Very bitter cream ale

[stooby]

I'm a fairly new brewer, 7 brews I think, but this was the first one I was truly disappointed in. Brewed on 2-15, tried it out yesterday (kegged) & man was it bitter! Pretty much undrinkable. My third BIAB brew, but the others were very good. Since I'm doing full boils, should I reduce hop boil time? I usually squeeze the hop bag, should I stop? Or is this a hoppy beer style & needs more time to mellow? I expected a lighter beer style but this ain't it.

 

[LKABrewer]

What was your recipe?

 

[asidrane]

How highly did you carbonate it? The more carbonation the beer has, the more it enhances the bitterness.

 

[stooby]

I used the NB all grain kit, full boil BIAB. Carbonation level was actually low, as I had just force carbed it & it wasn't "there" yet. I can't imagine it getting any more bitter as it carbs up. Might get it close to the "pitch it out" stage.

 

[afr0byte]

I'm a fairly new brewer, 7 brews I think, but this was the first one I was truly disappointed in. Brewed on 2-15, tried it out yesterday (kegged) & man was it bitter! Pretty much undrinkable. My third BIAB brew, but the others were very good. Since I'm doing full boils, should I reduce hop boil time? I usually squeeze the hop bag, should I stop? Or is this a hoppy beer style & needs more time to mellow? I expected a lighter beer style but this ain't it.

You'll get more hop utilization out of a full wort boil, yes. You need to adjust your recipes. EDIT: This assumes that your recipe was a partial mash recipe, which it wouldn't be if it's an AG kit.

 

[Lennie]

A cream ale is supposed to have a low level of hop bitterness. AG kits should be formulated for a full boil. I can't imagine NB makes a bitter cream ale kit. Maybe they threw in the wrong hops or something.

Edited to add: Its supposed to have 1oz of Cluster, that hop has an AA% of 5.5-8.0%. At 8%, with a 60min boil thats about 30IBU. At 5.5%, it would be 21 IBU. Cream ale is supposed to be no more than 20IBU. Apparently their choice of hops isn't the best.

 

[afr0byte]

I used the NB all grain kit, full boil BIAB. Carbonation level was actually low, as I had just force carbed it & it wasn't "there" yet. I can't imagine it getting any more bitter as it carbs up. Might get it close to the "pitch it out" stage.

Did you add a lot of sulfate to your water? Do you have high sulfate water? Did you use noble hops with the high sulfate? Some people apparently think that sulfates and noble hops don't mix. Also, if your boil pH was high (likely with a cream ale, if you didn't add acid), then you could be extracting a harsher/more bitterness at the higher pH. EDIT: Also, a lot of bicarbonate in your water can lead to a harsher bitterness (That may be from high pH, though, I don't know.).

 

[stooby]

I don't think water is my problem, we have pretty good water here & my other brews have been good. I'm thinking Lennie might have nailed it, the hops might have been too bitter & with a full boil & me squeezing the hell out of the hop bag, it's probably overhopped. Wonder if time will make it drinkeable.

 

[Ultrazord]

I just had one that tasted slightly bitter at first, more like a pale ale. It's mellowed slightly after another 2 weeks and is now really good. It tastes like a smoother, slightly more hoppy american beer. Not sure if that's what all cream ales are supposed to taste like, but this ones now a hit.

 

[Yooper]

I don't think water is my problem, we have pretty good water here & my other brews have been good. I'm thinking Lennie might have nailed it, the hops might have been too bitter & with a full boil & me squeezing the hell out of the hop bag, it's probably overhopped. Wonder if time will make it drinkeable.

I wouldn't rule out the water. With my tap water, I can make some great beers. Except for cream ale, kolsch, and light lagers. They are harshly bitter. Having have a water test done, I found out that my water is alkaline and it isn't good for lighter beers. Diluting with RO water (from the "water machine" at the store) totally fixed it.

If an under 30 IBU is highly bitter, either the efficiency was VERY low so the IBUs are actually higher than that, or the water is an issue. Or maybe both.

 

[Burgs]

FWIW I've brewed that recipe and even though they give you a 1 oz package of cluster, I'm pretty sure the recipe calls for .75 oz boiled for 45 minutes. Not the whole oz for 60.

 

[Burgs]

Never mind I'm thinking of speckled heifer

 

[BWN]

I just did something close to their recipe and used .75 oz. of 7.5% cluster @60 mins. It gave me around 18 ibu's

 

[mattmuir]

Unless this was all grain their kits do not call for a full boil. Only around 2.75 gal then top off. I do full boils ....like a little more hoppy flavor