LovesIPA
Well-Known Member
And I can't figure out why. I've brewed half a dozen IPAs, trying to change things around and eliminate process issues and I just can't figure out what's going on. I've brewed a couple of stouts and they've come out fantastic.
I do all-grain 5 gallon batches. I use a 10 gallon igloo cooler for a mash tun. I'm meticulous about sanitation (never had an infection). I use starters from liquid yeast (Wyeast, WL) correctly sized for the beer. Except for one batch that was the victim of a broken racking cane, I'm careful about oxidation issues. That one tasted a little worse than the rest. Since I bought a thermapen, I've hit target mash temps to within a degree. The one I'm drinking now was mashed a little high - 154 - but that was pre-thermapen. Also, my notes on this particular batch are a little sparse because I was pretty
The taste is really hard to describe. There is a ton of hop aroma and flavor, but it's masked by the aroma and taste of something else that's not hops and not grain. It's really hard to describe it and I'm pretty horrible at describing tastes and aromas anyway. It is definitely not a pleasant flavor. The beer is drinkable (barely) but I don't like the idea of serving it to people. I would like a nice, clean hop flavor and aroma. Whatever this is, it comes close to masking the hops.
I thought it might be lack of proper minerals but I added 3g of MgSO4 and 7g of CaSO4 for the Racer 5 clone that I brewed almost 3 weeks ago. I sampled it today and it has the same lousy flavor and aroma.
I know this isn't much to go on, but I just can't figure out what I'm doing wrong.
I'd be happy to answer any questions about process, ingredients, etc. I just need to get this figured out.
I do all-grain 5 gallon batches. I use a 10 gallon igloo cooler for a mash tun. I'm meticulous about sanitation (never had an infection). I use starters from liquid yeast (Wyeast, WL) correctly sized for the beer. Except for one batch that was the victim of a broken racking cane, I'm careful about oxidation issues. That one tasted a little worse than the rest. Since I bought a thermapen, I've hit target mash temps to within a degree. The one I'm drinking now was mashed a little high - 154 - but that was pre-thermapen. Also, my notes on this particular batch are a little sparse because I was pretty
The taste is really hard to describe. There is a ton of hop aroma and flavor, but it's masked by the aroma and taste of something else that's not hops and not grain. It's really hard to describe it and I'm pretty horrible at describing tastes and aromas anyway. It is definitely not a pleasant flavor. The beer is drinkable (barely) but I don't like the idea of serving it to people. I would like a nice, clean hop flavor and aroma. Whatever this is, it comes close to masking the hops.
I thought it might be lack of proper minerals but I added 3g of MgSO4 and 7g of CaSO4 for the Racer 5 clone that I brewed almost 3 weeks ago. I sampled it today and it has the same lousy flavor and aroma.
I know this isn't much to go on, but I just can't figure out what I'm doing wrong.
I'd be happy to answer any questions about process, ingredients, etc. I just need to get this figured out.