Looking for Additional IPA Tips

[Joshone]

Hi all,

What all started with Mr. Beer and went quickly into a Brooklyn Brew Shop kit has turned into regular 5-gallon batches. I'm still a newbie but just bottled batch 8 and 9. We're starting on 10 and 11 tomorrow, which we're doing one all grain (our working IPA) and another using dry and and wet extracts.

We've been working on an all-grain IPA (tomorrow will be our third batch of our own design), which has now become our In-Progress Ale. This will be the first batch we move to a secondary fermenter. I also would like to dry hop this batch.

So far, each batch has included 3 oz. of hops: Centennial (60, 45), Chinook (30, 15) and Cascade (5, cooldown). The flavor has been decent and citrusy but not quite strong enough. So, along with clarifying the beer, I also want to taste the difference of this batch without the trub continuing to flavor it (we've bottled after 2.5 and 3 weeks so far), and I'd like to dry hop an extra ounce in a clean hop bag when I transfer.

Aside from adding gypsum to the boil, I'm wondering if anyone has any other useful tips I may have missed. We moved from cane sugar to corn sugar for bottling, and previously measured each bottle for priming sugar but are batch-mixing now (it's just bottled, so a few weeks out to taste a difference or note carbonation). Each time I am making slight adjustments. The taste has been ok but not close to where we want.

Sorry for the long note but trying to hit pertinent points. Just looking for any tips to head into this new batch.

A few questions:
What's too long to dry hop for a first-timer - or is there a too long?

What's an ideal secondary fermentation time for an IPA?

Should we be conditioning in the bottle before refrigeration longer than two weeks with an IPA? Our beers have been at times a little too carbonated in spite of good measurements for priming sugar (and stable readings with the hydrometer).

What else are we missing?

 

[bottlebomber]

You don't want to leave dry hops in too long. Somewhere after 10 days the start imparting a funky sour taste. As far as how long to secondary an IPA, you don't have to. It's completely unnecessary. However, if you want to take the cleanest beer possible to the bottle, you should cold crash the fermenter in the fridge for about 3 days, then transfer, dry hop, remove dry hops, cold crash another 3 days, and bottle. I do this when I want a really clean beer, and there is almost no sediment.

 

[Joshone]

Thanks for the quick message. I guess the clarity would be nice but not necessary. I'm more concerned with taste and proper flavor right now. I've had a few friends who swear by secondary due to flavor and clarity, so I figure it's time to try (and to be able to dry hop).

The only issue is we don't have a space yet for the fermenter to sit in a fridge like that. Maybe when we get our next beer fridge update ... for now that part's tough.

Thank you for the quick response!

 

[bottlebomber]

The secondary will help with flavor only if you can't keep the yeast out of the bottles. If there's a ton of yeast and trub in the finished beer the yes, that will impact flavor. Same for clarity. If you can't keep the sludge out then secondary. However just know that leaving the beer on the trub for anything below six weeks will do nothing negative to the flavor of your beer. I've left it on for six months lol. The best thing I've found for hop aroma - use a bucket to ferment, drop the sack of dry hops in and me them sit a week(if they're leaf be sure they aren't floating on top), and then pull the sack out with clean hands and wring it out into the beer. Make sure to give it at least a day to let the particles settle. I've been getting awesome results with this method.

 

[namyarb3]

Do a "hop stand" at the end of your boil. I add hops at 60min to bitter, then nothing until 5 min. Give the beer plenty of hops at 5 and 0 min. i use nearly a lb for my5g batches, including 3oz as a dry hop. Let it sit for half hour, stirring when you think about it. Then chill and pitch the yeast.
Tons of hop flavor and aroma this way.