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Author Topic: REally? A sweet IPA? please help  (Read 2411 times)

Offline micsager

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REally? A sweet IPA? please help
« on: July 25, 2011, 10:59:06 am »
OK, it would appear as though my hop storage techniques has degraded my hop effectiveness pretty bad.  I think I'm gonna throw out all hops that are not sealed from the farm, and start vacumming packing when I open one of those one pound foil bags.  That will help in the future, but.......

I have ten gallons of a real nice IPA, that is very sweet.  It's all done, been in the kegs about a month.  Carbonated to my liking......

Can I dry hop this beer to get it back to an IPA, instead of the sweet APA it is today?  If so, any tips?

Offline Jimmy K

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Re: REally? A sweet IPA? please help
« Reply #1 on: July 25, 2011, 11:09:19 am »
Dry hopping might help because flavor and aroma can increase perceived betterness.  You could also brew a really dry IPA and blend it.

What is the starting and final gravity? How long have you had the hops and why are you sure that they are the problem. It could also be under-attenuation or bad utilization from technique. Do you add them straight to the boil?
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Offline micsager

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Re: REally? A sweet IPA? please help
« Reply #2 on: July 25, 2011, 11:14:44 am »
Dry hopping might help because flavor and aroma can increase perceived betterness.  You could also brew a really dry IPA and blend it.

What is the starting and final gravity? How long have you had the hops and why are you sure that they are the problem. It could also be under-attenuation or bad utilization from technique. Do you add them straight to the boil?

OG:  1.070
FG:   1.013

The hops are from the 2009 harvest year.  And when I opened a foil pack, I just taped it shut, and put back in the freezer.  That will change as I state.  I used the same hop schedule as I have many times for this beer.  Plus, my last time was a bit sweet, but nothing like this. 


Offline tomsawyer

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Re: REally? A sweet IPA? please help
« Reply #3 on: July 25, 2011, 11:26:25 am »
Sounds like your thermometer might be inching up on you.  I haven't noticed my hops going down in bitterness, and I don't store them too much differently than you.  Or maybe you didn't weigh the bittering addition correctly, it happens.

Yes dry hopping will help to create a more balanced beer.
Lennie
Hannibal, MO

Offline denny

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Re: REally? A sweet IPA? please help
« Reply #4 on: July 25, 2011, 11:27:49 am »
Some iso alpha extract will fix ya right up...

http://morebeer.com/view_product/7835//IsoHop_Bitterness_Extract_1_oz
Life begins at 60.....1.060, that is!

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Offline gmwren

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Re: REally? A sweet IPA? please help
« Reply #5 on: July 25, 2011, 01:10:20 pm »
I always account for the age of hops and have used well stored hops that were two years old with no problems. I buy in bulk (as close to harvest I can) then do the vacu seal/freezer storage method. Even though this slows the loss of bittering capability, it does not stop it. Some hops such as centennial will lose up to half their bittering ability in six months. Some of the available brewing software will plot this for you. Even though I have some IsoHop extract, I haven't used it since I started accounting for hop age.

Offline brewmichigan

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Re: REally? A sweet IPA? please help
« Reply #6 on: July 26, 2011, 12:46:01 pm »

OG:  1.070
FG:   1.013


That doesn't seem like it should be overly sweet too me even if you only had 30-40 ibus.
Mike --- Flint, Michigan

Offline udubdawg

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Re: REally? A sweet IPA? please help
« Reply #7 on: July 26, 2011, 01:09:19 pm »
what kind of hops were used for bittering?

Offline eltharyon

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Re: REally? A sweet IPA? please help
« Reply #8 on: July 28, 2011, 06:42:04 am »
And some varieties don't store as well.
You can lok that up online, I'm being lazy right now since I'm at work.