Hopping extract brew with 10 litre pot.

[D L]

Hey, all. 

New to the forum and semi-new to brewing. 

I have a question about hopping extract brews; I have experimented with dry hopping with (I think) relative success (100g of Dr Rudi into a 23 litre,1.043 OG, Pale Ale for 5 days), but my dry hopped brew definitely lacks the bitterness I've come to expect from a hoppy pale ale or IPA. The hop flavour is there, just doesn't have the same bite.

I understand bittering hops are supposed to be added to the boil during an all grain brew but I am a little torn on how I should attempt to bitter my next extract brew, as I don't yet have the equipment for all grain or even a partial mash at this stage. 

My main issue is the largest pot I have available to me is only ten liters. 

My plan is to take 4.5 litres from a 23 litre wort (likely around 1.043 og) and chuck it in the pot with another 4.5 litres of water and around 50g of Cascade (in a hop sock) and boil for about 60 minutes before returning the wort to the fermenter and dry hopping another 50g in secondary (100g turned out just a touch grassy). 

I have had a bit of trouble trying to figure out if this technique will be successful. I worry that the extract could burn or caramelize and yet I've read that boiling the hops with just water will yield a hop tea far too bitter and/or grassy?

Does anyone have any experience with bittering this way? Or can anyone suggest a better way to bitter a 23 litre brew with only a ten litre pot at my disposal? 

 

[jt]

Hey D L there's plenty of info available.

I started with http://howtobrew.com/ with extract & grains.

Read up on the volumes gravities and calculating BU

I'm sure other people would have other good suggestions tooo

let us know how you get on

cheers

[Cain Harland]

If I was bittering a partial boil I would use pacific jade co2 extract. Actually I use it anyway for bittering to keep a little leaf out of my brew. you probably need a little bit more with the partial.

[Kevin Sharp]

For your current brew (and possibly future brews) you can add iso alpha extract (not the same as CO2 extract) after fermentation. This stuff - https://www.haurakihomebrew.co.nz/hop-pellets-cone-hops-hop-teabags.... It's available in a range of styles to suit the beer you're trying to remediate.

[D L]

Thanks heaps for the input, guys :)

Had a bit of a read up about late extract brewing and other methods for partial mashing in a smaller vessel and have come up with this recipe: 

Print%20Light%20body%20Late%20Extract%20Small%20Vessel%20IPA.pdf

I know dextrose is usually frowned upon, and I usually opt for an all malt brew but I want to experiment with building a lighter bodied, less carb' heavy ale this time around. 

Let me know what you think.

I'll report back on whether or not it works out!

Thanks again :)

[Kevin Sharp]

You'll need a strong constitution to drink a beer that's made with 37% dextrose. The main flavour is likely to be ethyl acetate (nail varnish remover).

I'd suggest 10% max dextrose, but you would probably do better to leave it out entirely. There is a place for dextrose in IIPAs and Belgian Ales. Not in a session Pale Ale though.

If you're having problems with a high FG concentrate on yeast heath - hydrate it according to Fermentis's instructions, and consider adding some yeast nutrient. If you must add dextrose then do it after most of the malt has fermented out. Otherwise the yeast cells tend to develop a preference for mono-hydrate sugars and don't ferment the maltose well. Don't let me discourage you from experimenting though. Producing undrinkable beer is a rite of passage. I've sluiced a few ill-judged experiments in the past.

[D L]

Hmm, you're probably right there. 

I have used 1kg dextrose before and the result was rather cidery (drinkable, but not great).

I was hoping that this was more due to a lack of hops vs. the high alcohol content (8%). 

On the other hand I have, in the past, brewed a standard kit beer according to the instructions (1kg dextrose) and found it to be fine, if not painfully boring.  

I guess I was hoping all the anti-dextrose noise bandying about the internet was more purist scare mongering than actual science. 

Perhaps I will sub out for DME this time. 

Other than the dextrose, did you find any other fault in the recipe? (Specifically the boiling steps/volume etc.)

Also, do you have any other suggestions for a light bodied beer? Less malty and more hop-forward?

Cheers for your help! :)