BIAB CHINOOK IPA

[Hez]

At the end of the boil, a significant amount of hop material will drop to the bottom, along with some protein sludge. Leave as much as you can.

Similarly, in the fermenter, most hop material will drop out. Leave that. Otherwise, don't stress.

I use one of these for the hops, should I:

1- not use it
2- use it only for the 60' addition
3- use it for all hops (but the dry ones)
4- remove it before chilling
5- keep it there even in the fermenter

?

 

[Hez]

I finally did it!
I did BIAB, started with 12L of water for the mash, then sparged with 4L over the bag and I added 2L of boiling water to the boil but... I misscalculated the boil-off rate again, so I had to add 1L of cold water to the fermenter to end up with 10L of beer + 1L of trub.

In real-life this two variables were:
- Grain absorption: 0.73L/kg
- Boil-off rate: 3.56l/hour (I have a 30cm-15L-20$ kettle from Target or Kmart, I don't remember)

I had OG 1069 so this time I had 70% efficiency!!
Last time I had 68% and the previous one I had 65%, am I doing better or it's just the pale malt is more modified and efficient than the wheat? (last one was a witbier and the previous one a hefeweizen)

I made another mistake... I miscalculated the hops, this is what I put:

60' 10g Chinook (11.8%AA) = 27.51IBU
15' 10g Chinook (11.8%AA) = 13.65IBU
10' 10g Chinook (11.8%AA) = 9.97IBU
5' 10g Chinook (11.8%AA) = 5.48IBU
---------
TOTAL: 56.61IBU

So I went a little low, but it will still be more bitter than an english IPA, it will be a not so bold American style IPA..
I weighted the cascade hops that I have left and I only have around 13g, so on wednesday (4 days from brewday) I will dry hop 13g of them and 15 or 17 of chinhook (I still have plenty), do you think that'd be enough?

This morning the airlock was bubbling more than twice a second! :O I had never seen it like that! And there was a weird smell... maybe hops, I don't know, I couldn't breathe well this morning, I think I'm half-sick or something...
I'll keep you posted.

BTW: The chilling process in the sink changing the water and putting "esky-blocks" and frozen water bottles was a nightmare as usual. It takes hours and a lot of water, and come and go to check every once in a while... so I looked into it and I bought a cheap stainless steel immersion chiller, some silicone tubes and a pond pump on ebay. Total 48$ shipping included. The idea is to put the esky blocks, frozen water bottles etc and the pump into the "insinkerator" small sink and recirculate the cold water through the chiller (putting some of the very hot one from the beginning into another container for cleaning or flushing the toilet or something). Bad thing is I bought the very cheapest things in ebay from china, so it will take 1 month to arrive. I will have to make my next beer without it again.

 

[Hez]

Yesterday I bottled it:

OG 1069
FG 1014
Alcohol By Volume: 7.22%
Apparent Attenuation: 79%
Calories: 227.6 per 33cl bottle

I carbonated to 2.8 CO2 vol (I like it a little high)

I tasted the beer from the hydrometer and it was bitter and quite light in colour. I was expecting it to be a little darker, but that's ok.. what I didn't get was much hop flavour/aroma... let's see how it is after carbonating and conditioning...
There was almost 2 liters of trub in the fermenter! :S I will have to account for this next time I make a "big beer", I only accounted for 1L
I used a sock for the dry hops and it was floating. I think next time I'll put a couple of steel washers inside or something like that, some weight to keep the hops well submerged.

One thing I've noticed lately is when I open the fermenter I get a very strong vinegar smell. It happened at least with the 3 last beers, I don't really know if it also did with the other previous 2 ones I made, to be honest.
The beers were perfectly fine without any traces of that smell or any off-flavour but I don't know if that's normal, is it?
It is a plastic fermenter with a wide lid.

For cleaning it I wash it very thoroughly with dishwashing soap (fairy) and a scotch brite at least twice and I use the sanitizing mix as they say in the instructions before fermenting, but I can't get that smell from it... should I use a stronger detergent? which one? I think it fits in my dishwasher machine, do you think that's a good idea?

 

[laxation]

Dishwashing liquid isn't great because it can get stuck in the plastic's pores. Can you get your hands on some sodium percarbonate from the home brew shop?

Even napisan (unscented one) would be better than dishwashing stuff.

But if your beer is OK in the end, maybe not the biggest problem!

