Youngs American IPA

[Bashley]

Had a couple of pints of AIPA last night. Muuuuuch better! More carbonation than a week ago (that's 2 weeks carbing @19 deg and 1 week in garage @ 8 deg) and the bitterness doesn't hang around anymore. Really decent pint! My only complaint with this kit is that it's super strong. I think mine came in at around 7.2%. I'd much rather it were between 5% and 5.5%.

 

[Oneflewover]

One of the best kits in my opinion. Festival razorback is also good, similar style, more sessionable

 

[Kevin Falconer]

Your photoshopped line appears to say 1.008 as you suggested. Just as a point, I leave my brew in plastic fermenter for at least two weeks at around 20 degrees. This is based on advice I found in this forum and others.

 

[terrym]

My only complaint with this kit is that it's super strong. I think mine came in at around 7.2%. I'd much rather it were between 5% and 5.5%.

Only if you brewed much shorter or used more sugars than in the kit will this beer turn out higher than about 6.5% which is what Youngs suggest is a likely outcome. Having done it twice that 6.5% looks about right. If you like this kit but want to reduce the ABV, next time you could leave out some of the brewing sugar, although this may be included to give some dryness to the beer which may be part of the style. Every 250g dextrose you don't put in will be worth a reduction of about 0.5% ABV.

 

[BeerisGOD]

Had a couple of pints of AIPA last night. Muuuuuch better! More carbonation than a week ago (that's 2 weeks carbing @19 deg and 1 week in garage @ 8 deg) and the bitterness doesn't hang around anymore. Really decent pint! My only complaint with this kit is that it's super strong. I think mine came in at around 7.2%. I'd much rather it were between 5% and 5.5%.

I found this too and with the amber one
I think I watered down a few to keep me on some semi decent level with the misses drinking her tetleys
As you can imagine it was a fair bit of water

 

[Eight Ace]

Had a couple of pints of AIPA last night. Muuuuuch better! More carbonation than a week ago (that's 2 weeks carbing @19 deg and 1 week in garage @ 8 deg) and the bitterness doesn't hang around anymore. Really decent pint! My only complaint with this kit is that it's super strong. I think mine came in at around 7.2%. I'd much rather it were between 5% and 5.5%.

Had a few bottles tonight, almost the same as yours bar a few more days in the outbuilding and a night in the fridge. Just like yours it has mellowed out lovely. Might lack the hippy punch of say a Punk IPA but really impressed!

 

[Steffybhoy]

Hi peeps!
Ive just brewed this kit(first ever).
After 10 days in FV, has a gravity reading of 1007.
But there's still a big krausen head on the surface.
Going to take another reading in 2 days, if its still at '1007' can I 'dry hop' even if there's still a big krausen?

 

[RichK]

I've dry hopped while there was a thick krausen with no (obvious) ill effects. I do put dry hops into bags & weigh them down though. If you put them in loose will they just sit on top? (I don't know the answer to that).

 

[terrym]

In my experience and looking through the posts in this thread anyone who has managed to get this kit down to 1.007 in as little as 10 days is the exception rather than the rule. It 'normally' takes about 15 days or longer. So first I would certainly be checking my hydrometer for accuracy . Next for most beers if there is still a krausen it suggests that the yeast is still active which is another pointer towards leaving it alone. In any case I would leave it a minimum 15 days to finish off and for the yeast to start to clean up (which is what the kit instructions advise if I remember).
As far as adding the hops it is best to do this when the yeast has finished or all but finished, since the amount of volatile hop oils lost from the beer will be less.
Finally whether the hops are added as they are (which will knock back any remaining krausen) or in a bag is really down to personal choice. I chuck 'em in but use a nylon mesh sock over the FV end of the siphon tube and that works well in keeping the hops in the FV rather than going forward. Any hops added loose will usually initially sit on top of the beer but when they are truly wetted will start to drop. I usually rap the side of the FV at the liquid/headspace interface from time to time and doing this encourages the hop bits to sink. And if the beer is still fermenting CO2 will keep the hops floating.

 

[OlsBean]

This went in the FV last night, it's chugging away like good-en already. Really looking forward to this one.

 

[Steffybhoy]

Thanks guys, will give it at least 15 days before dry hopping
The hydrometer is a coopers plastic one, so don't think it may be totally accurate
Can't wait to try it, just a little paranoid of it going pear shaped!

 

[Steffybhoy]

Just tested hydrometer in water, goes between 3 and 4 units under 1000.
So I think a my iPa is closer to 1010-11.

 

[terrym]

Just tested hydrometer in water, goes between 3 and 4 units under 1000.
So I think a my iPa is closer to 1010-11.

