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Accidental Hopping Experiment

Post #1 made 13 years ago
by non.operational
Hi, just thought I would ask you guys about an error I made when brewing this weekend.

I was brewing an english pale / golden ale, loosely based on a recipe for Deuchars IPA, and I got my hop additions wrong.

The recipe was:
OG1.042
Yeast: White Labs Burton Ale
79% Maris Otter
7% Light Crystal
5% Wheat Malt
9% Demerera Sugar
60 Minutes: 16 IBU of Willamette
5 Minutes: 3.7 IBU of Willammette, 3.3 IBU of Styrian Goldings
0 Minutes: Same as 5min addition
Total IBU: 30

The recipe I used was for a 5 gallon batch, but I brewed a 19L batch - the error I made was that I used the unadjusted, 5 gallon quantities of hops :idiot: i.e. too many! I realised my mistake after doing the 5 minute addition, so as such, my hop schedule was:

60 Minutes: 26.6 IBU of Willamette
5 Minutes: 4.2 IBU of Willamette, 4 IBU of Styrian Goldings, 3.3 IBU of Mount Hood.
0 Minutes: No hops added.
Total IBU: 38.1

My question is, how do you think my beer will turn out? :think:
Has anybody brewed a beer with a similar hop schedule?
Will it still be pleasant, and how will my erroneous hopping schedule affect what is supposed to be a smooth, lightly spicy & gently bitter ale?

I am seriously considering re-brewing this next week, as I was going to give it away to people for a party, so don't want to hand-out a horrendously unbalanced, biter beer! If I do, it'll end up being an accidental hopping experiment :geek:

Thanks in advance for any opinions.
Last edited by non.operational on 25 Jul 2012, 01:32, edited 3 times in total.

Post #2 made 13 years ago
by thughes
Betcha it tastes great! And....you were smart enough to log what you did so that you can replicate it. I never log my mistakes, the downside is that when my mistakes taste awesome I can never duplicate them.

---Todd
WWBBD?
    • SVA Brewer With Over 100 Brews From United States of America

Post #3 made 13 years ago
by non.operational
Thanks, fingers crossed it tastes good. I was a bit worried about adding 26 IBU at 60', as I tend to normally save most of my hops for the final 10 minutes, for aroma over bitterness.

BTW it's fermenting away like a beast! - I made a WLP023 starter - and it's krausening vigorously and smelling great.

Post #4 made 13 years ago
by BrickBrewHaus
Chances are it'll be fine. Hop calculations really aren't that accurate anyway, so you may have actually hit your desired IBU :lol: In all seriousness, to really nail a recipe takes multiple brews and replicating your brewing process exactly while only changing one thing at a time (in this case the hop amounts).

I'm not sure what your process is or what you're trying to achieve with the hopping schedule. For example, if you're trying to get a nice hop flavor and aroma profile, then I may have kept the 0 min hop addition instead of omitting it. If you're chilling right away, that addition won't add almost no bitterness, while still closely replicating the desired aroma and flavor. BUT, not a big deal. Drink it up and see what you think. You may have created something even better.

Post #5 made 13 years ago
by BobBrews
There is no such thing as too much hops!!! Too few hops is the mistake you can make. I have been doing a lot of hops research as of late and I know this. There is so much variation in the hops themselves and in the taste buds of drinkers that most brewers can do no wrong when it comes to hops. Someone will love your beer! Guaranteed!
tap 1 Raspberry wine
tap 2 Bourbon Barrel Porter
tap 3 Czech Pilsner
tap 4 Triple IPA 11% ABV
Pipeline: Mulled Cider 10% ABV

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Post #7 made 13 years ago
by non.operational
Well, I've re-brewed this beer, with the correct / intended hopping schedule, so will definitely be able to do a comparison. Also I couldn't resist tweaking the recipe slightly to include 5% CaraPils, hoping for some more non-fermentables & body.

Tasted the fermented wort of beer #1 tonight whilst bottling, and it was delicious -lovely delicate pear taste from the Burton yeast, just like the White Labs blurb says. I got 78.5% attenuation (despite the yeast having attenuation quoted as 69-75%), so it was fairly dry and clean. This made me glad I'd included some CaraPils in beer #2, and indeed upon tasting it's unfermented wort it was very sweet and viscous.

Looking forward to drinking both :drink:
Last edited by non.operational on 03 Aug 2012, 06:25, edited 3 times in total.

Post #9 made 13 years ago
by non.operational
Boom!

BTW I pitched right on top of a yeast cake here.

I've put the airlock back on with the lid loosely fitted.
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Last edited by non.operational on 05 Aug 2012, 13:15, edited 1 time in total.

Post #12 made 13 years ago
by non.operational
Well, both beers are now drinking, and there was no disaster with the hops. Both beers turned out well - the first was good and the second was great.

In terms of the hops, the 'overhopped' beer #1 was fine; it had a crisp, punchy bitterness from the front-loaded additions. The 'correctly hopped' beer #2, despite having fewer IBUs, had a lively & balanced hop profile, which allowed the malt to come through.

The other main improvement in beer #2 was my addition of CaraPils /Dextrine malt (I added this after beer #1 had poor head retention), and as such beer #2 had much better head, plus fuller body and more apparent sweetness.

The yeast also seemed to come through more strongly in beer #2 -I don't know whether this is because it was '2nd generation' and I pitched on top of the first yeast cake, or whether the lower IBUs allowed the yeast to shine through. The White Labs website quotes apple, clover honey and pear flavours for WLP023, and to my palate this is spot-on.

One final observation was that having included 9% demerera sugar in both recipes, both beers had a smooth but thin characteristic to them, despite me mashing at a high temp to try and achieve a full body. I've since read Charlie Papazian's book and appreciate how sugar generally thins-out a beer, adding alcohol & crispness, and I feel that sugar would be more appropriate in lagery, clean, summery brews. When I next brew this one, I'll omit the sugar and include some american, tropical tasting hops. Overall I'm very happy with this recipe, it is pretty close to being a Deuchars IPA clone, and I'll be using it as my baseline recipe for English golden ales / summer bitters.

Post #13 made 13 years ago
by shibolet
non.operational wrote: The recipe I used was for a 5 gallon batch, but I brewed a 19L batch - the error I made was that I used the unadjusted, 5 gallon quantities of hops

i don't get it. isn't 5 gallon = 19L ??
Last edited by shibolet on 12 Sep 2012, 15:36, edited 3 times in total.
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