483 replies to this topic

[Big Nake]

So my MLPA didn't turn out so well, I don't think. Maybe it's just my tastes but it severely under-hopped. I used 1 ounce of Mt. Hood (5.5%AAU) at 60 mins. It's an extremely sweet brew and to be honest, takes like carbonated pre-boiled wort. I'll keep it in the keg another week to see if it loses some of it's "green" flavor but it might have to be tossed. An idea I had was to toss some more hops into the keg. Anyone see any problems with this?

Chad: Also... what yeast did you use and what base malt did you use? I guess I thought all this time that MLPA was as simple as it gets, recipe-wise. If you used an underattenuating yeast or you used a maltier base grain (some English grains seem to be a little maltier where I use American pale malt which could be "crisper", possible?) it could send the beer to the maltier side. I'm puzzled by this because I've never had a batch turn out too sweet. I'm trying to keep all of these possible culprits straight... • Mashing too high • Using maltier base grains or specialty grains • Using a low-attenuating yeast • Using old(er) hops • Undercarbing the beer • Using water that is too soft, resulting in a sweeter taste All of these things could throw off the balance. I wonder if my water is just PERFECT for this particular recipe where anyone with harder water may notice more hopiness and someone with softer water may notice more sweetness. You've made MLPA before, right? Does it usually come out well? Did you do anything different with this batch? Cheers.

[No Party JKor]

So my MLPA didn't turn out so well, I don't think. Maybe it's just my tastes but it severely under-hopped. I used 1 ounce of Mt. Hood (5.5%AAU) at 60 mins. It's an extremely sweet brew and to be honest, takes like carbonated pre-boiled wort. I'll keep it in the keg another week to see if it loses some of it's "green" flavor but it might have to be tossed. An idea I had was to toss some more hops into the keg. Anyone see any problems with this?

What was your FG? My MLPA was pretty darn dry and hoppy. I probably had a little more hopping in mine, but even with zero hopping it wouldn't have been wort-like.

[Big Nake]

What was your FG? My MLPA was pretty darn dry and hoppy. I probably had a little more hopping in mine, but even with zero hopping it wouldn't have been wort-like.

JK: You used US-05, correct? That's a high attenuating yeast (in my experience) and would bring the FG pretty low... not a bad thing, just an observation. I agree, it shouldn't taste wort-like at all.

[chadm75]

My FG was 1.010 so relatively dry. But this turned out really sweet. I checked my notes too and everything hit perfectly, OG, temps...so I have no idea. It literally has no hop bitterness, aroma, or flavor that I can detect. Obviously its there, but its sooo mild that it I can barely pick it up.

Chad: Also... what yeast did you use and what base malt did you use? I guess I thought all this time that MLPA was as simple as it gets, recipe-wise. If you used an underattenuating yeast or you used a maltier base grain (some English grains seem to be a little maltier where I use American pale malt which could be "crisper", possible?) it could send the beer to the maltier side. I'm puzzled by this because I've never had a batch turn out too sweet. I'm trying to keep all of these possible culprits straight...

• Mashing too high
• Using maltier base grains or specialty grains
• Using a low-attenuating yeast
• Using old(er) hops
• Undercarbing the beer
• Using water that is too soft, resulting in a sweeter taste

All of these things could throw off the balance. I wonder if my water is just PERFECT for this particular recipe where anyone with harder water may notice more hopiness and someone with softer water may notice more sweetness. You've made MLPA before, right? Does it usually come out well? Did you do anything different with this batch? Cheers.

Ken -

I used US05 yeast which should attenuate really well. As for my grains, I used Cargill 2-row, your basic Breiss Caramel 60L and white wheat malt. And I've never had any water issues in almost two years of brewing, if anything our water is a little on the hard side.

The only thing I can think it might be is that it's not quite carbed all the way yet. I've got foam and co2 releasing through the beer but there are still quite a bit of bubbles sitting on the foam when I pour a pint. Maybe I'll turn up on the gas to maybe 30psi for 24 hours and see what that does.

[Big Nake]

When I started down that water road, I eventually thought, Wait a minute, Chad has made MLPA before so it CAN'T be his water! but I honestly can't think of a reason why it would be like this. The only other thing that popped it into head was a hop pellet vs. leaf/whole hop thing. I pretty much use pellets exclusively and I seem to notice a difference in the strength between pellets & leaf. It also seems that leaf hops don't store nearly as well, resulting in weaker hops. Any chance you used old(er) Mt. Hood leaf hops? Now I'm just grabbing at straws because I have nothing else. How many times have you made MLPA before? I would agree that hitting it with a little more Co2 might be good. I mean, if it's carbed then it's carbed. But if it's low, it could certainly cause it to be out of balance.

