Unbalanced pale ale

[gmac]

I made a very plain pale ale using only 1 oz of Cascade FWH.  The rest of the grain bill is 8 lbs 2-row, 1 lb vienna.  That’s it.  I think the beer is a bit unbalanced.  It’s OK but it has too much body and if I do it again I’ll leave out the vienna and add 1 lb of corn or maybe even plain sugar to make it lighter in body.  My question is, would dry hopping this now do anything to improve it?  I know it won’t add bitterness nor will it lighten the body but I was wondering if you thought it would add any complexity that would make this more drinkable.  Like I said, it’s not terrible but it’s not what I was shooting for.  Right now I can see myself blending this with something else in the glass until I get it used up.  I won’t throw it out.

More radically, could I boil 1/2 an ounce of hops in a quart of water and add that to lighten it slightly and add more bitterness?  Probably not the best remedy.  I’d prefer to just try the dry hops if you think it’s worth the effort.  Can you dry hop cold, carbonated beer?  I’ve never done it before.

[tschmidlin]

Yes, you can dry hop that beer.  Be prepared for some CO2 to break out when you add the hops, and it won’t pick up the aroma as quickly at that temp.  But it will work.  You can always warm it up for a week after you add it too.

I generally advise people against boiling hops in plain water.  if the dry hopping doesn’t get you where you want to be, I would brew a very light bodied, bitter beer and blend the two.

[theprofessor]

@tschmidlin

… if the dry hopping doesn’t get you where you want to be, I would brew a very light bodied, bitter beer and blend the two.

Good advice from Tom.  I’ve done that very thing a couple of  times, and it works like a charm (and you wind up with a nice big batch 'o beer to boot).

[gmac]

Do they float or do I need some sort of bag to put the dry hops in?  I’m gonna use 1 oz of whole Cascade and see what happens.

[oscarvan]

@gmac

Do they float or do I need some sort of bag to put the dry hops in?  I’m gonna use 1 oz of whole Cascade and see what happens.

They float, will eventually soak up and occupy the top 2 inches of the vessel. A few piece will sink. Some people put them in a bag, and then add a big stainless washer or bolt (sanitized) to weigh it down. If you plan on re-using the yeast the latter would be a good idea, also makes racking less messy. I’ve done both.

[gmac]

Thanks Oscar.  I’ll add them this morning.  I just don’t have any sort of hop bag.  They are going right into the keg which is why I wanted to know about the floating or if they are going to block the outlet tube.

[oscarvan]

@gmac

Thanks Oscar.  I’ll add them this morning.  I just don’t have any sort of hop bag.  They are going right into the keg which is why I wanted to know about the floating or if they are going to block the outlet tube.

Whoa…stop press… in the keg. That’s different. Yes, they can block the tube. Does the wife have an old nylon?

[gmac]

Maybe.  I’ll ask her.  I guess worst case is to hop in the keg and then rack into another keg.  I’m gonna need more kegs…

[tubercle]

panty hose, cheese cloth, pillow case…you have something.

[clyells (Wheat_Brewer)]

.50 cents at the brew store for a hop bag can also did the trick ;)  I think the addition of some hops will get you in the ball park of where you want to be since the hop aroma can often times be enough to trick our brains into thinking we’re drinking something much more hoppy than we are…or at a minimum it’s a great aroma!

[gmac]

.50 cents at the brew store for a hop bag can also did the trick ;)  I think the addition of some hops will get you in the ball park of where you want to be since the hop aroma can often times be enough to trick our brains into thinking we’re drinking something much more hoppy than we are…or at a minimum it’s a great aroma!

.50 cents plus $20 in gas and 4 hours to get to the not quite local HBS.  But, I get what you’re saying.
Mrs. Mac says she has some pantyhose I can have although I think she is worried I’m going to rob the gas station or something.  Plus she says she’s not drinking beer that tastes like feet.  She’s very fussy that way.

[thomasbarnes]

@oscarvan

Some people put them in a bag, and then add a big stainless washer or bolt (sanitized) to weigh it down.

Marbles work well, too.

[oscarvan]

@gmac

.50 cents at the brew store for a hop bag can also did the trick ;)  I think the addition of some hops will get you in the ball park of where you want to be since the hop aroma can often times be enough to trick our brains into thinking we’re drinking something much more hoppy than we are…or at a minimum it’s a great aroma!

