Troubleshooting A Recipe

Nice description of the character in your beer you don’t like. Before getting into an answer, I want to comment on how important good descriptions are when attempting to problem solve. Aromas and flavors are very often challenging to describe because we don’t perceive flavor and aroma as individual signals like an analytical instrument with discrete bits of information tied to different constituents; rather we tend to perceive aroma and flavor in a more holistic sense. Using the words “like” and “as” are really useful when researching how your beer, in this example, reminds you of grapefruit or citrus pith. We’ll come back to that point in a moment. When flavor issues are clearly identified, researching the thing you are reminded of is often a very useful endeavor.

Bitter pith — it’s interesting that you describe the flavor as bitterness similar to grapefruit or citrus pith because the primary cause of bitterness in citrus pith, or the white, spongy, albedo layer of the peel beneath the flavedo (pigmented outer layer) and the interior made up of juice sacs, is the flavanone glycoside called naringin. And the albedo from grapefruit typically contains much more naringin than other citrus fruits. I personally like the clean and intense bitterness from this compound and have a good idea of how your beer may be perceived.

Suffice to say, you think your beer is out of balance and is expressing an intense bitterness. Thanks again for the good details in your question; three ounces (85 g) of Cascade with 4.4% alpha acids yield about 40–45 IBU assuming 5 gallons (19 L) wort volume and 25–30% utilization. That last addition of East Kent Golding is a bit of a wild card, but if we assume 5% alpha and 5% utilization, we have another 7 IBU addition, and you are now sitting between 50–55 IBU. Let’s hold that number for a second.

OK, you are getting a sharp bitterness that you are also describing like the bitterness of grapefruit. That suggests that you are tasting more than garden-variety bitterness that one may get from something like aspirin or quinine. Seems that you may be picking up grapefruit aroma from the hop varieties you are using. This makes sense as grapefruit is an attribute of both Cascade and East Kent Golding hops.

And now, let’s move onto the beer. Shiner Bock and Negra Modelo are both medium-bodied beers with little roasted malt characters and fairly low bitterness levels. According to the Spoetzl website, Shiner Bock contains 4.4% ABV and has 13 IBUs, and the Modelo website has Negra Modelo described as Munich-style dunkel weighing in with 5.5% ABV with no stated IBUs.

The good news with what you’re describing is that the unpleasant bitterness in your beer is related to intensity. Lingering bitterness is often associated with beers that are both astringent and bitter. Too bitter is easier to fix than astringency. Assuming my estimation of 50–55 IBUs is in the ballpark, it makes sense that your beer is too bitter for your objective of producing something akin to Shiner Bock or Negra Modelo. I would back my bitterness down to somewhere around 20–25 IBUs to be closer to the beers you seem to be targeting and also closer to the typical range of bitterness of the dunkel style. The Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) style guidelines for this style have the bitterness range set between 18–28 IBU.

You may also want to consider changing your approach to hops and select a variety or varieties that are not as bold as Cascade and EKG. I know some are laughing at that last sentence, but these varieties are bold compared to hops usually selected for use in malt-centric lagers. A variety like Magnum to do most of the heavy lifting coupled with a late addition of something like Hallertau Mittelfrüh, Tettnanger, Hersbrucker, or Mandarina Bavaria (a bit of orange and chocolate?) would be a conservative approach for the style.

My last thought is that you began your question by naming two ales, brown and stout, but compared your beer to lagers. When embarking on a new brew, it’s always a good idea to have a target in mind. And it’s totally cool if the target does not match your starting recipe, as long as you align your process with the target. If you really want to end up with a balanced, drinkable beer like the two commercial beers you name, but are using a hybrid brown ale/stout recipe, you will probably continue to miss your mark. Check out your water, malt selection, and yeast selection. Details, details! These are things that make brewing such a great hobby for the tinkerer.

Response by Ashton Lewis.