How To Fix A Brew That Is Too Bitter?

[boriskane]

hey brewers,

about to bottle a 19L batch consisting of:

3.2kg jw pils
0.7kg jw dark munich
0.3kg jw wheat

30g ekg (60)
20g cascade (60)
15g galaxy (20)
15g cascade (20)
50g galaxy (dry hop in secondary for 7 days)

got to an estimated 40 IBU, with an OG of 1.040 and an FG of 1.010 using US05

i had done an all centennial batch with around 40 as well and it wasnt this bitter going into the bottle and ive used cascade for bittering before and it wasnt this harsh, so im guessing its the ekg thats pushing it through. and the fact that i hit a lower OG than desired means that i SHOULD have altered my hop additions but i didnt think about it at the time so thats probably why its so bitter as well...

what i would like some help with is how would i go about cutting the bitterness of this with adjuncts and possibly for bulk priming?

ive read honey and dark candi sugar would just lighten the body and are both pretty fermentable so that might not help. but what about molasses or adding ldme for priming?


boris

 

[sav]

Mate the galaxy gets harsh in my opinion mash a bit higher you should be ok

 

[manticle]

If you are really concerned, leave off bottling for a bit and add something malty that's in keeping with the brew OR blend with a similar but much less hopped wort and ferment out again.

Otherwise leave for longer to age. Carbing and time do amazing things to beers.

My first AG was way too bitter in the fermenter for me so I basically made a very low hopped wort with the same grist proportions, fermented it out then blended the two togather. It worked a treat but nowadays I would just add one to the other as suggested and ferment out again. I would rack the first onto the second and add some fresh yeast if need be but I seem to be sensitive to yeasty flavours so you may be able to just add wort II to wort I and not rack.

 

[Jimboley]

Blending with a sweet wort and re -fermenting is the prob the best way.

But a cheats way...I used some liquid glycerine (used in spirits/liqueurs to add mouhfeel) in a couple of brews that were way too bitter. It's sweet to taste and has a warming effect on the palate...
(Dont know how good for you it is tho?)
It didnt seem to have any ill effects. And really made an excellent improvement.

In fact I entered one in the state comp and it got 2nd place.


I used about 1.5mL/L but it will all depend on how bitter your beer is to begin with. -Add to taste.
Cheers

James

 

[boriskane]

Mate the galaxy gets harsh in my opinion mash a bit higher you should be ok

yeah i was mashing at ~65 i think so is that high enough? pretty new to AG so yet to learn about intricacies of stuff like that.

If you are really concerned, leave off bottling for a bit and add something malty that's in keeping with the brew OR blend with a similar but much less hopped wort and ferment out again.

Otherwise leave for longer to age. Carbing and time do amazing things to beers.

My first AG was way too bitter in the fermenter for me so I basically made a very low hopped wort with the same grist proportions, fermented it out then blended the two togather. It worked a treat but nowadays I would just add one to the other as suggested and ferment out again. I would rack the first onto the second and add some fresh yeast if need be but I seem to be sensitive to yeasty flavours so you may be able to just add wort II to wort I and not rack.

what do you consider to be 'something malty', like more ldme? or a type of adjunct?

that strategy of fermenting out again is a plausible one so i might give that a go, ive got loads of grain so it shouldnt be an issue.

Blending with a sweet wort and re -fermenting is the prob the best way.

But a cheats way...I used some liquid glycerine (used in spirits/liqueurs to add mouhfeel) in a couple of brews that were way too bitter. It's sweet to taste and has a warming effect on the palate...
(Dont know how good for you it is tho?)
It didnt seem to have any ill effects. And really made an excellent improvement.

In fact I entered one in the state comp and it got 2nd place.


I used about 1.5mL/L but it will all depend on how bitter your beer is to begin with. -Add to taste.
Cheers

James

really? thats awesome! im still new to AG so i might stick to traditional methods for the time being, but damn good option there. ill keep that in mind.


ill probably end up mashing another batch this time around, i might bottle a few to see the difference as well so i can compare the ageing process , gotta love a bit of scientific method.


cheers for that everyone!

 

[manticle]

what do you consider to be 'something malty', like more ldme? or a type of adjunct?

Something malty is something with malt in it. Not meaning to be obscure or obtuse - either malt extract or a low/unhopped wort, depending on how much you think you need. If 1 kg or less of extract will balance what you want, stick to the easy road and use extract. If it requires a lot, extract will change the flavour so make another small AG wort and balance it up. Depends on your desired effort and outcome.