Counter Balancing Bitterness Post Fermentation/kegging

[RiRo]

Right ... so I picked up some K&K stuff at Brewcraft a few weeks ago and asked for a Carlton Draught recipe (aye, I know ... fairly ordinary, but its what I drink when I duck out with friends for a drink so wanted some on tap at home) ... anywho, its all done and dusted and came up reasonably well, however: the 'recipe' called for 15grams Pride of Ringwood 'hops teabag' steeped for 10minutes, which i did ... but then dumped the liquid AND the hops bag into the fermenter, where it stayed until I kegged it a few days ago.

Soooo ... the colour is fine, the clarity is fine, the aroma is fine ... but its WAAAY bitter. I can only assume that happened due to me including the hops bag in the fermenter during fermentation? Which is strange as bitterness is achieved by boiling hops ... anyway.

My question is (or rather should I) boil up a small amount of lactose and add that into the keg to counterbalance this bloody weird bitterness? Just to sweeten it up a little?


The recipe:

Beer Makers Draught .7kg
#15 Brew Enhancer (brewcraft brand)
Pride of Ringwood 15g
Dry Enzyme 3g
Muntons 'Premium Gold' Yeast
23 litres

OG: 1.042
FG: 1.012

 

[Lodan]

I think it is a little strange that you have excessive bitterness from a steeped hop teabag added. Maybe something else has happened?
Did you fish the tea bag out after cleaning the fermenter? was it all there?

You could try lactose but it might make the beer more bizarre rather than bitter. If you let the beer age for a little while the bitterness should soften

 

[Amber Fluid]

A keg will mature faster than bottles, I'd put it away and try it again in a month or 2.

 

[Impy]

The recipe:

Beer Makers Draught .7kg
#15 Brew Enhancer (brewcraft brand)
Pride of Ringwood 15g
Dry Enzyme 3g
Muntons 'Premium Gold' Yeast
23 litres

OG: 1.042
FG: 1.012

When I've used dry enzyme it's left the beer with an unpalatable harshness. That might be what you're tasting. 15g of steeped hops shouldn't give much bitterness at all and adding the bag to the fermenter isn't overly bad either.

How long was it in the fermenter for? Leaving the beer in contact with hops for a long time (like 3-4 weeks) can extract an astringent flavour which is like a puckering bitterness.

 

[QldKev]

When I've used dry enzyme it's left the beer with an unpalatable harshness. That might be what you're tasting. 15g of steeped hops shouldn't give much bitterness at all and adding the bag to the fermenter isn't overly bad either.

How long was it in the fermenter for? Leaving the beer in contact with hops for a long time (like 3-4 weeks) can extract an astringent flavour which is like a puckering bitterness.

That would be my guess too, it's not so much that the POR has added bitterness, it is that the enzyme has stripped all the malt. Leave it to mature for a couple of wees and you will be surprised at home much it changes in the keg.

 

[RiRo]

Thanks for the responses guys ... I didnt think the hopbag was adding any bitterness, so I can only assume from the feedback that the dry enzyme (which Ive never used in a brew before) is what's causing this really strange taste.

I'll leave it for a month and come back to it. Should I leave it in my keg fridge or can I remove it and keep it in my brew room unchilled? Obviously rechilling before serving.

Thanks again

 

[Impy]

Thanks for the responses guys ... I didnt think the hopbag was adding any bitterness, so I can only assume from the feedback that the dry enzyme (which Ive never used in a brew before) is what's causing this really strange taste.

I'll leave it for a month and come back to it. Should I leave it in my keg fridge or can I remove it and keep it in my brew room unchilled? Obviously rechilling before serving.

Thanks again

I'd take it out of the fridge to help the ageing process along. A useful rule of thumb is for every 10C rise in temp, a chemical reaction will happen twice as fast (called the Arrhenius equation)

Because of this cool fact, put some into a bottle and cap it (so the carbonation doesn't disappear obviously) then put it somewhere consistently warm (behind/on top of the fridge) on a week or so you'll have the same effect as a month or two of ageing.

 

[pcmfisher]

I am a little concerned about a F.G. of 1.012 when using dry enzyme.

I would have expected 8 to 10 lower.

 

[RiRo]

I am a little concerned about a F.G. of 1.012 when using dry enzyme.

I would have expected 8 to 10 lower.

Huh ... it was constant at 1.012 for 3 days ... total time in fermenter was 11 days. You're saying it should have dropped to around 1.004 - 1.002 ??

 

[pcmfisher]

Huh ... it was constant at 1.012 for 3 days ... total time in fermenter was 11 days. You're saying it should have dropped to around 1.004 - 1.002 ??

1.012 would have been your expected final gravity without any dry enzyme. Much lower when using dry enzyme.

How long was it fermenting for?

 

[RiRo]

1.012 would have been your expected final gravity without any dry enzyme. Much lower when using dry enzyme.

How long was it fermenting for?

Primary fermentation lasted for around 3 days - violent airlock activity - and then from the 4th day I never saw it pop another bubble, water levels in the airlock remained constant until I kegged it on the 11th night. As the SG was constant the 3 days prior to that night I assumed it was done, and being partially impatient due to running out of beer ... I kegged it.