[dmtaylor]

Sounds like a good plan for your carbonation.

With 7 gallons instead of 5 gallons, your IBUs will be closer to about 60 if you use Centennial for bittering, or 72 IBUs if you use Simcoe.  This is still quite bitter, and more bitter than your goal if you like Sierra Nevada and Founders All Day IPA, but closer.  If you reduce the bittering hops by 25-35%, you’ll get the bittering just about perfect.

Been thinking about 1.5% of the LME's mass to bitter, instead of 2%. Will look at what other bittering hops I have on-hand and find one a little more gentle than Centennial. Simcoe is out, based upon the information you have so graciously provided. I have Magnum (12.1%), Amarillo (9.6%) and Chinook (11.2%). The Amarillo is lookin' kinda good when compared to the Centennial...

1.5% of 4037 grams is 60.5 grams of Amarillo. About how high will my IBU be with using that much? Flavoring and aroma will remain unchanged.

It will still be about 60 IBUs with that much Amarillo.  Sorry, after double checking, I noticed I was a little bit off in my math the first time, IBUs with Centennial would most likely be a little higher than I said before, closer to 66 or 67.

[brewthru]

IMO, and this is only my opinion, I believe we become desensitized to the bitterness overtime and need more. I have zero studies to cite, no proof other than personal experience. Reminds me of 10th grade biology class. Walk in the classroom and just about floored by the smell of formaldehyde. After a while the formaldehyde is barely noticeable.

[Drewch]

... we become desensitized to the bitterness overtime and need more.

I can't dig up the reference right now, but I've read in more than one place that humans generally become less sensitive to bitterness in particular as we age. That's why most kids don't like coffee and some of the more bitter vegetables — but old people do.

[nvshooter2276]

1.5% of 4037 grams is 60.5 grams of Amarillo. About how high will my IBU be with using that much? Flavoring and aroma will remain unchanged.

It will still be about 60 IBUs with that much Amarillo.

I may have to go to the wildest of extremes and cut the Amarillo back to forty-some grams. No more than 50 grams, which is 1.24 percent of 4037 grams.

[Lazy Ant Brewing]

Too bitter or hoppy for what? Those are subjective measures, so it's like asking "how long is a piece of string?"

I agree with Denny. But the additional question is, for whom are you brewing the beer?

Is it for competition, for your own consumption, to earn respect at your local homebrew club, as a gift to commemorate a special event for a friend whose taste you're trying to match, or for some other reason?

Each of these situations may require different answers regarding bitterness levels.

[nvshooter2276]

I agree with Denny. But the additional question is, for whom are you brewing the beer?

Is it for competition, for your own consumption, to earn respect at your local homebrew club, as a gift to commemorate a special event for a friend whose taste you're trying to match, or for some other reason?

The beer is being brewed for my personal consumption-- essentially all of it. I've been asked by a few of my associates for a sample bottle or two. I've found the most pleasure and satisfaction in malty beers with IBU ratings of 50-some all the way up to 90. From that range I'd opine that 60-some would be a good rating. No fruitiness, tropical or mango flavorings, please. I had a six-pack of Juice Force IPA sold by the smiling skull with a gold tooth, and I did not like it. I do like his VooDoo Ranger Imperial IPA at 70 IBU. I like Nierra Sevada Pale Ale and their Torpedo Extra IPA, the latter weighing-in at 65 IBU.

[nvshooter2276]

My LHBS has a slew of recipes for over a dozen types of beer. I picked a Pale Ale out yesterday that uses a total of four ounces of hops (2 ounces of Northern Brewer in the 60-minute boil and 2 ounces of Cascade steeped for 20 minutes after the boil) in 7.2 pounds of LME. Four ounces is 113.4 grams; 7.2 pounds is 3266 grams. 113.4 divided by 3266 = 3.47% hops mass versus the LME mass. 3.47% is around double what I had in mind for a Pale I'll get to working-on after I retire on June 21. I have 8.903 pounds of Pale LME; 4037 grams. 1.75% of 4037g = 70.6 grams of each of the two primary hops I want to use. Without looking back to the previous posts, I believe I wanted to use 1.5% (60.5 g) for bittering and 1.0% (40.4 g) for flavoring. Aroma hops to remain unchanged at 0.25 percent. My recipe calls for 101 or so total grams for bittering and flavoring hops; the LHBS recipe calls for 140 grams between each hop used. The LHBS recipe is almost 39% hoppier than what I think I want. Maybe I need to pump-up my hops percentages? The last thing I want is to wait-around for 60-some days to get something that would make Bud Light look hoppy. Comments, please...

