Double IPA

[SCHOTTYBEER]

Thanks in advance for any input. I am a new home brewer. My set up is all grain, and I'm doing 5.5 gallon batches. I recently brewed a Double IPA using all Simcoe hops. I'm looking for that pine flavor that I've had in other home brews. I bottled 10 days ago, and couldn't help myself tonight... Threw one on ice for about 45 minutes, then cracked it open. Great carbonation; surprisingly clear; next to no pine. Three people took samples, and we all got strong apricot flavors. Is this typical? I can't imagine that waiting another week or two to open the bottle would produce a big difference. It's a tastey beer; just not what I what I expected. Any tips?

 

[jglazer]

We'll need more info to diagnose. Recipe, dry hop schedule, yeast used, and fermentation temp/duration should be enough.

 

[rockytop714]

how warm was your fermentation? I'm a new guy, too, but it's my understanding (and one unfortunate experience) that too warm of a fermentation will leave some fruity aromas and flavors in a beer. A cooler temp should make a cleaner fermentation. I've never used them in any of the brews I've made, but I think that chinook hops are supposed to lend a lot of piney aromas and flavors.

 

[Homercidal]

This coudl be tricky. I'd suspect fermentation temps. An IPA should be fermented on the lower end of the yeasts range, and ideally you would use a clean American yeast.

Almost any portion of the brewing process can ultimately influence the flavors that you sense. Simcoe can be described by some to have a cat-pee flavor/aroma. Enough of them may help to give a ripe fruit flavor, especially when paired with higher ferm temps.

Honestly, it would be most helpful if you could post the recipe and process details. With what we know now, I think most would assume your ferm temps were too high. Maybe you used Nottingham yeast? That can get fruity fairly easy.

 

[SCHOTTYBEER]

We'll need more info to diagnose. Recipe, dry hop schedule, yeast used, and fermentation temp/duration should be enough.

I will post the recipe tonight. Thank you!

 

[SCHOTTYBEER]

how warm was your fermentation? I'm a new guy, too, but it's my understanding (and one unfortunate experience) that too warm of a fermentation will leave some fruity aromas and flavors in a beer. A cooler temp should make a cleaner fermentation. I've never used them in any of the brews I've made, but I think that chinook hops are supposed to lend a lot of piney aromas and flavors.

I have a chest freezer with a toe rapture control device. I fermented at 63 degrees with a one degree variance. I checked it regularly to ensure the temp was holding, and I taped the probe into the side of the fermenter with a piece of cardboard covering the other side of the probe. I used dry Nottingham yeast. The beer tastes great, just not at all what I expected, or have tasted in other all Simcoe recipes.

 

[SCHOTTYBEER]

This coudl be tricky. I'd suspect fermentation temps. An IPA should be fermented on the lower end of the yeasts range, and ideally you would use a clean American yeast.

Almost any portion of the brewing process can ultimately influence the flavors that you sense. Simcoe can be described by some to have a cat-pee flavor/aroma. Enough of them may help to give a ripe fruit flavor, especially when paired with higher ferm temps.

Honestly, it would be most helpful if you could post the recipe and process details. With what we know now, I think most would assume your ferm temps were too high. Maybe you used Nottingham yeast? That can get fruity fairly easy.

I do use Nottingham - 2 packs. In a 5.5 gallon batch I used 8 ounces of Simcoe pellet. I'll post the recipe as soon as I get home from work. Thanks for your help.

 

[Homercidal]

Well, at 63 I would not expect Notty to be that fruity, but on the other hand, I've basically given up on it for my Pale Ales, because I've just gotten too much fruit from it and there are other yeasts to be had for not much more $$.

Be looking forward to the recipe so we can figure out what is going on.

 

[Homercidal]

You know, now that I think about it, I think the last time I used Notty I had decent temps and still got fruit flavors. And I think I used Simcoe in that batch too! Maybe that combination is just meant to give those flavors...

 

[SCHOTTYBEER]

Sorry for the delay. This is copy and pasted. I'm new to all of this, and still unsure of what to post. I was accurate with measurements, freakishly sanitized, and followed my timeline.

Mash Ingredients
15 lb - Pale Malt (2 Row) US
8.0 oz - Cara-Pils/Dextrine
8.0 oz - Caramel/Crystal Malt - 10L
8.0 oz - Victory Malt
0 min - Mash In (150.0 F for 60 min)
1:02 hours - Mash Complete
Batch sparge with 2 steps (0.95 qt, 14.48 qt) of 168.0 F water


0 min - Add Ingredients
14.4 oz - Corn Sugar (Dextrose) - Mash addition
1.50 oz - Simcoe - Boil 60 min
40 min - Add Ingredients
1.00 oz - Simcoe - Boil 20 min
45 min - Add Ingredients
0.28 tsp - Irish Moss - Boil 15 min
50 min - Add Ingredients
2.00 oz - Simcoe - Boil 10 min
1:00 hours - Add Ingredients
1.49 oz - Simcoe - Boil 0 min
1:00 hours - End of Boil

Yeast/Fermentation:
2 pkg - Nottingham Yeast (Lallemand -)
Ale, Single Stage(One Stage)
Primary: 14 days at 63.0 F

Bottle/Age Estimates
Dry Hops/Bottling:
2.00 oz - Simcoe - Dry Hop 5 days
FG: 1.010 SG
Carbonation: Bottle with 4.12 oz Corn Sugar
Carb Volumes: 2.3 vols
Age for: 14 days at 65.0 F

 

[Homercidal]

Honestly, it seems just about right to me.

 

[jglazer]

I would have definitely dry hopped with at least 4oz of hops for a DIPA, sometimes I dry hop with 5oz or 6oz if you really want that aroma to come out. Also, when dry hopping you will notice a pretty significant difference if you dry hop at 63 vs 68-70. Those few degrees warmer will make a huge difference in how much hop oil is extracted, and if you are only dry hopping for 5 days than 63 degrees extracted some oil but not as much as you could have. If your beer was exposed to oxygen a little more than it was supposed to, then that will also hurt the aroma/flavor of the hops in the finished product. How did you dry hop? Did you put the hops in a bag and then into the fermenter? I've made an IPA where I tried putting the hops in a bag and they did not get enough exposure to the wort (even though I weighted it down and it was submerged) because the 1 gallon bag wasn't big enough for the 2oz I added (and those were pellets, leaf hops are even worse in a bag in my experience).

For the apricot flavor you mentioned, I don't have too much experience using Notty but I have heard rumors of it giving off a slightly fruity taste when fermented in the lower 60 range so that could possibly be the reason but I would look into that more. Did you raise the fermentation temp at all or was it kept at ~63?