Hey all
I have made a few extract brews now, after having read up on the How, and the Why of how it will make my beers better.
I have had three extract brews turn out really well except that in all three the beer has ended up being a little too bitter, a Hefeweizen, a Belgian Ale, and the DSGA (clone).
Each time i have re-checked the hop schedule, my timings were spot on, and i did also cool the wort quickly at the end of the boil.
I did not attempt to strain out all the loose hops after having read about hot wort oxidation, and i am using a 10litre stockpot for about an 8 litre boil by the time i have added everything in incl grain steep liquid.
After almost two months the bitterness in the Belgian Ale has mellowed slightly, and it really is becoming a wonderful beer with a rich sweetness (the Candi sugar?) balanced by a strong flavour that maybe the T-58 yeast has thrown in, but still has a quite bitter aftertaste that seems just a tad out of balance, enough to be noticeable. Maybe at 3 mths it will be really good, don't know if i am that patient though. (Recipe I can post if anyone is interested)
Q: Is there such thing as hop over-efficiency? Do i reduce my 60min hop addition by 20% or something and see how it turns out? Do i reduce the volume of liquid for the boil a little? Should i be finding a way to remove some of the loose hops in the wort? Do any hop debris drop out through a CC period and do they contribute to bitterness in a problem way?
Maybe some daft questions....but if someone experienced the same maybe you have a suggestion?
Cheers,
Michael.
PS. Thanks to all that helped with my Hefe, the extract version with no kit, all wheat malt, and no dextrose, seems much improved out of fermenter, it's richer, and even though i stuck with WB06 this time, i fermented 2 degrees higher and i do have some bubblegum so very promising!! Now that i have a base for comparison, next time i will have a go using 3068 yeast.
I have made a few extract brews now, after having read up on the How, and the Why of how it will make my beers better.
I have had three extract brews turn out really well except that in all three the beer has ended up being a little too bitter, a Hefeweizen, a Belgian Ale, and the DSGA (clone).
Each time i have re-checked the hop schedule, my timings were spot on, and i did also cool the wort quickly at the end of the boil.
I did not attempt to strain out all the loose hops after having read about hot wort oxidation, and i am using a 10litre stockpot for about an 8 litre boil by the time i have added everything in incl grain steep liquid.
After almost two months the bitterness in the Belgian Ale has mellowed slightly, and it really is becoming a wonderful beer with a rich sweetness (the Candi sugar?) balanced by a strong flavour that maybe the T-58 yeast has thrown in, but still has a quite bitter aftertaste that seems just a tad out of balance, enough to be noticeable. Maybe at 3 mths it will be really good, don't know if i am that patient though. (Recipe I can post if anyone is interested)
Q: Is there such thing as hop over-efficiency? Do i reduce my 60min hop addition by 20% or something and see how it turns out? Do i reduce the volume of liquid for the boil a little? Should i be finding a way to remove some of the loose hops in the wort? Do any hop debris drop out through a CC period and do they contribute to bitterness in a problem way?
Maybe some daft questions....but if someone experienced the same maybe you have a suggestion?
Cheers,
Michael.
PS. Thanks to all that helped with my Hefe, the extract version with no kit, all wheat malt, and no dextrose, seems much improved out of fermenter, it's richer, and even though i stuck with WB06 this time, i fermented 2 degrees higher and i do have some bubblegum so very promising!! Now that i have a base for comparison, next time i will have a go using 3068 yeast.