[chadm75]

My Mt. Hood's are probably 2-3 months old, but I keep them frozen so I can't think that would be it. I did take another sample last night and I think I've discovered the problem...still not carbed. Which is strange because I pounded with gas (36 psi) for 36 hours and then dropped it to 12 psi where it's been for a week. Foamy, still not carbed good though. So I pounded it with gas again last night and will try another sample tonight. I'm going to table my issues with my latest MLPA for a couple days. Can't believe it's not carbed yet though...after more than a week on the gas. Oh well....RDWHAHB!

[No Party JKor]

Regardning the carb level...very gently agitate the keg. The method you are using, high pressure/short time, has a tendency to overcarbonate the top part of the keg and leave the bottom (where you pull the liquid off) undercarbed. When the CO2 dissolves into the beer, it becomes carbonic acid, and it takes time for the carbonic acid to diffuse from the top layer of the beer to the bottom. So, like I said, if you very gently agitate the keg, just enough to get the liquid mixed, you may find that you have enough CO2 in there after all. What was your post boil volume?

[chadm75]

I will do that tonight when I get home, roll it around a couple of times to try and dissolve some of that CO2. You know what I just thought of when I read your post, something I didn't do with this batch when I kegged it. Before I rack to the keg, I fill the keg with CO2 and then rack on top. I didn't do that with this batch. Could that possibly contribute to this? The good thing is, my beer and process isn't the issue...it's a gas issue. Good news!

[Big Nake]

it's a gas issue. Good news!

Yes, I often have this issue. Okay, seriously. I have had the issue of kegs that will not carb and it's wild. I posted this on the GB years ago and everyone who responded either said I was crazy or had a leak. Eventually someone said that they had the same issue and suggested that I gently shake the keg and hit it with a bit more gas. It worked and the beer was fine. Some people suggested that a layer of hop oil could form on the surface of the beer, preventing the gas from hitting the lower part of the column of beer. This has only happened to me once, so it must be pretty rare. I would try it... no need to hurt yourself, just tilt the keg a little, maybe lay it all the way down and then pick it back up again, etc. Your 2-3 month old Mt. Hoods aren't the issue. Mine could be close to a year old (frozen) and they're working just fine. Keep us posted & Happy Friday.

[No Party JKor]

I was just reviewing my score sheets from my first competition, my MLPA came in last in the Pale Ale category. Fortunately, it wasn't for brewing flaws. I got marked off significant points from both judges for being out of style. There was an interesting commonality in the feedback the judges, though. Both of my scoresheets said it would do great as a Scottish 70 Shilling. I wouldn't have guessed that. MLSA???

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

I was just reviewing my score sheets from my first competition, my MLPA came in last in the Pale Ale category. Fortunately, it wasn't for brewing flaws. I got marked off significant points from both judges for being out of style. There was an interesting commonality in the feedback the judges, though. Both of my scoresheets said it would do great as a Scottish 70 Shilling. I wouldn't have guessed that. MLSA???

I could see that.

[Big Nake]

This is a good reason to be skeptical of comps, IMO. I suppose that the beer could be pigeonholed into the Scottish category because it's relatively malty, but it uses American hops and yeast so it's a lazy comparison, I think. It's another reason that I don't lose a lot of sleep over style guidelines, BJCP judges, etc. I was enjoying this beer earlier in the week and it's evident that the keg is about to kick. The beer is perfectly balanced, crystal clear and the head will not quit. The nice, clear amber color goes very nicely with the season and I'm glad that I have another keg chilled, carbed and ready to go. I hate to hear that it didn't do well in the comp... this is why I haven't entered one in about 8 years. Cheers.

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

This is a good reason to be skeptical of comps, IMO. I suppose that the beer could be pigeonholed into the Scottish category because it's relatively malty, but it uses American hops and yeast so it's a lazy comparison, I think. It's another reason that I don't lose a lot of sleep over style guidelines, BJCP judges, etc. I was enjoying this beer earlier in the week and it's evident that the keg is about to kick. The beer is perfectly balanced, crystal clear and the head will not quit. The nice, clear amber color goes very nicely with the season and I'm glad that I have another keg chilled, carbed and ready to go. I hate to hear that it didn't do well in the comp... this is why I haven't entered one in about 8 years. Cheers.

clear amber color goes with every season in my house

[No Party JKor]

This is a good reason to be skeptical of comps, IMO. I suppose that the beer could be pigeonholed into the Scottish category because it's relatively malty, but it uses American hops and yeast so it's a lazy comparison, I think. It's another reason that I don't lose a lot of sleep over style guidelines, BJCP judges, etc. I was enjoying this beer earlier in the week and it's evident that the keg is about to kick. The beer is perfectly balanced, crystal clear and the head will not quit. The nice, clear amber color goes very nicely with the season and I'm glad that I have another keg chilled, carbed and ready to go. I hate to hear that it didn't do well in the comp... this is why I haven't entered one in about 8 years. Cheers.

