Aggressive Fermentation: Hops stuck on side of fermenter

[sail681]

So after 3 weeks, moved imperial stout to a secondary & checked gravity. Gravity was on target, but taste was not progressing as expected.

This beer had a super vigorous fermentation in the first week. Blow off tube ejected debris successfully without getting stuck. Popped out the blow off tube and added an airlock without opening my primary and inspecting it. When transferring to a secondary after 21 days, the walls of the primary were caked with debris. Upon draining the primary, the trub was not excessive.

By question is this: the beer after 3 weeks in primary is sweeter than it should be. Did I lose a bunch of the bittering by having the hops go out of solution when they stuck to the primary walls above the beer?

Next step? Is there anything I can add to the secondary to cut any sweetness?

OG: 1.089 21day gravity: 1.022

Planning to add 2 vanilla beans in secondary for 5 days.

 

[smyrnaquince]

What was the expected FG after 21 days?

 

[virginblack]

Any hops in your fermenter during primary would be those that you transferred in from the boil kettle, and have already imparted their bitterness to the wort while boiling. Maybe insufficient bittering hops or underattenuation are to blame for the sweet beer.

Also, your beer should taste a little less sweet after it is carbonated.

 

[sail681]

The beersmith calculator estimated 1.092 OG and 1.028 FG. 65.6 IBU, 35.7 SRM, 8.5% ABV

 

[hopbrad]

hard to tell without knowing your recipe and brewing details but the FG seems about right.
+1 to what virginblack said on the hops, and carbonation along with it chilled will seem less sweet.
I find that vanilla can enhance or make it seem sweeter/cloying. Try some coffee as its naturally bitter, instead of the vanilla or in addition to it.

 

[sail681]

So this was a 6g batch that got split with 15 min left in the boil (4g & 2g).

18 lb 2 Row
1 lb C10
12 oz C80
12 oz Choc malt
8 oz flaked oat
6oz C120
4 oz roasted barley
4oz maltodextrine
4 oz black patent
1 oz cascade at 60, 3oz cascade at 45
.5 oz fuggle at 5 & 0
2 smackpacks Wyeast 1728
Decoction mash: 30 min at 132, 30 min at 150, 30 min at 154
64 degree fermentation temperature

Here's how the 2 & 4 gallons splits differed:
2 gallons - added .5oz bitter orange peel in last 10 min (1.093 OG, 1.024 after 21 days)
4 gallons - added one fresh vanilla bean scrapings in last 10 min (1.089 OG, 1.020 after 21 days)

The 2 gallon batch tastes fantastic at 21 days. The 4 gallon is just too sweet.

I recognize things will mellow out in the next week in secondary. Sitting in bottles for a few weeks will help too.

 

[hopbrad]

looks good overall. strange that the 4 gallon batch has a lower FG but is too sweet. The only thing I can think of is the vanilla is enhancing the sweetness. That will fade a little but will take time.

If your set on doing another addition to combat the sweetness, my top suggestion is coffee, if not, maybe a hop tea to up the IBUs some, I dont have experience adding hop teas, so maybe someone else can chime in if thats even worth it.
They are both something you could add during the bottling process.
Possibly bottle off 1-2 gallons of the 4, then add whatever you decide to add to the remaining 2-3 gallons. atleast that way you can compare.

 

[sail681]

Thanks for the ideas on my problematic 4 gallon... I'm going to do an cold steep 1/3c coffee grounds in 12oz of boiled (then cooled) water. After it sits overnight, I will add it to the secondary for 4 days before bottling. At the same time as adding the coffee, add in 1 vanilla bean scrapings (that is currently sitting in a few ounces of vodka).

Hoping the coffee adds bitterness and the vanilla imparts some aroma!

Will taste it on Sunday, during bottling, and see what happens.