 

[Hez]

Dishwashing liquid isn't great because it can get stuck in the plastic's pores. Can you get your hands on some sodium percarbonate from the home brew shop?

Even napisan (unscented one) would be better than dishwashing stuff.

But if your beer is OK in the end, maybe not the biggest problem!

The owner of the home brew shop gave me a bag of cleaner when I bought the "initial kit" and I returned it because after some beers I hadn't used it, so I thought there was no point... I'm an *****. I'll buy a bag next time.

Do you get the vinegar smeel after fermentation? is that normal?

 

[laxation]

The only time I had a vinegar smell was when I forgot about a hydrometer sample and left it out for a week!

Give your equipment a good soak in the sodium perc, sanitise and see if it helps. If it's still there - you might be best off getting a new fermenter to avoid the risk of future batches being infected.
But again, if you're not getting any infection in your brew, I dunno - maybe it's all OK?

 

[Hez]

The only time I had a vinegar smell was when I forgot about a hydrometer sample and left it out for a week!

Give your equipment a good soak in the sodium perc, sanitise and see if it helps. If it's still there - you might be best off getting a new fermenter to avoid the risk of future batches being infected.
But again, if you're not getting any infection in your brew, I dunno - maybe it's all OK?

Yep, I will do that. Thanks.

EDIT: when you say "napisan", is it this: http://www.vanishstains.com.au/products/powders/vanish-napisan-oxi-action-powder/
?
Any particular brand/supermaket? Or do I go back to my trusty old home brew shop with the tail between the legs and ask for the pink stain remover again? what a jerk I am...

 

[nosco]

If you use Napi San or similar get the unscented one. I wouldnt use a Scotch Brite either as it will be putting tiny scratches in the fermenter that can harbour bacteria. Maybe a Chux type cloth or something soft. The good thing about Sodium Perc is that you dont need to scrub or wipe after. Just give it a good rinse.

 

[laxation]

Yep, I will do that. Thanks.

EDIT: when you say "napisan", is it this: http://www.vanishstains.com.au/products/powders/vanish-napisan-oxi-action-powder/
?
Any particular brand/supermaket? Or do I go back to my trusty old home brew shop with the tail between the legs and ask for the pink stain remover again? what a jerk I am...

I've never used napisan so I'm not sure which one in particular, but as long as its unscented many others have used it.

I'd be looking for this: http://kegking.com.au/100-pure-sodium-percarbonate-1kg-bag.html

 

[manticle]

Vinegar is not good - however co2 can burn/sting the nostrils and people often confuse that for vinegar. Pour off a small sample away from the main batch and smell and taste that. If it's still vinegar, then you have made vinegar instead of beer.

 

[Hez]

Vinegar is not good - however co2 can burn/sting the nostrils and people often confuse that for vinegar. Pour off a small sample away from the main batch and smell and taste that. If it's still vinegar, then you have made vinegar instead of beer.

I drunk the beer from the hydrometer and It didnt taste like vinegar, it tasted like warm flat beer, so I think it's safe.. not very hoppy though, next time I'll dry hop with 6g/L!

Anyway I'll start cleaning that way... Thanks !

In two weeks I'll tell what is like this Chinook-IPA-style beer.

 

[Hez]

Yesterday I opened one. It's not spoiled, it is good healthy beer. The bitterness is ok but it has some caramel flavour and the aroma is so wrong... not any hop aroma at all. I get the resin/pine aroma from the chinhook, but... no "hoppyness"

Let's see next week when it's properly carbonated and conditioned, one day in the fridge, etc. but it doesn't look good.

I'm so disappointed! Second time I try an IPA style beer, second time I have a weird beer.
So far I've made:
1- Sierra Nevada Pale Ale: very good for the first one
2- Sierra Nevada 6.5% Hopped Up "IPA": drinkable but not an IPA at all, no bitterness and no hop aroma whatsoever, the pale ale was "hoppyer"
3- Dry Irish Stout: outstanding!
4- Light/banana hefeweizen/weissbier: Very good. A little bland for my taste, no colour/maltiness at all, but well done and exactly what was to be expected.
5- Belgian Witbier / Blanche: outstanding! best beer I've made so far, almost perfect. I like it more than the commercial versions.
6- Chinook IPA: prfffft (that's a written fart)

 

[shacked]

Hez, sorry to hear that your IPA didn't turn out as expected.

Did you dry hop 30g in 10L of beer? If so, you might need to up that quantity for next time. 5g/L is a good place to start and some folks go 10g/L+!

