Too many hops

Hi

I have a small batch of half mash pale ale in the primary, and soon after the boil, I realised that I had miscalculated the hops (related to the relative alpha acid content of green bullet over the goldings in the recipe). Anyway, I used about 1.5 times by weight than I meant to use.

It is going to be way too bitter for my taste, is there anyway I can salvage this batch by diluting with an unhopped wort before bottling, or blending with a low hopped light ale?

I'd just like to make it drinkable - I've already got some value from learning from my mistakes :-)

Thanks Robert

Reply to
Robert Fraser
Loading thread data ...

Those seem to be your best options... blend with unhopped wort before bottling, or blend with a low hopped ale afterwards. If I were you I would just go ahead and bottle.... you might get away with calling it an IPA instead of a regular pale ale. A lot of people enjoy the bitterness, maybe you will too! If not you can blend it with something else to make it more palatable.

Reply to
David M. Taylor

If you mix wort into the batch shortly before bottling you'd risk exploding bottles.

If you add and continue fermenting - it may work better. That assumes a fermenter with enough capacity and adding another week or two to the process.

Making an under hopped ale is your best option, or as my mentor the chef once said: "You want to learn how to cook? Eat your mistakes; you'll learn."

A third option may be to prime with DME and extra water?

Reply to
default

On Tue, 01 Mar 2005 22:57:42 +1300, Robert Fraser said in alt.beer.home-brewing:

Assuming a 5 gallon batch:

Brew up a 2.5 gallon batch of wort - same malt bill, no hops. Use an additional fermentation bucket. Pour 1.25 gallons of unhopped wort into the new container. Rack 2.5 gallons of your overhopped wort into the new container. Add the remaining 1.25 gallons of unhopped wort to the original container. Ferment (you should have enough yeast cake for both batches) and bottle.

Or just start drinking the overhopped brew. By the time you finish 5 gallons you'll appreciate a bitter, hoppy brew. Do it again (overhop even more) and you're on your way to becoming a hophead. I usually hop with a few ounces of Columbus. Don't worry about style, though. If you enjoy drinking it, it's the right "style".

Reply to
Al Klein

Probably wont be as hoppy as you think. According to a chart I have in front of me right now its acceptable to have a 1.050 beer range from 14 IBU's through to 43 IBU's with even balancing going from 21 IBU's through to 27 IBU's, slightly hoppy goes to 33 IBU's and extra hoppy through to 43 IBU's. Hops do mellow somewhat with ageing as well. Steve W.

Reply to
QD Steve

you might try adding some lactose (milk sugars) at bottling. that type of sugar is (generally) not metabolized by brewing yeasts so a fair amount of the sweetness will come through. that will help cut the bitterness a little.

Reply to
snowmannishboy

On Wed, 02 Mar 2005 03:48:09 GMT, "QD Steve" said in alt.beer.home-brewing:

Since becoming diabetic, I've aged a keg of APA well beyond normal, since I can't drink more than an ounce every now and then. (It's about 2 years in the keg now.) And let me assure you - the hoppiness does more than "mellow". My chewing-on-grapefruit-rind APA is now a slightly malty brew. Mostly nothing, but a little malty taste - no hop taste at all. Still MUCH better than BudMillCoor.

Reply to
Al Klein

Just bottle it and ship it to me! ;^)>

Reply to
Johnny Mc

Hi, Can't say I have ever made that mistake but I frequently double malted my brew - just used two regular kits instead of one plus dextrose, never seemed to have the (correct) unhopped malt handy. Point is you would therefore expect the beer to be well over hopped. I happen to like strongly hopped beer, Pale Ales are great. I found the doubled hopping did not (for my taste anyway) double the hop flavour intensity. Sure you could taste the additional hops, which I grew to really like as I think you may. I would persevere & not try any last minute fixes. Hope this advise proves sound in your case. Pete

Reply to
<peterlo8

DrinksForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.