Not a big deal. I just thought it was interesting that both judges independently picked it out as more stylistically fitting of a 70 Shilling. If I enter it again, I'll try it as a 70/-. Maybe I'll try some EKG for hopping. It might be an interesting brew.

[No Party JKor]

I don't know, I was looking through the style guidelines last night. By the numbers, it's outside of the Scottish Ale category. I still think it's Alt-ish.

[Big Nake]

Maybe a N. German Alt. Probably not perfectly to style, but if you consider Mt. Hood to be an American Hallertau and you subbed out the White Labs 01 for Wyeast 1007... I could see it. One of the fun things about homebrewing is when people say... What the heck did I just make? and you get multiple & varying responses. This is usually when someone yells, Shut up and drink your beer! My keg of MLPA blew yesterday around 2pm. I grabbed the other one and put it into the draft fridge and pulled a pint. I got a scant little amount of yeast and then the pour went completely crystal clear. That keg had the chance to sit in secondary longer and then cold in the keg longer than most kegs would. It looked & tasted lovely. Maybe I'll just change the name to Memory Lapse Ale and then we can leave the category to the beer-drinker's imagination. Cheers & happy Sunday.

[chadm75]

So I've had my MLPA now kegged almost two weeks and it's improving by the minute. I have to attribute my earlier issues to the beer not being carbed correctly. I took JKorvas' advice and rolled the keg a couple times to distribute the CO2 more evenly and that seemed to do the trick! I'm getting more of a hop/malt balance from the beer and since it's carbed properly now, it's much crisper and refreshing now when before, it was just too sweet. I like this beer now. But won't use a single addition of Mt. Hood's again as I just don't think there is enough hop flavor/aroma there, that's just me though. This beer will get better with age and without a doubt, I'll enjoy each pint. Plus it's a big hit with the BMC drinkers. For me personally though, it needs a late hop addition or a dry hop. I think I would bitter with Mt Hood's and maybe flavor and aroma with Cascase and/or Centennial...or Columbus and/or Amarillo.

[BrianBrewerKS]

So I've had my MLPA now kegged almost two weeks and it's improving by the minute. I have to attribute my earlier issues to the beer not being carbed correctly. I took JKorvas' advice and rolled the keg a couple times to distribute the CO2 more evenly and that seemed to do the trick! I'm getting more of a hop/malt balance from the beer and since it's carbed properly now, it's much crisper and refreshing now when before, it was just too sweet. I like this beer now. But won't use a single addition of Mt. Hood's again as I just don't think there is enough hop flavor/aroma there, that's just me though. This beer will get better with age and without a doubt, I'll enjoy each pint. Plus it's a big hit with the BMC drinkers. For me personally though, it needs a late hop addition or a dry hop. I think I would bitter with Mt Hood's and maybe flavor and aroma with Cascase and/or Centennial...or Columbus and/or Amarillo.

I suggest dry hopping. I did that with my first batch of MLPA (3/4 oz Mt Hoods). That beer is now getting carbed up. I let it sit in the keg for about a week (cold) before I turned the gas on to it last night. The sample that I had last night had big time hop aroma...so much so that I think I might cut down the dry hop amount to 1/4 or 1/2 oz next time. (or even none at all) It's not that the aroma is too strong...but for this beer I'm looking for something that isn't very 'hoppy' for the BMC crowd. A flavor addition with Cascades would be nice too if you want the typical APA that most people think of.

[Big Nake]

• Mashing too high
• Using maltier base grains or specialty grains
• Using a low-attenuating yeast
• Using old(er) hops
• Undercarbing the beer
• Using water that is too soft, resulting in a sweeter taste

Another thing to maybe add to this list would be how vigorous your boil was. If you had a wimpy boil, your hops may not do what they should and the beer could end up sweeter than you'd like. Again, the bottles that sat in my fridge ended up losing enough carb that the beer wasn't what it should be... I would hate to envision someone making this beer and having it taste that way out of the keg or out of naturally-primed bottles. I know that I don't go as heavily on the hops as most homebrewers, but when I make this beer and everything comes out right, there is PLENTY of hop presense in the beer. It reminds me that the variables in homebrewing are ever-present. Cheers guys.

[HVB]

Going to give this one another shot this weekend. Going to use 05 this time to avoid the infected starter issue! On second thought .. may do 10 g and split it between 05 and 04 so see the differences.