This is my first beer I ended up pitching my yeast to warm 80s and but it seemed to ferment ok and Fg was 1.012 I moved it to a secondary so I could clean up my 6.5 gallon fermenter to start a new batch I haven’t done this yet. Anyway After 2 weeks I now have it in a keg and carbed to what seems a nice level. But the beer is very bitter. I can drink it buy wow bitter for my taste. Am thinking about trying american wheat again but wonder if how I brewed made it bitter or should I reduce hops. I cant dream it should be this bitter by design.
So should I try less hops as I would rather have malty than bitter or could my temps have hurt this. I will say tasting it today seems less bitter than 3 days ago so aging seems to help. Bitter is kinda even on the tongue more on back with long lasting aftertaste.
[quote=“robertm1771”]This is my first beer I ended up pitching my yeast to warm 80s and but it seemed to ferment ok and Fg was 1.012 I moved it to a secondary so I could clean up my 6.5 gallon fermenter to start a new batch I haven’t done this yet. Anyway After 2 weeks I now have it in a keg and carbed to what seems a nice level. But the beer is very bitter. I can drink it buy wow bitter for my taste. Am thinking about trying american wheat again but wonder if how I brewed made it bitter or should I reduce hops. I cant dream it should be this bitter by design.
So should I try less hops as I would rather have malty than bitter or could my temps have hurt this. I will say tasting it today seems less bitter than 3 days ago so aging seems to help. Bitter is kinda even on the tongue more on back with long lasting aftertaste.
Thanks for ideas and thoughts.[/quote]
You need to give us a bit more information. What hops did you use and how many? Extract or all grain? What yeast?
80s is way too high.
Used NB kit and dry yest that came with kit. US-05 I think it is.
1 oz Willamette (60 min)
1 oz Cascade (15 min)
Is whats called for in there kit. Followed directions all but pitching temp.
The 3 others that have tried it all say overall taste is not bad just bitter with bitter aftertaste. So not just my weak pallet
Yes I know I pitched to hot but lets not keep making that point unless it has something to do with the bitter aftertaste. I heard it a allot already so lets move on from that please
[quote=“robertm1771”]Like I said 3 others seem to think its bitter as well, father says he has paid for beer not as good as this so guess that good
Looked over instructions again I don’t remember topping off to 5 gallons so what boiled off was not replaced. I am thinking this is the problem.[/quote]
You had 5 gallons in your fermenter? If it’s just the partial boil 2-3 gallons, then it will be more bitter.
Even more important is that it’s still kinda green/early. That bitterness will fade with time.
just a shot in the dark here, but I think the ‘bitterness’ you are perceiving could be fusel alcohols. Is it purely bitter or is it astringent/solvent-like?
Our palettes by nature are tuned up to not like bitterness. It helped early man avoid poison (!) So a lot of flavors that are unpleasant (like the solventy flavor from pitching and fermenting too warm) are often described as ‘bitter’.
I’m guessing you fermented at room temperature? If your room/closet is in the low 70’s a beer like this could ferment in the high-70’s. Not ideal temps for yeast to work. I would bet on fusel alcohol from a warm pitch and a warm fermentation.
This is one of the instances where internet forums maybe aren’t the best mediums for diagnosing problems. If you are a member of a brew club, or can find someone (maybe in a local brewpub) with a BJCP or just a good palette, they can likely ID the off flavor for you and potentially diagnose the problem.
[quote=“robertm1771”]Am unsure if I had a full 5 gallons in the fermenter figure I didnt as I didnt top off to 5 gallons so I less than 5 by why boiled off.
So I if I understand correct a 3 gallon boil would be more bitter than a full 5 gallon boil?[/quote]
Yes but we’re talking about the final batch size. If what you finished with in the fermenter before pitching yeast was 3 gallons then it will be more bitter than if you had topped off to 5 gallons.
)