How to add bitterness after primary?

[bd2xu]

I brewed an English IPA, all grain, 9 days ago. Recipe below and I used distilled water with "Burton Salts". My numbers came out very close and my target IBUs are 53 but it doesn't taste nearly bitter enough. Not sure why, used pellet for the 45 min addition and leaf for the rest (in muslin bags).

Wondering if I could boil an ounce of pellet hops in a small amount of water, maybe a liter or 2, for about an hour and then add the result to secondary. Just trying to bump up the bitterness some to balance out.

Amt Name Type # %/IBU
12.00 gal Distilled Water Water 1 -
0.66 oz Burton Water Salts (Mash 60.0 mins) Water Agent 2 -
13 lbs Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM) Grain 3 96.3 %
8.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 80L (80.0 SRM) Grain 4 3.7 %
1.00 oz Target [11.00 %] - Boil 45.0 min Hop 5 35.1 IBUs
1.00 oz Goldings, East Kent [5.00 %] - Boil 30.0 min Hop 6 12.1 IBUs
1.00 oz Goldings, East Kent [5.00 %] - Boil 10.0 min Hop 7 5.7 IBUs
2.00 oz Goldings, East Kent [5.00 %] - Dry Hop 14.0 Days Hop 8 0.0 IBUs
2.00 oz Goldings, East Kent [5.00 %] - Dry Hop 7.0 Days Hop 9 0.0 IBUs
Gravity, Alcohol Content and Color
Est Original Gravity: 1.063 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.016 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 6.2 %
Bitterness: 52.9 IBUs
Est Color: 9.0 SRM
Measured Original Gravity: 1.068 SG

 

[Arrheinous]

There's pre-isomerized hop extract. You can add a few drops of it to the fermenter.

Making your own hop tea should work too. You could probably concentrate it down a little bit so it doesn't dilute the final product.

 

[bd2xu]

There's pre-isomerized hop extract. You can add a few drops of it to the fermenter.

Making your own hop tea should work too. You could probably concentrate it down a little bit so it doesn't dilute the final product.

Great thought on the hop extract, they have it at my LHBS. I'm wondering if the hops are not assertive enough because I used distilled with the Burton Salts instead of my tap. I used a little less Burton salts as recommended as well, i used 2 packs for 13 gallons water (1 pack per 5 gallons recommended). Maybe the water is too soft.

 

[pdxal]

You should check out what your ending water profile with distilled+Burton salts was. More sulphate would help enhance bitterness, perhaps your water was still too soft.
You also only boiled your bittering hops 45 minutes, and you could get a few more percent AA utilization if you went 60 minutes. Did you have a strong, rolling boil?
I used Tinseth and got 48 IBUs instead of 53.
Your measured OG was higher than estimated, and that would knock a couple of IBUs off, and a higher FG like 1.016 would decrease the impact of bitterness and hops as well.
That said, you should be able to make a hop tea or hop extract and get it to where you want it.

 

[bd2xu]

I reduced boiling hops to 45 so I could just use the ounce vs .75 at 60, ibus ended up same (beersmith).

 

[Arrheinous]

Can you add brewing salts now to fix the Burton water? I haven't started messing with that myself.

 

[bd2xu]

Interesting thought on adding salts now. But I don't have a test kit so id be guessing.

 

[Xpertskir]

Can you add brewing salts now to fix the Burton water? I haven't started messing with that myself.

No, you can't do that.


Beer is generally not something you can "fix" after the fact. Take your lumps, learn from your mistakes, and make the next brew better.


Ion concentrations in water are extremely impactful and not just from the standpoint of mash pH. I'd be thoughtful about what you do with them, the intensity of the bitterness perceived at a given IBU level can vary wildly depending on water.

With that being said a hop tea MAY help you get more bitterness. I'd probably add a little simple sugar to the water to help with extraction.

 

[bd2xu]

Yeah since hop bitterness is extracted with boiling temps, modifying the water after the fact wouldn't help. On the tea, if I just steep an ounce of pellet hops in about 200 water, won't that only get flavor out? Would I be better off boiling about a half gallon of water with an ounce of hops for about an hour? I'd prob have about a quart left after and should be very bitter. On the sugar, I could use extra light powdered malt extract. Would be like I do for a starter, but instead I'd boil it for an hour with hops.

As far as not being able to fix beer after, I wouldn't agree 100%. Some things you can't fix but many you can. Removing unwanted flavors is hard to impossible, and they can rarely be covered up. But adding more of a certain flavor I think is easier. It depends though on what the issue is.

 

[JohnSand]

Hop tea will definitely work, I've done it.

 

[paperairplane]

I don't think the math (beersmith) necessarily reflects what is going on - sure you can get the same # by a larger addition in shorter time, but that does not reflect hop utilization or real world results. My IPA usually gets a full ounce of 13-15% aa hops at 60, this gives that backbone bitterness. Then I hammer in hops late, whirlpool and dry hop to get the aroma up.

 

[bd2xu]

Challenge is I'm not sure if moving the bittering hops to 45 or my water profile caused it. But hop tea here I come.

 

[pdxal]

Challenge is I'm not sure if moving the bittering hops to 45 or my water profile caused it. But hop tea here I come.

Also, how old were your hops? If they were 2013 or older hops, or not stored well, they would lose much of their AA% and flavor/aroma.

I still think you miscalculated IBUs, ended up with a higher OG and FG, and had potential impact from soft water, though.

 

[bd2xu]

I don't think it was old hops, not sure on date but LHBS is good. I think you're right, combo of soft water, og higher than anticipated, and only a 45 min addition (although beersmith said ibus would be same).

 

[tgmartin000]

It's been 9 days. Is it carbed up and chilled? How many times have you tasted it?

Give it a little time. ..

 

[bd2xu]

So I ended up boiling 1 oz of EKG pellets in a quart of water for about 30 mins, reduced down to a cup at the end after I strained it. It was VERY bitter, added the cup of green water to batch. Next come 2 oz of EKG dry hops for 14 days and another 2 oz EKG for 7 days.

Tested it though and bitterness is much more on par of where it should be.

 

[JohnSand]

Great! Thanks for the report.