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rapid river - dry hop timing - butterscotch?


Terry

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This is my first time using the beerdroid, or even brewing for that matter...  So i have lots of concerns :)

 

My rapid river ale has been brewing for 5 days and I just got the dry hop notification.  so i opened up the top and dropped in the two packets of hop pellets.  While doing so I noticed the beer smelled kinda sweet and buttery.. 

 

Is this normal?  how is dry hoping timed?  how many more days of fermenting should I expect?  I did some research and found this smell indicates more time is needed for the yeast to absorb the diacetyl.  is this normal for day 5?  has this gone horribly wrong?

 

thanks in advance for any advice.

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@Terry

Welcome to the Forum.  All questions are welcome.  We have many brewers willing to help.

I have successfully brewed Rapid River Ale in the past with good results.  It seems like your progression in the brewing process is normal. 

Dry hopping is triggered when basic fermentation is complete.1 Then, you get the prompt to dry hop.  A usual period of about 48 hours is allowed for the hops to take effect and then the droid will lower the temperature to about 39F (4C) to chill out the hop's debris.  (This is called "cold crashing.")

The BeerDroid has at least two temperature sensors - one high and one low.  The static/dynamic difference between these sensors is used to determine EOF (End of Fermentation). or progressive fermentation status.

I hope this helps.

😀 Happy brewing.

 

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@Terry,

Don't be alarmed by a "sweet" smell from your brew.  Normally, you won't notice any aromas since opening the droid before dry-hopping or kegging is discouraged.  However, sampling is OK.  This includes a taste test of the sample.  Sweet is not a bad indicator.  Even some finished brews retain a little sweetness.

Happy brewing. 😀

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Ive reached the end of fermentation. Since I was out of town I had to move it to storage for a couple of days.  Just got home and took a look through the window and its still very cloudy and see some sediment floating near window.  let some go into a glass (about an ounce) and was very cloudy.  Tasted like hops and banana. 

Is there something i need to do before kegging or will this work out during secondary?

appreciate any guidance i can get on this.

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@Terry,

The smell and taste seem to be normal.  Also, the first sample drawn will usually be cloudy.  This will settle during the secondary fermentation.

Did you use a hop bomb or bag to contain your hops?  If so, you can just bottle or keg the batch.  If your hops were simply tossed in loosely, (my preferred method), you may want to use the BrewArt hops filter.  I bought the finer filter screens from Bouncer.  I use the white screen rather than the orange screen that comes with the BrewArt filter.

Let us know how it comes out.  

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20 hours ago, Terry said:

Ive reached the end of fermentation. Since I was out of town I had to move it to storage for a couple of days.  Just got home and took a look through the window and its still very cloudy and see some sediment floating near window.  let some go into a glass (about an ounce) and was very cloudy.  Tasted like hops and banana. 

Is there something i need to do before kegging or will this work out during secondary?

appreciate any guidance i can get on this.

Oh the nerves of the first brew...

This was me 4 years ago...can't believe it was 4 years ago.

Funny thing is, when you say "tastes like hops and banana" most would think "sounds good". :)

I think you are on the right track, keep going. Keep in mind, sometimes you have failures but your failures are still OK drinking. i remember Liam from Brewart saying to me once, "even if you aren't stoked, it's still beer"...and sometimes you get the not stoked beer but way more often you get what you think is perfect...and then a voice in the back of your head says " what about changing that hops for this one" and that is what brewing is about at the heart of it, learning adapting...and drinking the results.

Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't but when those times do...you feel like a master brewer ( I know, i got a Tshirt printed).

Keep going, ask questions.

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