GrogTag
It is currently Fri May 24, 2013 6:18 am

All times are UTC - 8 hours





Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 7 posts ] 
Author Message
 Post subject: First batch - fermented OK (the 2nd time), but light on hops
PostPosted: Mon May 14, 2012 7:31 pm 
 Profile

Joined: Tue May 08, 2012 5:22 pm
Posts: 49
Brewed my first batch from a kit (extract + grain in bag) a week ago Sunday. It sat for three days with no activity (I pitched from a starter and must have somehow killed my yeast making the starter). I added another dose of WLP002, and the airlock was bubbling away the next day. Today I took a gravity reading, and it went from OG of 1.049 to 1.014, which is better than expected attenuation for that yeast. So after some initial trouble, the fermentation seems to have gone OK.

After checking gravity, I emptied the wine thief into a glass to taste the beer, and there really aren't any off flavors, which is nice. But there really isn't a whole lot of flavor at all. It's not Bud Light thin by any means, but there's just not much to it, especially with regard to hop flavor. Granted it's a low gravity beer, but at the moment there is zero hop aroma, minimal hop flavor, and I find it a bit boring.

Should I add some dry hops to the fermenter to give it a little more flavor?


Top
 

 Post subject: Re: First batch - fermented OK (the 2nd time), but light on
PostPosted: Tue May 15, 2012 2:17 am 
 Profile

Joined: Mon Oct 20, 2008 8:25 pm
Posts: 371
Location: Durham, NC
when you carb it up the carbonation will cause the flavor and aroma to come out. Flat beers tend to taste flat.

_________________
-"You want a beer?"
-"But it's 7am"
-"Scotch?"


Top
 

 Post subject: Re: First batch - fermented OK (the 2nd time), but light on
PostPosted: Tue May 15, 2012 4:23 am 
Global Moderator
User avatar
 WWW  Profile

Joined: Thu Jun 03, 2010 2:09 pm
Posts: 3890
Location: Ohio
Medals: 2
Drunk of the Week (2)
What style was it? Flat beer does come across low in hop aroma and flavor, and depending on your style it may not be one that normally has that high of a hop character?

_________________
Spiderwrangler
PFC, Arachnid Deployment Division

In the cellar: Galaxy Pale, Citra Pale, Honey Common, Cat Yakk Saison
In the fermentor: Brew Class IPA, Belgiany Thing
In the works: Wooden Cider


Top
 

 Post subject: Re: First batch - fermented OK (the 2nd time), but light on
PostPosted: Tue May 15, 2012 5:33 am 
 Profile

Joined: Tue May 08, 2012 5:22 pm
Posts: 49
spiderwrangler wrote:
What style was it?


ESB - ended up with 28 IBU, which is a little low for the style to begin with.


Top
 

 Post subject: Re: First batch - fermented OK (the 2nd time), but light on
PostPosted: Tue May 15, 2012 8:57 am 
Global Moderator
User avatar
 WWW  Profile

Joined: Thu Jun 03, 2010 2:09 pm
Posts: 3890
Location: Ohio
Medals: 2
Drunk of the Week (2)
ESB's tend to be fairly restrained in hop aroma and flavor (which isn't reflected in IBUs, they are different compounds). That being said, if dry hopping to up the aroma is going to make the beer you want to drink, go for it.

_________________
Spiderwrangler
PFC, Arachnid Deployment Division

In the cellar: Galaxy Pale, Citra Pale, Honey Common, Cat Yakk Saison
In the fermentor: Brew Class IPA, Belgiany Thing
In the works: Wooden Cider


Top
 

 Post subject: Re: First batch - fermented OK (the 2nd time), but light on
PostPosted: Sun May 27, 2012 6:13 pm 
User avatar
 WWW  Profile

Joined: Mon Apr 25, 2011 5:07 pm
Posts: 61
Location: Portland, Oregon, USA
spiderwrangler hits the nail on the head... you may be accustomed to "American" (read: high) hop additions, but there are styles that just don't follow that path.

_________________
kswbeer.com


Top
 

 Post subject: Re: First batch - fermented OK (the 2nd time), but light on
PostPosted: Tue May 29, 2012 2:28 pm 
 Profile

Joined: Tue May 08, 2012 5:22 pm
Posts: 49
Thanks for the advice--thought I'd report on what's happened since I put it in the keg. But first a little context:

On brewday, one of my friends came over to help. He had invited me over to watch him brew, and to thank him for his help, my wife (an accomplished baker) turned some of his spent grain into sourdough bread from her starter. I'm sure you can see where this is going. We baked some bread and gave him a loaf and snacked on another loaf while we were brewing.

Instead of an ESB, I ended up with a sour that tastes quite a bit like my wife's sourdough. Go figure. It would do poorly if judged as an ESB, but if judged as a lambic, I don't think it would do too bad. So I'm going to bottle some up and save it for that purpose. The rest I'll drink.

Brewday #2 was Sunday. I brewed a Torpedo IPA clone using brew in a bag. Got enough efficiency from the bag (77%) to overshoot my OG by a couple points. It's in the fermenter now and bubbling away...


Top
 

Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 7 posts ] 

All times are UTC - 8 hours



Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum

Search for:
Jump to:  

Powered by phpBB © 2009 phpBB Group