So, I wanted to make an American Strong Ale similar to Arrogant Bastard. The problem I have is that I only can do a 3 gallon boil so I knew my bitterness was going to be about half of where I needed them to be. (I added the bulk of the DME late to try and compensate some) The folks at my LHBS suggested I use isomerized hop extract to raise the IBUs. It is a syringe with a green liquid in it and it states 65 IBU's in one gallon or 13 IBUs when added to 5 gallons. They suggested adding it when I go to secondary so I can gauge how much I need.
I took a hydro sample yesterday and the SG was a bit high at 1.022 (the OG was 1.076). The sample tasted amazing. The bitterness was there but about half what I would like. As a test i added a drop of the hop extract to the sample. The whole thing turned milky! Cloudy as if I had poured milk into the sample. I'm not sure why I went on to taste it but I did and it was a foul taste that I still have in my mouth a half day and 3 teeth brushings later.
So what do you think happened? Was the concentration of 1 drop to the sample size too great? Is the milky color because it killed the yeast? Most importantly I am not liking the idea of adding this stuff to my beer if there is a chance it will do this to the whole 5 gallons. Searches for 'hop' and 'extract' pretty much return this whole forum so it has been hard to research Thanks!
I took a hydro sample yesterday and the SG was a bit high at 1.022 (the OG was 1.076). The sample tasted amazing. The bitterness was there but about half what I would like. As a test i added a drop of the hop extract to the sample. The whole thing turned milky! Cloudy as if I had poured milk into the sample. I'm not sure why I went on to taste it but I did and it was a foul taste that I still have in my mouth a half day and 3 teeth brushings later.
So what do you think happened? Was the concentration of 1 drop to the sample size too great? Is the milky color because it killed the yeast? Most importantly I am not liking the idea of adding this stuff to my beer if there is a chance it will do this to the whole 5 gallons. Searches for 'hop' and 'extract' pretty much return this whole forum so it has been hard to research Thanks!