[CounterPressure]

My LHBS has a slew of recipes for over a dozen types of beer. I picked a Pale Ale out yesterday that uses a total of four ounces of hops (2 ounces of Northern Brewer in the 60-minute boil and 2 ounces of Cascade steeped for 20 minutes after the boil) in 7.2 pounds of LME. Four ounces is 113.4 grams; 7.2 pounds is 3266 grams. 113.4 divided by 3266 = 3.47% hops mass versus the LME mass. 3.47% is around double what I had in mind for a Pale I'll get to working-on after I retire on June 21. I have 8.903 pounds of Pale LME; 4037 grams. 1.75% of 4037g = 70.6 grams of each of the two primary hops I want to use. Without looking back to the previous posts, I believe I wanted to use 1.5% (60.5 g) for bittering and 1.0% (40.4 g) for flavoring. Aroma hops to remain unchanged at 0.25 percent. My recipe calls for 101 or so total grams for bittering and flavoring hops; the LHBS recipe calls for 140 grams between each hop used. The LHBS recipe is almost 39% hoppier than what I think I want. Maybe I need to pump-up my hops percentages? The last thing I want is to wait-around for 60-some days to get something that would make Bud Light look hoppy. Comments, please...

What does your beer software say about it?

Not sure why it would take 60 days, but I guess that's up to you.

Everybody's definition of perfect is different. Those amounts don't seem out of line to me. Anytime I get a kit I make it exactly the way they say at least the first time because I figure they've already got some time invested in figuring out the balance. If it was wrong, they probably would have resolved that already.

My definition of the perfect pale ale is Citra session pale ale from Morebeer. I have never tried the Citra pale ale which is slightly higher gravity, I prefer the target ABV of 4.4 on the session beer. The Hop schedules are slightly different, they actually use less hops for a longer time in the bigger gravity beer. My experience with kits from Morebeer is that they are very well balanced right out of the box. The session Pale Ale is no exception. From the first time I made it I've kept it on tap ever since. It has in fact basically stopped me from Brewing ipas. I have 10 gallons of it ready for the dry hops to be removed and start the cold crash tomorrow.  The Hop schedule on that is a half ounce of Magnum for an hour, 1 oz of Citra for 10 minutes, 2 oz of Citra at flame out, and 1 oz of Citra for dry hops.

[nvshooter2276]

Not sure why it would take 60 days, but I guess that's up to you.

Everybody's definition of perfect is different. Those amounts don't seem out of line to me. Anytime I get a kit I make it exactly the way they say at least the first time because I figure they've already got some time invested in figuring out the balance. If it was wrong, they probably would have resolved that already.

I have no beer software. I ain't smart enough to use it.

Sixty days is 18 to 20 to ferment, then as much as six weeks (42 days) to condition. It's tough to wait that long, but I believe it's worth the wait. I've never tried mr. beer's Brewmax Booster foilpacks nor their unflavored softpack LMEs. I see repeatedly that they like to recommend one Booster per 1.87-pound can. I don't recall how many unflavored LMEs per can they recommend; I think 1:1 ought to be sufficient. I saw one of their kits had two Boosters going into one each 1.87-pound can. I don't think too deeply very often about too much of any consequence, but I think two Boosters in just one small can is too much.

I'll get to fooling-around with this stuff once I retire...

[nvshooter2276]

I hit upon the idea of using the paper that's used in tea bags to make a hop tea, which is then added to the fermented wort come bottling time. One or two ounces of a hop good for flavoring, steeped about twenty minutes in simmering PDW (hops are in the tea bag), then the tea thrown into the unprimed beer and stirred-in well. Prime and package as per usual.

Wouldn't require one of those "Depth Charge" dry-hopping spiders. Wouldn't require a muslin bag to be immersed after the initial violence of fermentation, then lifted out come Bottling Day.

