marke14
Beer Enthusiast
Hey guys, I’m hoping you all might be able to help me here.
I’ve been home brewing for a couple of years now. Like a lot of people, I started with an extract kit and have been building up from there.
More recently I stepped up to a BIAB set up. I’ve been enjoying the improvements as I’ve leveled up various bits of gear and refined processes. For example, I got myself a chest freezer with an Inkbird temp controller for fermentation control (plus a heat lamp in there when it’s cold), bought an oxygenation wand and stone, purge the keg with CO2 before transfer, use RO water with calcium carbonate and
and make yeast starters now. All the usual home brewing stepping stones.
One thing I have never done, is rack to a secondary. I just end up doing 3 to 4 weeks in the primary fermentor.
My question is: when I try to make IPAs or DIPAs that have any kind of significant dry hop load (I use a nylon hop bag so I don’t lose so much beer), the result is ... not good or what I expected. There’s plenty of ABV, but I’m getting weird color and flavor.
The color I would say has a - well - purple-ish tint to it. See the pictures
The flavor is ... not good on the first sip. It’s hard to explain ... earthy ... but not like juicy, or hoppy really. It’s bitter but not over the top. It’s drinkable but I’m not proud of the result to the point of sharing it so I’ve got some drinking to do ... a DIPA recipe is not cheap as you guys know, even at 5 gallons.
Is my beer spoiled? Am I at the point where I now need to mind my mash Ph, something I’ve never measured before? Or what else should I be thinking about to overcome these issues? I’d say this is perhaps the third IPA batch this has happened to at this point.
I took a couple of pics to try to show different lighting.
Thanks for any thoughts you might have.
I’ve been home brewing for a couple of years now. Like a lot of people, I started with an extract kit and have been building up from there.
More recently I stepped up to a BIAB set up. I’ve been enjoying the improvements as I’ve leveled up various bits of gear and refined processes. For example, I got myself a chest freezer with an Inkbird temp controller for fermentation control (plus a heat lamp in there when it’s cold), bought an oxygenation wand and stone, purge the keg with CO2 before transfer, use RO water with calcium carbonate and
and make yeast starters now. All the usual home brewing stepping stones.
One thing I have never done, is rack to a secondary. I just end up doing 3 to 4 weeks in the primary fermentor.
My question is: when I try to make IPAs or DIPAs that have any kind of significant dry hop load (I use a nylon hop bag so I don’t lose so much beer), the result is ... not good or what I expected. There’s plenty of ABV, but I’m getting weird color and flavor.
The color I would say has a - well - purple-ish tint to it. See the pictures
The flavor is ... not good on the first sip. It’s hard to explain ... earthy ... but not like juicy, or hoppy really. It’s bitter but not over the top. It’s drinkable but I’m not proud of the result to the point of sharing it so I’ve got some drinking to do ... a DIPA recipe is not cheap as you guys know, even at 5 gallons.
Is my beer spoiled? Am I at the point where I now need to mind my mash Ph, something I’ve never measured before? Or what else should I be thinking about to overcome these issues? I’d say this is perhaps the third IPA batch this has happened to at this point.
I took a couple of pics to try to show different lighting.
Thanks for any thoughts you might have.