Also, this might be weird but was your beer super cold? Sometimes I find a super cold beer might have a muted hop character and it tends to come back as the beer warms up a little.

 

[Hez]

Hez, sorry to hear that your IPA didn't turn out as expected.

Did you dry hop 30g in 10L of beer? If so, you might need to up that quantity for next time. 5g/L is a good place to start and some folks go 10g/L+!

Also, this might be weird but was your beer super cold? Sometimes I find a super cold beer might have a muted hop character and it tends to come back as the beer warms up a little.

Do you mean while fermenting or when I drank it?
The fermenter was in the bathroom, the coldest part of my house, around 20º average, maybe 22º at some point, still on the range of this yeast.
I put one bottle in the fridge just a couple of hours and then 10' in the freezer because it was still a little warm... I like beer cold and fizzy. Although it's true you loose some aroma/flavour if it's too cold.
I had a real ale (from a manual pump) at the "keg and brew" pub in Surry Hills, and it was very good!

Yes I think I was a cheap with the dry hops. Next time I'll throw a full container in!

Well, let's see how it turns out next week... I shouldn't have done that, but I was worried about the vinegar smell.
Yesterday I went to the Home brew shop and Dave told me exactly the same as you:
- It must have been the weird stuff from the yeast + the CO2. If the beer doesn't taste like vinegar, it's not vinegar.
- Don't f*cking scrub the fermenter!
- He gave me a bag of pink stain remover.

 

[hirschb]

I'd scrap that recipe all together. If you want a lot of hoppy aroma, you should dry-hop like crazy. I'd actually do three additions:
30g at 15min. boil
30g in the whirlpool (70-75C)
30g dry hop after fermentation ends or ~10 days

 

[homebrewnewb]

im not sure if it scales 'Ez
but i was running
10g amarillo 7days
10g citra 7days
10g amarillo 3 days
10g citra 3days
for the red dog on a lager. that was for 70 L and the bouquet on the nose was exactly what i was after.

 

[nosco]

Dont be stingy on the hops with an IPA. If you go big on the dry hops go big on the late hops too. They go hand in hand imho.

 

[Hez]

Hi,
I finally open one after two weeks of conditioning in the bottle and 1 day in the fridge.
The color is nice, the carbonation is ok, good head, little cloudiness, good body, sweetness and bitterness are ok and it's a very drinkable beer, but... It's not even near the hot flavour and aroma an IPA should be! I would change 2 things:
0' big hop addition and leave it there for half an hour or so before chilling.
double or triple dry hop addition!
I could tell about the piney / resin flavour of Chinook, but, only that, no hoppyness. -> BIG FAIL!

Another thing I've realized is it has a little fruty taste. I guess this is due to a too high fermentation temperature, I don't know exactly how much it was, but I brewed it 3 weeks ago in sydney, so it couldn't be more than 24º. Anyway, I've drunk 4 or 5 of them and I didn't have headache or anything, so I think it hasn't got fussel oils...

Let's see how my amber ale turns out... https://aussiehomebrewer.com/threads/biab-american-amber-ale.96458/page-2#post-1479956

If someone if willing to give this recipe a try, change the hop additions!

 

[Dan Pratt]

^ ^ not hoppy enough is your reason for the big fail.

Can you tell us what you did with the water? I may of missed it but don't recall the thread talking about the water profile for salts and minerals used.

Secondly, oxygen is the enemy of hop character, without pressure transfer you will always pickup O2 which can easily lower hop presence in your beer.

 

[Hez]

^ ^ not hoppy enough is your reason for the big fail.

Can you tell us what you did with the water? I may of missed it but don't recall the thread talking about the water profile for salts and minerals used.

Secondly, oxygen is the enemy of hop character, without pressure transfer you will always pickup O2 which can easily lower hop presence in your beer.

I didnt do anything to the Water... I should start to look into the pH, i Guess... I just used Sydney tap water!
Any advice?
What minerals /salts do you use? Where do I start?

P.S. This is the water report of my area (Mosman (Sydney suburb) uses Ryde water supply) http://www.sydneywater.com.au/web/g...ments/document/zgrf/mdq0/~edisp/dd_044731.pdf

Well, my idea of an ipa is that it should be hoppy and this one isn't... Maybe not a big fail, as it's still a pleasant beer to drink, but it's not what I wanted to do. I have to study and practice more!

PS. pressure transfer???!?!??