Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

NE IPA turned out too dark

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • NE IPA turned out too dark

    Hello,

    I've recently brewed a NE IPA, planned to get the colour at 5 SRM (10 EBC). I've added 4 kilograms of hop (pellets and whole leaf) in the Whirlpool, 3 kilograms (pellets and whole leaf) during primary fermentation and another 4 kilograms (only pellets) 5 days before bottling. I've used a mix of Wyeast 1318 London Ale III and White Labs WLP008 East Coast Ale. I bottle conditioned the beer.

    Now the bottle conditioning has been completed, the beer turned out way darker than the previous mentioned 5 SRM. What could have caused this? At the moment I have a second batch in the fermenter, hopefully this one will become lighter in colour. This time I've only used Wyeast 1318 and did some of the hop additions with hop burst (oils).

    Thanks in advance for your reply!

    Kind regards,
    Raymond Geraads
    Brewmaster Brouwerij Stijl, Almere (The Netherlands)

  • #2
    I've heard that NEIPA's are very susceptible to darkening due to oxidation. Never tried bottling one but that is the first thing that comes to my mind.
    Manuel

    Comment


    • #3
      Sounds like you introduced oxygen at some point on the cold side

      Comment


      • #4
        Thanks for the replies. In the meantime it looks like the beer has become even darkers, so I think the oxidation process is still going on. We evaluated the brewing process and the only possible way the oxygen came into the beer is because of using whole leaves during primary. We've put the leaves in the tank, transferred the cold wort to the tank and added the yeast afterwards. It took almost 24 hours untill fermentation has started. Can this be the problem? The beer also tastes a bit medicinal, could this be a result of using an excessive amount of leaves during primary fermentation? We didn't transfer the beer to another tank for secondary. Could the medicinal taste be a result of using the wrong yeast (WLP008) or even less yeast?

        Thanks in advance again for your replies!

        Comment


        • #5
          All sounds like oxidation. Maybe your bottling process introduced oxygen?

          Comment


          • #6
            Originally posted by rgeraads View Post
            It took almost 24 hours untill fermentation has started. Can this be the problem?
            How was the color when you bottled? What about when you dry hopped? We intentionally introduce oxygen before pitching on the presumption that the yeast will consume it all during the lag phase, so, seems unlikely that enough O2 to be a problem is carrying through the entire process (especially if the color didn't start turning until it was in the bottle!).

            If it were my brewery, I'd look into getting a dissolved oxygen meter and measuring before/after everything that gets done to the beer (dry hop, packaging, filtering/fining if you do it, etc) – if it's happening on this beer, it's probably happening less visibly in others.

            Comment


            • #7
              Medicinal

              Originally posted by rgeraads View Post
              Thanks for the replies. In the meantime it looks like the beer has become even darkers, so I think the oxidation process is still going on. We evaluated the brewing process and the only possible way the oxygen came into the beer is because of using whole leaves during primary. We've put the leaves in the tank, transferred the cold wort to the tank and added the yeast afterwards. It took almost 24 hours untill fermentation has started. Can this be the problem? The beer also tastes a bit medicinal, could this be a result of using an excessive amount of leaves during primary fermentation? We didn't transfer the beer to another tank for secondary. Could the medicinal taste be a result of using the wrong yeast (WLP008) or even less yeast?

              Thanks in advance again for your replies!
              I am not 100% on this but medicinal generally comes from the fermentation being to hot. Actually to hot and or even to much activity. Using too little yeast would give it a clove/banana ester and help create the extra activity to create the heat. So, if you also have a hint of clove/banana along with it; you might have under pitched. Also once you get the medicinal/band-aid taste you are not going to get rid of it. It will fade overtime, a long time: yet never go away!

              Brad

              Comment


              • #8
                Click image for larger version

Name:	image1.jpg
Views:	1
Size:	93.7 KB
ID:	191458

                Don't know if this photo will upload, but I've found that cloudy IPA is very susceptible to darkening from oxidation. In the photo, both beers are from the same tank. The darkened one is what was drained from the sight tube. Beer in the sight tube sat for two weeks at room temp.

                Comment


                • #9
                  From some classes and discussions with others there are large amounts of oxygen in whole leaf hops any time that I have dry hopped with whole leaf I always force CO2 in from the bottom of my ferm tank and build up 5 PSI in hopes of removing any residual O2 it seems to have worked for me. I also take a couple of cones and put them in a sealed jar with hot water and let it cool it gives me a pretty good idea on what aroma the hops will provide. Now I am sure there are better ways but in my little brewery (5K) it helps
                  Mike Eme
                  Brewmaster

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Oxygenation

                    What you are describing is most certainly oxygenation - I have experienced it first hand. I'm still in the start-up phase, opening a brewery in 2018 specializing in NEIPAs - I've been brewing them for years now. I would doubt that the whole cone hops are the culprit for DO (dissolved oxygen) left in the beer solution, considering that the active fermentation should be generating and pushing C02 through the wort/beer solution, "scrubbing" whatever oxygen that the yeast do not consume during their anaerobic phase.

                    If I were you - look into your conditioning / packaging methods to ensure you are eliminating DO. Are you purging your BBT properly to ensure that all oxygen is removed? Purging transfer lines before transferring to said BBT? Using de-aerated water for any make-up water, if applicable? Purging your kegs and keg filler transfer lines of oxygen? DO mitigation and elimination has to be your primary focus when brewing/conditioning/packaging NEIPAs, because all of the flavor that you get from this style is derived from the volatile aromatic oils that you extract from the hops - and they are most susceptible to oxygen.

                    Ryan
                    Viridian Brewing Company
                    [Brewery-In-Planning]
                    Ryan
                    Viridian Brewing Company
                    [Brewery-In-Planning]

                    Comment

                    Working...
                    X