.50 cents plus $20 in gas and 4 hours to get to the not quite local HBS.  But, I get what you’re saying.
Mrs. Mac says she has some pantyhose I can have although I think she is worried I’m going to rob the gas station or something.  Plus she says she’s not drinking beer that tastes like feet.  She’s very fussy that way.

Tell her you have boiled it.

[mtnrockhopper (Jimmy K)]

You could go to the grocery store and get a stainless steel tea ball or some have empty tea bags. Neither of those taste like feet.

[richardt]

@gmac

I made a very plain pale ale using only 1 oz of Cascade FWH.  The rest of the grain bill is 8 lbs 2-row, 1 lb vienna.  That’s it.  I think the beer is a bit unbalanced.  It’s OK but it has too much body and if I do it again I’ll leave out the vienna and add 1 lb of corn or maybe even plain sugar to make it lighter in body.

Grain bill doesn’t look too bad.  What was your mash temp?  Should be around 148-150 F if you want it thinner bodied, and drier (less sweet).

[gigatropolis]

@gmac

I made a very plain pale ale using only 1 oz of Cascade FWH.  The rest of the grain bill is 8 lbs 2-row, 1 lb vienna.

More radically, could I boil 1/2 an ounce of hops in a quart of water and add that to lighten it slightly and add more bitterness?  Probably not the best remedy.  I’d prefer to just try the dry hops if you think it’s worth the effort.  Can you dry hop cold, carbonated beer?  I’ve never done it before.

I think that 1 oz of FWH will a go a long way and no need to add anymore hops for bittering. When reading about FWH, it sounds like it should add less bitterness to the wort than just boiling for 60 minutes, but I found it seems to add more bitterness than just boiling. For instance, recently made a beer with 1.5 oz of cascade at FWH and it tasted for more bitter than expected, so ended up recalculating the late hop additions by adding less or moving them closer to end of boil so not to raise the IBUs anymore.
  Sounds like a nice summer beer and the dry hopping should bring it up to the next level, so enjoy.

[denny]

@thomasbarnes

@oscarvan

Some people put them in a bag, and then add a big stainless washer or bolt (sanitized) to weigh it down.

Marbles work well, too.

Weighing down the hop bag is completely unnecessary.  I’m surprised so many people think they need to do it.

[gmac]

@gigatropolis

Sounds like a nice summer beer and the dry hopping should bring it up to the next level, so enjoy.

That’s what I was shooting for.  I may have mentioned but I didn’t use Vienna, I used light Munich.  I think that may have been my mistake.  Probably leaving it out would have been fine, it’s just a touch too malty.  Dry hops are going in today.
Thanks for all the advice everyone.

[gmac]

Well, it’s better with the dry hops though not great.  I’m mixing it 50/50 with california common that I have on tap and using it up that way.

[oscarvan]

@gmac

Well, it’s better with the dry hops though not great.  I’m mixing it 50/50 with california common that I have on tap and using it up that way.

Ah, the beer palette… In my case four taps, four very different beers. You can mix and match and stretch one that’s running low, or hide a minor imperfection like yours. There are no rules… it’s a medium for expression, another level of creativity…know what I mean?  Hic…

OK, I had a few beers. But, here’s my excuse. WARNING: THREAD DRIFT.

We have an upstairs and a downstairs heat pump. The upstairs air handler is in the unfinished attic. It is right now, 160º up there. For a few years now I have been listening to the electric motor that drives the squirrel fan in the air handler…it’s been getting louder, and louder…it got to the point where I knew… it was time.

But, I was hoping to stretch it to fall, it being 160º up there… No such luck. Last friday it went WHEEEEEE WDRHHHHHHH WHOAEEEEEEEEE… as in serious bearing failure.

So, I shut her down, pulled the motor, gave it to my wife to drop off at the motor repair place…and went to Amsterdam… ;D

Anyway, I came back and the news was bad. Bearings shot…spindle shot. Parts not available. New motor…$180. OK, go ahead. Today it came in, and I spent an hour up there sweating my balls off getting it in…finding out it was turning the wrong way, pulling it, reversing the mount, putting it in again and finally…success. It’s cooling down up there… We may not have to sleep on the air mattress in the family room tonight… 8)

So, my reward was a “session”.  ;D ;D ;D