Thats more like it.
The fermentation will be slowing now and the last few points always seem to take the longest time.
Personally I would now leave it alone until Tuesday at the earliest, before I took another reading.
And in the meantime try your local Wilko for a replacement hydrometer, at the eye watering cost of £3.50.

 

[earlyamerican]

Hi guys

I'm using a Youngs American IPA kit, first attempt at homebrewing. I started primary on 17th February, didn't take an initial reading. Recommended final reading before transferring to barrel is below 1.007. Here are a summary of gravity readings so far:

2nd March - 1.01 6th March - 1.01 (added hops at this point) 11th March - 1.005 13th March - 1.001 16th March - 1.005

Each sample has tasted nice up until today. The first thing I noticed is that it has clouded over completely into a beige colour. It also has a chalky mouth feel and does not taste as flavourful as previous samples. Also can't understand how reading would have went up at this point. Is that possible or is it likely to be an inaccurate reading? One thing I thought is that I pushed the siphon too low in to the fermentation vessel and inadvertently siphoned out a bunch of sediment. I tried pouring sample from sample jar into glass, cleaning residual sediment from jar, and then pouring contents from glass back to jar but reading still the same. Has it been languishing too long in primary? Any advice greatly appreciated!

 

[terrym]

@earlyamerican
Your beer is ready to package, the primary has finished, and the beer has been on the hops for long enough, probably too tlong. I suggest the 13 Mar reading is spurious, so ignore it. So my advice is simple, package it as soon as possible. If you added the hops directly into the beer without putting them into a bag you will need to siphon out carefully to ensure you don't pull off hop bits which then find their way into your bottles.
However from what you have said there is a very small chance that your beer has become infected but given the 100g of dry hops you probably added that it unlikely imo. However I would use one PET bottle and monitor the pressure, and if any bottles you subsequently open are gushers, then it may have become infected after all.

 

[earlyamerican]

@earlyamerican
Your beer is ready to package, the primary has finished, and the beer has been on the hops for long enough, probably too tlong. I suggest the 13 Mar reading is spurious, so ignore it. So my advice is simple, package it as soon as possible. If you added the hops directly into the beer without putting them into a bag you will need to siphon out carefully to ensure you don't pull off hop bits which then find their way into your bottles.
However from what you have said there is a very small chance that your beer has become infected but given the 100g of dry hops you probably added that it unlikely imo. However I would use one PET bottle and monitor the pressure, and if any bottles you subsequently open are gushers, then it may have become infected after all.

Thanks! I'll get it into the barrel post-haste!

 

[terrym]

@earlyamerican
If you are putting your beer into a standard PB do not use all the priming sugar supplied, I suggest max of 100g. The full 135g dextrose supplied will overpressure your PB. This style of beer is really intended to be highly carbonated (hence the large amount of priming sugar) and is probably better packaged into bottles. That's not to say you can't put it into a PB, you can of course, but it might turn out a bit 'flat' for the style. Either way when its carbed and cleared its ready to drink imo.

 

[earlyamerican]

Thanks so much for your counsel, brother, it's immensely appreciated. I spread it between half a dozen 740ml bottles and the barrel.

One thing I noticed is that the hops had started to disintegrate. When I've had the lid off in the past there's been a layer of hops floating on top, it looked like rhino skin. But it had started to disintegrate into the brew. Whilst transferring to the barrel and bottles I also took another sample to taste. The chalky mouthfeel I experienced before had thankfully gone. As I got the bottom of the primary fermentation vessel there was a lot of sandy sediment - I tried another sample from further down and it had that chalky mouthfeel. So the last couple of bottles might not be so good.

I'm gonna leave it in my living room for a couple weeks then move to my bedroom which is generally cooler for it to clear. I've also bought the same kit again, raring to have another go at it and hopefully learn from past mistakes.

 

[Steffybhoy]

Had it bottled for 8 days, cracked a bottle open last night to sample the taste.
OMG!! What a taste!
Hoppy, tasty, a drink to savour.
Going to give it another week at room temperature, then into the garage for a week.
So far it's had 2-weeks in PV, 3 days dry hopping, and 8 days in the bottle.
Super!!!

 

[terrym]

Had it bottled for 8 days, cracked a bottle open last night to sample the taste.
OMG!! What a taste!
Hoppy, tasty, a drink to savour.
Going to give it another week at room temperature, then into the garage for a week.
So far it's had 2-weeks in PV, 3 days dry hopping, and 8 days in the bottle.
Super!!!

My experience with this beer is, if it's carbed, clear and you like it, it's ready to drink. It will not really improve with keeping, and in fact if kept for a long time loses the impact of the dry hop.