Bitterness

Mastoras007

Mastoras007

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Hello everyone.
My last lager is very good btw but is a lot of bitter, not some infection bitterness but beer bitterness, wen drinking at the end leaves to mouth a bitter taste, this is my first lager and I don't have comparison measure, BUT as I see at beer recipes lets say Heineken ibu is 22-25 the beer i made ibu is 26 https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/view/356952/nrden-bru-czech-pilsner-plze-
But why my beer is a lot bitter from Heineken? I boiled wort 90 minutes, total i boiled hops 60 minutes as recipe says
 
Mastoras007 said:
Hello everyone.
My last lager is very good btw but is a lot of bitter, not some infection bitterness but beer bitterness, wen drinking at the end leaves to mouth a bitter taste, this is my first lager and I don't have comparison measure, BUT as I see at beer recipes lets say Heineken ibu is 22-25 the beer i made ibu is 26 https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/view/356952/nrden-bru-czech-pilsner-plze-
But why my beer is a lot bitter from Heineken? I boiled wort 90 minutes, total i boiled hops 60 minutes as recipe says
Click to expand...
Type of hop (AA rating) amount, and how long you boil it will all have an effect on bittering.

Some hops just taste more bitter too, even if the IBU is not high.
 
The strength of the beer has an effect as well.
20 ibu in a 3% beer will seem a lit more bitter than 20 ibu in a 8% beer.

And I think carbonation has an effect, with higher carbonation tadting less bitter than lower carbonation.
Thats just my expetience so far... Got no proof
 
What was your final gravity? In addition to the two great suggestions so far, I'll add in that dryness of a beer adds to perceived hop bitterness. In fact, when the craft beer became popular, I thought I didn't like hoppy beers because they were too bitter. Turns out I do like hoppy beers it was just hoppy and dry beers I didn't like.
 
BarbarianBrewer said:
What was your final gravity? In addition to the two great suggestions so far, I'll add in that dryness of a beer adds to perceived hop bitterness. In fact, when the craft beer became popular, I thought I didn't like hoppy beers because they were too bitter. Turns out I do like hoppy beers it was just hoppy and dry beers I didn't like.
Click to expand...
i don't know the FG because my hydrometer is broken..
it was strange that 2 diffrend beers almost same ibu one was very bitter, in fact the comparison measure i have is beer i made vs heineken wich is a comercial beer,
my thought is that the beer I made because it is "fresh" the bitterness is different in the mouth than commercial beers, or this small difference 26 - 24 can be so noticeable in the mouth?
anyway i wil try to drop ibu on the next batch,
was single malt (pilsener) can this malt give a extra bitterness or not?
 
IBUs are a scientific measurement, but many things can affect how we taste the bitterness, even with the same IBUs
 
My water will make high AA hops taste bitter, but I can do great browns with noble hops. Have you had your water tested? Best money I spent was with Ward Labs getting a brewer's water test. Others on BF know far more about water, filters, and additives. But it starts with knowing what is in your water right now.
 
Last edited:
Daniel Parshley said:
My water will make high AA hops taste bitter, but I can do great browns with noble hops. Have you had your water tested? Best money I spent was with Ward Labs getting a brewer's water test. Others on BF know far more about water, filters, and additives. But it starts with knowing what is in your water right now.
Click to expand...
This^^^^^.

The water alkalinity can drive the pitch/beer pH higher. A higher finish pH can lead to a sharper/harsher bitterness. Watch your pH of the wort at pitch if you can. Pitch pH should be @5.1 or so after the boil. The final beer pH should be @4.2-4.3. The yeast will drop the pH during fermentation.

If you have some lactic or phosphoric acid, pour a small sample of you beer. Taste the beer and then add a drop of acid with a toothpick, taste it again. You can keep adding acid and see if the bitterness mellows out. If it does, you likely have a higher than desired finish pH.
 
Daniel Parshley said:
My water will make high AA hops taste bitter, but I can do great browns with noble hops. Have you had your water tested? Best money I spent was with Ward Labs getting a brewer's water test. Others on BF know far more about water, filters, and additives. But it starts with knowing what is in your water right now.
Click to expand...
I use mineral water on this batch
 
HighVoltageMan! said:
This^^^^^.

The water alkalinity can drive the pitch/beer pH higher. A higher finish pH can lead to a sharper/harsher bitterness. Watch your pH of the wort at pitch if you can. Pitch pH should be @5.1 or so after the boil. The final beer pH should be @4.2-4.3. The yeast will drop the pH during fermentation.

If you have some lactic or phosphoric acid, pour a small sample of you beer. Taste the beer and then add a drop of acid with a toothpick, taste it again. You can keep adding acid and see if the bitterness mellows out. If it does, you likely have a higher than desired finish pH.
Click to expand...
I don't have ph meter.. i have those papers but is not accurate.
I use a digital meter but probably was not good calibrated
I need to buy a good ph meter
 
Mastoras007 said:
i don't know the FG because my hydrometer is broken..
it was strange that 2 diffrend beers almost same ibu one was very bitter, in fact the comparison measure i have is beer i made vs heineken wich is a comercial beer,
my thought is that the beer I made because it is "fresh" the bitterness is different in the mouth than commercial beers, or this small difference 26 - 24 can be so noticeable in the mouth?
anyway i wil try to drop ibu on the next batch,
was single malt (pilsener) can this malt give a extra bitterness or not?
Click to expand...

A difference of 2 IBUs would be not be detectable. @HighVoltageMan! 's thought on pH may apply. It could also be the mineral water you use. I know labels on bottled water is mostly hype but, I have to expect something labeled as "mineral water" would contain minerals. As homebrewers we can add minerals (gypsum, calcium chloride, etc.) to alter the perceived bitterness of a beer. Does the mineral water company list a water report on their website? I'd be surprised if they did but, worth a shot. Or do as you mention and reduce the bittering hops until the bitterness is where you want it.
 
Mastoras007 said:
I don't have ph meter.. i have those papers but is not accurate.
I use a digital meter but probably was not good calibrated
I need to buy a good ph meter
Click to expand...
You could
But the good ones are expensive and need a lot of maintenance.
The paper ones are not that bad, just get the ones that use a limited range.

A water sample would be money better spend in my opinion
 
Mastoras007 said:
I don't have ph meter.. i have those papers but is not accurate.
I use a digital meter but probably was not good calibrated
I need to buy a good ph meter
Click to expand...
You can test the beer itself by tasting it and then adding small amounts of acid. If you have a pH problem, the bitterness will improve as you add acid until at some point you start to taste the acid.

Once you know it's a pH problem, or eliminate it, you can narrow down the source of your over bitterness. The papers can be used, they're just not as accurate as a meter, it's slightly better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick.
 
They make pH papers with limited range as @Zambi said. Amazon has some, but a scientific supply company will have something with a range like 4 to 7. The 1 to 14 type are ok though - is the wort 4, 5 or 6 is good enough.
 
Hello again.
I just realised what happened and my last brewing was so bitter.
Recipe hops AA was different from hops I used.
The hops I used both had bigger AA,
I just noticed that from older history because i made a new older now and my calculations didn't match
I was trying to make ibu calculations for next brew.
So i just learned something new
AA of hops is a value that changes on every hop batch!
Recipe asking 2,8 and 4,2 AA
I use 3,6 and 4,7 thats almost 30 ibu!
 
Probably more than 30 because final liters was less!!
 
I mean, same hop but different AA not different kind of hops
 
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