Lower The Bitterness?

[eddy401]

Hi,
just wondering if there is a trick anyone knows to lower the IBU of a kit beer, i assume diluting it would do the trick but what about adding more malt?

cheers :icon_cheers:

 

[bum]

Yeah both solutions work. More water lowers the actual bitterness but also the flavour and body. More malt lowers the perceived bitterness (but actual bitterness stays the same (unless you're putting more malt in a hop boil of course but that's beyond the question) and there is more malt flavour and fuller mouthfeel.

Best results might come from a little from column A and a little from column B - but that's up to you to work out based on personal preference.

 

[Pennywise]

What kit are you trying to lower the bitterness on? Maybe there's a reasonable less bitter substitute

 

[eddy401]

coopers dark ale - was $2 in coles, i dont mind dark beers i just dont like the bitter after taste so much

What kit are you trying to lower the bitterness on? Maybe there's a reasonable less bitter substitute

 

[petesbrew]

From memory that kit isn't too bitter (something like 17IBU's If i guess right), but what are you originally using as your other kilo?

At a rough generalisation (flame suit on and all that), using sugar/dextrose can make the beer pretty thin, thus making the bitterness stand out more.

 

[Pennywise]

You could look at other kits that would be similar, I used to use a Beermakers Old can of goo that I quite liked, not sure on the bitterness of it though, I'm sure the info is out there though. Other than other kits, bum's suggestion of adding a bit more malt and diluting it to a larger volume would be the best bet IMO

Edit: @ Petesbrew, I'm pretty sure the dark ale kit is in the 40's. Never tastes bitter to me though

Yep, http://www.coopers.com.au/the-brewers-guil...w-cans/original

 

[eddy401]

I didnt realise using only dextrose makes it seem more bitter, i know it thins it out but didnt put two n two together, normally i put heaps of dex in these cheap ones so they go even further (good for parties sometimes) so ill make sure i add heaps of malt and maybe add an extra couple of litres of water.

cheers

From memory that kit isn't too bitter (something like 17IBU's If i guess right), but what are you originally using as your other kilo?

At a rough generalisation (flame suit on and all that), using sugar/dextrose can make the beer pretty thin, thus making the bitterness stand out more.

 

[petesbrew]

You could look at other kits that would be similar, I used to use a Beermakers Old can of goo that I quite liked, not sure on the bitterness of it though, I'm sure the info is out there though. Other than other kits, bum's suggestion of adding a bit more malt and diluting it to a larger volume would be the best bet IMO

Edit: @ Petesbrew, I'm pretty sure the dark ale kit is in the 40's. Never tastes bitter to me though

Yep, http://www.coopers.com.au/the-brewers-guil...w-cans/original

Hmm, I could only find the concentrated ibus, but am happy to be proven wrong.

Twardo, the dark's one of my fave kits. I found it went well with 1kg dark dried malt extract (DDME), and a teabag of goldings hops.in the fermenter. The goldings really mellows it out.

 

[MaltyHops]

From memory that kit isn't too bitter (something like 17IBU's If i guess right), but what are you originally using as your other kilo?

At a rough generalisation (flame suit on and all that), using sugar/dextrose can make the beer pretty thin, thus making the bitterness stand out more.

Well, the Coopers website ( Brew Cans - Original ) states the bitterness of the
Dark Ale can as being 590 IBU - whereas according to the K___E_Beer_Designer
spreadsheet I got from AHB, it attributes 32.1 IBU to one can of it. Could this be
because the Coopers figure gives the total bitterness in the can whereas the
spreadsheet's figure is per litre or something?

Also, I'm about to do a Belgian next using two of the dark ale cans (from the recent
Coles bail out) with syrup, Wy1214 and EKG (dry hopping only as the two cans ought
to be bitter enough) and maybe a can of unhopped wheat extract - anyone think this
is going to be way too bitter? Was thinking of mixing to around 19L (without the
wheat extract) or 23L (with wheat).

Tom.

 

[glaab]

it's 32 IBU/ 23L

 

[bum]

it's 32 IBU/ 23L

Nah, the number coopers give for IBU is per kilo not per tin. Proper way to do the calculation for a Coopers kit is: quoted IBU*tin weight/final volume. So in the instance of this kit made to instructions it is 590*1.7/23=43.6IBU

 

[glaab]

From Coopers;
Product bitterness x 1.7 / Brew volume = Total bitterness before fermentation.
This figure represents the brew bitterness prior to fermentation. Generally, fermentation reduces colour
and bitterness by between 10 to 30%.
IBU[on can]*1.7/23 *0.725= is a commonly used formula

 

[bum]

Wow! I was right! Who knew?

 

[petesbrew]

Wow! I was right! Who knew?

And I was wrong as f##k! How bout that?! :drinks: