during conditoning, but maybe it is something else. You right about the bitterness being extracted during long boiling periods,maybe I am conditioning my beers for too long a period. I need to drink them faster. Cheers

 

[Joeq]

I'm pretty sure bitterness compounds are only extracted from hops at high temperatures...like... boiling temperatures...maybe hops have nothing to do with it and there's something else happening?

Thanks Sammus,
I am a bit concerned now,what do you think could be happening?. As I replied earlier to the forum bitterness is extracted from the hops at high temperatures and long boiling periods. You would think the hop residue would only add flavour.

 

[Nick JD]

If you've ever tasted the break material it's rank and bitter. Having it go into the fermenter might mean bitter compounds continue to leach into the wort.

A guess.

 

[Joeq]

If you've ever tasted the break material it's rank and bitter. Having it go into the fermenter might mean bitter compounds continue to leach into the wort.

A guess.

Thanks Nick JD,
I have just spent the last hour looking up various brewing books and most opinion is to not allow the hop residue in to the fermenter. That is possibly why. The break will allow bitter residues in to the fermenter. I always do a primary and secondary fermentation to try and clean up the beer. I maintain that using hop bags works in my case, maybe I am not letting the boil settle long enough before running the wort through the chiller, and therefor getting some of the rubbish in to the brew.

 

[mje1980]

If you've ever tasted the break material it's rank and bitter. Having it go into the fermenter might mean bitter compounds continue to leach into the wort.

A guess.

I dump the whole cube, break and all into my fermentor, and don't have the same issue. And i dont stress about getting break from the kettle into the cube. It's an odd situation having beer get more bitter over time. Again, im not sure what it might be.

 

[Sammus]

Thanks Sammus,
I am a bit concerned now,what do you think could be happening?. As I replied earlier to the forum bitterness is extracted from the hops at high temperatures and long boiling periods. You would think the hop residue would only add flavour.

I'm not sure what it might be, sorry My experience tends to agree with mje though, I make zero effort to separate any kind of trub or break material post boil, chuck it all in the fermenter. I often even add a bunch of hops toward the end of fermentation, straight into the fermenter (dry hopping). If anything, my beers get less bitter over time :\

Is it possible that your beers haven't completely finished when you package them, and theyre fermenting a bit more, making them a bit drier and the bitterness more assertive?

 

[Ross]

JoeQ,

Hop residue is not your issue.... what it really is would only be pure speculation. I would suggest you get along to one of the many great brew clubs in Vic & get some experienced brewers to taste your beer.
If you have a good brew shop local, this would be another choice.

cheers Ross

 

[Brad Churchill]

Ross seems to have the best idea.

However I have found that with a couple of my beers that were stored incorrectly (got to hot) they got very bitter. What temp. do you store your beer at?

Just a thought.

Cheers

Brad

 

[Joeq]

Thank you to all who offered assistance yesterday,mje1980,Sammus,Ross,Brad,nickjd,
I have taken aboard all of your ideas, and storage may possibly be the answer. I store the conditioning beers in my shed and it can get quite hot in the summer. I have found if I condition for a short time in the fridge there is no problem. Here in Ardmona we are a bit isolated from any brew clubs but I might contact Bendigo and District brewers club, they seem to be the closest. But I do emphasise that removing any hops at the end of boil (using hop bags) certainly seems to help with any post conditioning issues.
Cheers Fellas

 

[mje1980]

Good luck joe, im sure you'll figure it out. Let us know if/when you find out, would be of interest to most here i think.

 

[Joeq]

Good luck joe, im sure you'll figure it out. Let us know if/when you find out, would be of interest to most here i think.

Thanks mje1980,
I intend to make an Irish Red Ale again this week(my favourite beer), so I might boil the hops without hop bags, leave the whirlpool to settle for a bit longer at the end of the boil, and it is getting decidedly cooler now so might not have the warm conditioning problems. I will let you know the outcome. Thanks for your help.
Cheers

 

[Wolfy]

If you find your beer is consistently more bitter than you enjoy, the simple solution is to use less hops.

A hop-bag, milk filter or other similar setup most likely impedes the mixing of hops within your kettle, thus reducing the bitterness to closer to what you like.
Rather than messing around with all that, why not simply try some brews with less hop bittering additions until you find the level that you enjoy?

 

[Joeq]

If you find your beer is consistently more bitter than you enjoy, the simple solution is to use less hops.

A hop-bag, milk filter or other similar setup most likely impedes the mixing of hops within your kettle, thus reducing the bitterness to closer to what you like.
Rather than messing around with all that, why not simply try some brews with less hop bittering additions until you find the level that you enjoy?

Thanks Wolfy,
The problem I am having is that the hop bitterness seems to be increasing over the fermenting period, if I leave the hop residue in the wort when draining in to the fermenter, the bitterness increases. If I use hop bags the bitterness is what I want at the start of fermentation and stays the same or reduces over the ageing period, beautiful beer. I know from the posts I have had this doesn't seem right, but I am going to try a brew this week, with all of the information I have now things should be better, hopefully. Thanks for your support.Cheers