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Author Topic: Unbalanced pale ale  (Read 5055 times)

Offline gigatropolis

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Re: Unbalanced pale ale
« Reply #15 on: July 05, 2011, 09:16:36 am »
I made a very plain pale ale using only 1 oz of Cascade FWH.  The rest of the grain bill is 8 lbs 2-row, 1 lb vienna. 

More radically, could I boil 1/2 an ounce of hops in a quart of water and add that to lighten it slightly and add more bitterness?  Probably not the best remedy.  I'd prefer to just try the dry hops if you think it's worth the effort.  Can you dry hop cold, carbonated beer?  I've never done it before.

   I think that 1 oz of FWH will a go a long way and no need to add anymore hops for bittering. When reading about FWH, it sounds like it should add less bitterness to the wort than just boiling for 60 minutes, but I found it seems to add more bitterness than just boiling. For instance, recently made a beer with 1.5 oz of cascade at FWH and it tasted for more bitter than expected, so ended up recalculating the late hop additions by adding less or moving them closer to end of boil so not to raise the IBUs anymore.
  Sounds like a nice summer beer and the dry hopping should bring it up to the next level, so enjoy.

Online denny

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Re: Unbalanced pale ale
« Reply #16 on: July 05, 2011, 09:34:15 am »
Some people put them in a bag, and then add a big stainless washer or bolt (sanitized) to weigh it down.

Marbles work well, too.

Weighing down the hop bag is completely unnecessary.  I'm surprised so many people think they need to do it.
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Offline gmac

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Re: Unbalanced pale ale
« Reply #17 on: July 05, 2011, 10:11:39 am »
  Sounds like a nice summer beer and the dry hopping should bring it up to the next level, so enjoy.
That's what I was shooting for.  I may have mentioned but I didn't use Vienna, I used light Munich.  I think that may have been my mistake.  Probably leaving it out would have been fine, it's just a touch too malty.  Dry hops are going in today.
Thanks for all the advice everyone.

Offline gmac

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Re: Unbalanced pale ale
« Reply #18 on: July 12, 2011, 09:57:44 pm »
Well, it's better with the dry hops though not great.  I'm mixing it 50/50 with california common that I have on tap and using it up that way. 

Offline oscarvan

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Re: Unbalanced pale ale
« Reply #19 on: July 13, 2011, 02:39:24 pm »
Well, it's better with the dry hops though not great.  I'm mixing it 50/50 with california common that I have on tap and using it up that way. 

Ah, the beer palette...... In my case four taps, four very different beers. You can mix and match and stretch one that's running low, or hide a minor imperfection like yours. There are no rules...... it's a medium for expression, another level of creativity.....know what I mean?  ;) Hic......

OK, I had a few beers. But, here's my excuse. WARNING: THREAD DRIFT.

We have an upstairs and a downstairs heat pump. The upstairs air handler is in the unfinished attic. It is right now, 160º up there. For a few years now I have been listening to the electric motor that drives the squirrel fan in the air handler.....it's been getting louder, and louder.....it got to the point where I knew.... it was time.

But, I was hoping to stretch it to fall, it being 160º up there...... No such luck. Last friday it went WHEEEEEE WDRHHHHHHH WHOAEEEEEEEEE....... as in serious bearing failure.

So, I shut her down, pulled the motor, gave it to my wife to drop off at the motor repair place......and went to Amsterdam..... ;D

Anyway, I came back and the news was bad. Bearings shot.....spindle shot. Parts not available. New motor......$180. OK, go ahead. Today it came in, and I spent an hour up there sweating my balls off getting it in.....finding out it was turning the wrong way, pulling it, reversing the mount, putting it in again and finally........success. It's cooling down up there..... We may not have to sleep on the air mattress in the family room tonight...... 8)

So, my reward was a "session".   ;D ;D ;D
Wooden Shoe Brew Works (not a commercial operation) Bethlehem, PA
http://www.woodenshoemusic.com/WSBW/WSBW_All_grain_Setup.html
I brew WITH style..... not necessarily TO style.....

