Re: Festival Razorback IPA Review
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ManseMasher
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Completely normal. I'm not sure but I think the instructions say it should be 1.050? So pretty much bang on the money. That works out to 5.25% ABV.
ManseMasher
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It has finished by the sounds of it. Bottling time (joy of joys!)
ManseMasher
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No worries. Good luck, enjoy it. There is no going back now!
Don't forget to transfer it to a secondary vessel and add your priming sugar before bottling (assuming it's standard festival kit)
You'll be fine. And as manse says. There is no escaping the big now!!!
Mark
Be patient!!
It will be better for longer in the FV.
If I were you, assuming you have already dry hopped, I would aim to give it as near to 14 days in the FV as you can, but no longer than 7 days on the hops, all dependant upon whether you have two identical SG readings on consecutive days. Although the initial part of the primary (when the yeast converts sugars to alcohol) can be over, the yeast continues to work on the brew in the FV to 'clean up after itself' and produce a better product.
You may have seen reference to 2+2+2 on here as a good practice rule of thumb which means 2 weeks in the FV, 2 weeks carbonation (in the warm), and 2 weeks conditioning in a cool place before your beer is just about ready to enjoy.
Be patient!!
It will be better for longer in the FV.
If I were you, assuming you have already dry hopped, I would aim to give it as near to 14 days in the FV as you can, but no longer than 7 days on the hops, all dependant upon whether you have two identical SG readings on consecutive days. Although the initial part of the primary (when the yeast converts sugars to alcohol) can be over, the yeast continues to work on the brew in the FV to 'clean up after itself' and produce a better product.
You may have seen reference to 2+2+2 on here as a good practice rule of thumb which means 2 weeks in the FV, 2 weeks carbonation (in the warm), and 2 weeks conditioning in a cool place before your beer is just about ready to enjoy.
louis macneice
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It is said you can get unpleasant grassy flavours if left in too long; I'm presuming this means compost type grass rather than the sweet freshly mown stuff.
Cheers - Louis MacNeice
So perhaps leave it alone until the 24th, take a gravity reading, then another on the 25th and aim to bottle on that day on the assumption that readings are the same. If the worst comes to the worst you could always postpone bottling until the 26th if it suits you since an extra day shouldn't make all that much difference.
If you have a second FV o pressure barrel you could always give it a gentle stir (with a sterilized paddle/spoon) to disturb some of the yeast on the bottom, give it a few hours for the dead yeast and hop particles to settle, then rack into the 2nd vessel. That way you're off the hops but the yeast cans till do it's cleaning up.
Never done that, but it should work in theory.
I usually wait for 2 consecutive gravity readings around day 8 or so, then add the hops. Which gives about the recommended 2 weeks.
There's 101 other factors though, how warm is the FV, how stable is the temp, how healthy was the yeast, is the FV in sunlight or a dark room, and most importantly, do you like your bear fruity or clean? I quite like my IPA's fresh, which means ferment, dry hop (8 days + 5 as above), bottle, 20C for 2 days (fermenting/carbonation), 25C (conditioning) for 5 days, refrigerate and drink. Still a little fruity/yeasty, but a whole load more hoppy.
Never done that, but it should work in theory.
I usually wait for 2 consecutive gravity readings around day 8 or so, then add the hops. Which gives about the recommended 2 weeks.
There's 101 other factors though, how warm is the FV, how stable is the temp, how healthy was the yeast, is the FV in sunlight or a dark room, and most importantly, do you like your bear fruity or clean? I quite like my IPA's fresh, which means ferment, dry hop (8 days + 5 as above), bottle, 20C for 2 days (fermenting/carbonation), 25C (conditioning) for 5 days, refrigerate and drink. Still a little fruity/yeasty, but a whole load more hoppy.
Mine is very hoppy as I followed the instructions to add the hops after 5 days and then it took another two weeks to finish fermenting. It is definitely settling down though the longer I leave it. The shame is I'm going to have drank it all by the time it reaches its best!
It's a good job I like hoppy ipa
Personally, I find razorback to be hoppy enough and well balanced. It's a quality kit and wouldn't muck about with it too much. If you want to experiment with additional hops why not use a more neutral (and cheaper!) kit as a starting point?