I did a search for the paper used to make tea bags and found the bags themselves-- pre-made-- in a 4" by 6" size with a tie-off string attached:

https://www.amazon.com/Fenshine-100Pcs-Cold-Coffee-Filters/dp/B089YM8P6S/ref=sr_1_4_sspa?crid=229S0W9BNMBC0&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.0g0MQlx0OOREewhIyUQxWS5QVVXGNNjVO0bV8iDVSUo-xtsUBE3wxbON_cUYzvwR4FGoD3Qpp4jRyr8MLFARwADXt1-WTQwpPQQwnnt0cr7ZNNdk62GeXzjTVYGROaDO7ePdRtLGJhGTkUi7_fXCs9pyN6CCucGOzliQP1o2VqP9EpJJ42VCY69q6NgOpJ8gIWc2zOzFJJs4ddk5Zp_W89MZv6Wy0uo454T2EsUFVnrGT-QSlviYJ-UuXJxXsijHQv1QY-f1wAAzj9Cfrm-zHKuf9zgoOa-nSJ_nMuvsUck.rhgMYx-TYnUbwMz7TjqW9esHZRMTRezoBDEPHekteOw&dib_tag=se&keywords=4%22%2Bx%2B6%22%2Btea%2Bbags%2Bwith%2Bdrawstring&qid=1720223448&sprefix=4%2Bx%2B6%2Btea%2Bbags%2Bwith%2Bdrawstring%2Caps%2C225&sr=8-4-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&th=1


Or these: https://www.amazon.com/Tinkee-material-disposable-drawstring-100%EF%BC%883-15/dp/B07QRF4PSD/ref=sr_1_8?adgrpid=1334807680711972&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.yVgLR5tLgZ0IWF9KLnrzuBLk49SrSTeS2--vD5zwxmGhkLLs2_j1JwPXrgKrTDU1LnYPjN1frNVp-j3Zd6jjg8pHq76yUiurwTuvoo3jaTBSWLLSGTyGm-vPO9rWaPDRp4Gyy6C6kH0ef7Wm355kGZ98zH9-2tgjfbC3fKxyDRpvMWWwn7Bc_v23qDdOS_6dJ5zB5AoNk5bHxSaBuidjkXm3WLbK5MC_uSXLaJXdUznstDasVjJa7rxwb-xdZFaoIEA0oyXrHWjMjqi-MqGJKtZZgGOPcEQRgDqI4aDcvPw.iwtyo6hzPN9JU7dBo14O9InX2mtvKUpGUn7TYpDtrGw&dib_tag=se&hvadid=83425823127559&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=93099&hvnetw=o&hvqmt=e&hvtargid=kwd-83425826482908%3Aloc-190&hydadcr=4916_13275468&keywords=tea%2Bbag%2Bwith%2Bdrawstring&msclkid=a5b24675f6db14d62f8020fd7ee0e6fa&qid=1720223816&sr=8-8&th=1


Ordered the top one July 5; delivery o/a July 10. No idea when I'll "retire enough" to give 'em a whirl...

[CounterPressure]

If they hold in even one particle of the Hops that's better than the muslin bags we can buy today. They are positively worthless.

[nvshooter2276]

If they hold in even one particle of the Hops that's better than the muslin bags we can buy today. They are positively worthless.

One reviewer wrote that these bags keep even powdered tea inside the bags. I have no idea how tea is packaged. Is it a powder, like is Quik for chocolate milk? Or is it kind of a flake or a granular affair?

We'll see soon enough what I ordered. I'm tempted to make a bit of the hop tea just to see how well the bags contain the pelletized little dudes. Any opinions on if I make the tea, can I put it in my icebox and keep it for a long period of time, assuming it's securely safe from airborne contaminants getting into it?

[denny]

My experiences with hop tea haven't been good.

[Drewch]

One reviewer wrote that these bags keep even powdered tea inside the bags. I have no idea how tea is packaged. Is it a powder, like is Quik for chocolate milk? Or is it kind of a flake or a granular affair?

I haven't used those particular tea bags, but if they're like the ones I have used for loose tea, I expect they will hold the hops in pretty well.

[CounterPressure]

One reviewer wrote that these bags keep even powdered tea inside the bags. I have no idea how tea is packaged. Is it a powder, like is Quik for chocolate milk? Or is it kind of a flake or a granular affair?

We'll see soon enough what I ordered. I'm tempted to make a bit of the hop tea just to see how well the bags contain the pelletized little dudes. Any opinions on if I make the tea, can I put it in my icebox and keep it for a long period of time, assuming it's securely safe from airborne contaminants getting into it?

I have never seen tea ground up fine. Usually it's in pieces big enough you could grab one with a tweezers. It's definitely not powder. Hops on the other hand is ground up into something so fine it can block liquid better than Saran wrap. It's just ridiculous how fine that stuff is..


The rest of it I have no idea about. I've never made hop tea.