I just kegged the island hopper IPA from Midwest.
There is something off with this batch, much darker than I expected even though I added the lme late in the boil. Hops had a definite pepper taste, no citrus whatsoever. It has a strange off/dirty/earthy/twangy taste. My homebrew club thinks it may be because I used tapwater without conditioning with gypsum. 2wk fermentation at 64, SG was 1.070/FG 1.012. I used two wyeast smackpacks due to the fact they were hot and bulging when it arrived. Could this have affected my beer? This was my 1st IPA and my 4th batch ever and all three before it turned out spectacular, even with dry yeasts and tap water. 6 week secondary took forever for how this came out! Ive always heard IPAs are best fresh so If it doesn't get better in a week this one might get tossed. Waiting to hear how others faired with the kit.
There is something off with this batch, much darker than I expected even though I added the lme late in the boil. Hops had a definite pepper taste, no citrus whatsoever. It has a strange off/dirty/earthy/twangy taste. My homebrew club thinks it may be because I used tapwater without conditioning with gypsum. 2wk fermentation at 64, SG was 1.070/FG 1.012. I used two wyeast smackpacks due to the fact they were hot and bulging when it arrived. Could this have affected my beer? This was my 1st IPA and my 4th batch ever and all three before it turned out spectacular, even with dry yeasts and tap water. 6 week secondary took forever for how this came out! Ive always heard IPAs are best fresh so If it doesn't get better in a week this one might get tossed. Waiting to hear how others faired with the kit.
