Too Much Hops

Australia & New Zealand Homebrewing Forum

Help Support Australia & New Zealand Homebrewing Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Snow

Beer me up, Scotty!
Joined
20/12/02
Messages
2,349
Reaction score
154
Ooops...I over hopped my Aussie Draught with cascade hops in the boil and in the secondary. It's very bitter and overly floral. Any ideas as to how long I'll need to wait for the overpowering flavours to subside to a drinkable level?

- Snow :(
 
You can never have too much cascade can you? ;)
 
GSRMan

Are you implying my brews are over hopped witth Cascade?

Ah! Hops and flavours are just wasted on the young.
 
GMK: yes, yes i am :) of course.. you aren't brewing for me.. so it doesn't really matter... and it probably means that you can still taste it after the 5th :)
 
hey, thanks for the constructive advice guys! I guess I'll just shut up and drink my beer like a man.....
 
i think if you put chalk (opposite of gypsum?) into it that will harden the water, this causes the hops to die down... :unsure:
i'm sure i read that somewhere... :rolleyes:
 
Indy

It is the opposite.

Chalk hardens the water and accentuates the malt and hop flavour profile

Gypsum softens the water and takes the edge of the hop and malt profile.
 
Woah!

Gypsum softens the water?????

No way Hose!

Gypsum hardens the water, as does chalk. As someone pointed out, chalk accentuates the hops and makes them taste harsh. George and Laurie Fix reckons a little bit of chalk is OK in Vienna beers, Oktober Fests etc. not sure I believe that, except for like a low hopped beer, say a Vienna mild



Jovial monk
 
ummm, ok. Since the beer is in 32 bottles, I don't think I'll be adding anything to them, anyway. Maybe I'll just let them sit there for six months and see what happens....
 
Here is an extract taken from the HOWTOBREW web site discussing gypsum...

Table 16 - Salts for Water AdjustmentBrewing Saltand Common Name Concentration at 1 gram/gallon Grams per level teaspoon Effects Comments
Calcium Carbonate
(CaCO3)
a.k.a. Chalk 105 ppm
Ca+2
158 ppm CO3-2 1.8 Raises pH Because of its limited solubility it is only effective when added directly to the mash. Use for making dark beers in areas of soft water. Use nomograph and monitor the mash pH with pH test papers to determine how much to add.
Calcium Sulfate
(CaSO4*2 H2O)
a.k.a. Gypsum 61.5 ppm
Ca+2
147.4 ppm
SO4-2 4.0 Lowers pH Useful for adding calcium if the water is low in sulfate. Can be used to add sulfate "crispness" to the hop bitterness.
Calcium Chloride
(CaCl2*2H2O) 72 ppm
Ca+2
127 ppm
Cl-1 3.4 Lowers pH Useful for adding Calcium if the water is low in chlorides.
Magnesium Sulfate
(MgSO4*7H2O)
a.k.a. Epsom Salt 26 ppm
Mg+2
103 ppm
SO4-2 4.5 Lowers pH by a small amount. Can be used to add sulfate "crispness" to the hop bitterness.
Sodium Bicarbonate
(NaHCO3)
a.k.a. Baking Soda 75 ppm
Na+1
191 ppm
HCO3- 4.4 Raises pH by adding alkalinity. If your pH is too low and/or has low residual alkalinity, then you can add alkalinity. See procedure for calcium carbonate.
 
pH and water hardness are a different thing.

Gypsum definately increases hardness, however, it reduces pH.

http://www.howtobrew.com/section3/chapter15.html

If you read that page, it explains water hardness. Both chalk and gypsum increase the calcium amounts in water, therefore increasing water hardness. The chart you quoted shows the increase in calcium (ca) represented in ppm.
 
Snow said:
ummm, ok. Since the beer is in 32 bottles, I don't think I'll be adding anything to them, anyway. Maybe I'll just let them sit there for six months and see what happens....
Ah, it's bottled. Shame. I had a similar problem but picked it up while the beer was in secondary. I had 2 batches going at once. I just racked them onto more LME. One batch needed about 500mL, the other 1.5L... both should be pretty strong now :) Bottling this weekend. Hydrometer samples taste superb!
 
kooky oh kooky

gypsum may lower the pH of water

it does not (for long) lower the pH of a mash--proteins in the mash take up proteins, leaving only OH- ions left, RAISING the pH

i don't worry too much re water chemistry. I just preboil enough rainwater for the mash liquor, after turning the heat off I add 2 level teaspoons gypsum and one of epsome salts. I generally do this the night before brewday. Calcium chloride emphasises maltiness, I will add that instead of gypsum for the 80/- on Monday

I add the salts for yeast nutrient, that is all.

if you have any crystal or chocolate malt etc in your mash, the mash pH will be fine





Jovial monk
 
Jovial_Monk said:
kooky oh kooky

gypsum may lower the pH of water

it does not (for long) lower the pH of a mash--proteins in the mash take up proteins, leaving only OH- ions left, RAISING the pH

i don't worry too much re water chemistry. I just preboil enough rainwater for the mash liquor, after turning the heat off I add 2 level teaspoons gypsum and one of epsome salts. I generally do this the night before brewday. Calcium chloride emphasises maltiness, I will add that instead of gypsum for the 80/- on Monday

I add the salts for yeast nutrient, that is all.

if you have any crystal or chocolate malt etc in your mash, the mash pH will be fine





Jovial monk

1. Gypsum does not affect the pH of water.

2. Gypsum does lower mash pH - this is an extremely
basic point. Every brewer in the world relies on this.
It is clear you have never read any texts on brewing
nor have you ever measured the pH of your mash
before and after the addition of gypsum.
Your comment on mash proteins is nonsensical.
Proteins take up proteins? Gypsum is a salt not a protein.
 
yes, im a where of this posts age

yep 2.5 years :D

but i too have added to much amarillo hops to a k&k
i have filtered it and kegged
whats the best way to fix this over hopped beast. she's almost undrinkable


might just feed it to my mate ( wont have them for long )

jeddog
 
Just wait, jeddog. With time, the hop flavour/aroma will fade :( leaving you with the beer you want. Give it a taste every week or so.

Or just be a man and drink it lovely and fresh. :ph34r: :lol:

PS. How much Amarillo did you add?
 
Make a beer with pure malt extract and sugar, no hops, blend it in 50/50 in 2 kegs each with the overhopped beer...
 
Back
Top