Offline gmac

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Re: Unbalanced pale ale
« Reply #20 on: July 13, 2011, 04:02:58 pm »
Can you do a saison in 160 heat or is that too much?

My AC crapped out yesterday, 82 degrees in my house which is almost unbearable for a fat Canadian boy like me.

Offline oscarvan

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Re: Unbalanced pale ale
« Reply #21 on: July 13, 2011, 05:01:47 pm »
Can you do a saison in 160 heat or is that too much?

My AC crapped out yesterday, 82 degrees in my house which is almost unbearable for a fat Canadian boy like me.

Sure, but it would ferment in 23 minutes. I mean, be ready to keg that.

What's wrong with the airco.... Don't know about repair rates up in the great white north, but down here the DIY vs professional is about 1:4.......

Some things I cannot do.... like charging refrigerant. But changing fan motors, mother boards etc is not hard.

There's a little red blinking LED somewhere in your system.....either on the thermostat, or inside the compressor on the mother board......count the flashes..it's an error code then...read the instructions (GASP).......
Wooden Shoe Brew Works (not a commercial operation) Bethlehem, PA
http://www.woodenshoemusic.com/WSBW/WSBW_All_grain_Setup.html
I brew WITH style..... not necessarily TO style.....

Offline gmac

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Re: Unbalanced pale ale
« Reply #22 on: July 13, 2011, 09:18:38 pm »
Compressor is shot.  Changed out capacitors etc with no success, windings are good so it's probably the piston in the compressor.  Looking at about $1000 for a new compressor so now the debate is to replace the compressor on an out of warranty AC or replace for 2.5X the cost. 

Offline oscarvan

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Re: Unbalanced pale ale
« Reply #23 on: July 14, 2011, 07:51:48 am »
Compressor is shot.  Changed out capacitors etc with no success, windings are good so it's probably the piston in the compressor.  Looking at about $1000 for a new compressor so now the debate is to replace the compressor on an out of warranty AC or replace for 2.5X the cost. 

Tough choice.....
Wooden Shoe Brew Works (not a commercial operation) Bethlehem, PA
http://www.woodenshoemusic.com/WSBW/WSBW_All_grain_Setup.html
I brew WITH style..... not necessarily TO style.....

Offline tomsawyer

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Re: Unbalanced pale ale
« Reply #24 on: July 18, 2011, 03:05:59 pm »
[Weighing down the hop bag is completely unnecessary.  I'm surprised so many people think they need to do it.

+1 My dry hop bags always sink after a few days anyway.

I bought a dozen boxes of womens sock foot pantyhose , they were about 50 cents for two pair at a dollar store.  They work even better than a hop sock, finer so nothing comes out but flavor.  And new, so no foot smell unless pedio rears its ugly head.
Lennie
Hannibal, MO

Offline Will's Swill

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Re: Unbalanced pale ale
« Reply #25 on: July 19, 2011, 05:27:00 pm »
Do they sink even when using whole hops?
Is that a counter-pressure bottle filler in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?

Offline gmac

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Re: Unbalanced pale ale
« Reply #26 on: July 19, 2011, 06:35:33 pm »
Well, they haven't sunk yet and my air conditioner is still broken. 

Offline Will's Swill

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Re: Unbalanced pale ale
« Reply #27 on: July 19, 2011, 06:37:28 pm »
Dude, major suckage.
Is that a counter-pressure bottle filler in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?

Offline bluesman

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Re: Unbalanced pale ale
« Reply #28 on: July 19, 2011, 07:59:44 pm »
Dry hops are a nice way to add a little more balance to the beer. I use a muslin bag to contain the hops.

Another suggestion is to try getting some hop extract which will also help balance the beer.

One more idea is to increase the CO2 volume a slight bit to give a perception of lighter body which will also help to balance the beer.
Ron Price