First Homebrew Competition - Results and Improvements

I would suggest about 5 or 6 times as much hops for a 5 gallon dipa which will vary depending on where you add them. A big bittering charge, then about 6-10 ozs between 10 min and flameout. Then another 5-6 ozs minimum in the dry hop.

 

Vienna should be mashed. So unless your steep provided mash conditions, you added unfermentable starches to your beer.

 

Did you add all of your malt extract at the beginning? How big of a boil did you do?

You have a hard time getting the most out of your hops in a high gravity wort. So, if you did a partial boil and you used all of the LME in the beginning, you basically "suppressed" your hops.

And like @VikeMan said, you need to mash Vienna vs. steep, that probably did not help things.

And like @SenorHops said, you need more hops for a DIPA.

 

I used around 8oz of hops in my 4-gallon DIPA recipe and I still think it could have used more! Yours at only 3oz seems very under-hopped. It seems like it would end up more malty than anything from the looks of it.

 

You're brewing an IIPA and measuring hops by ⅓ and ½ ounces? Ditch those fractions and think in terms of 3-5 ounces of flavor hops and 3-5 ounces of dh hops. Check out the APA IPA (single IPA) recipe for a proven brew. Better yet, check out Russian River's recipe for Pliny (some serious hops here). Also, take a look at the BJCP guidelines for IIPA. For a comp you really want to be close to these guidelines . . . being a squeak over on hop flavor/aroma will not hurt. A single hop IIPA can work, but consider multiple varieties if you want to impress the judges.

Some red flags:
4 weeks in the primary fermenter before bottle conditioning for an additional 2 months. What was your motive for 2 months of bottle carbing? This is a style you want to push to the front . . . I would have been drinking this brew at the six week mark.

OG and FG
1.098 to 1.021
If you look up style guidelines for Eng. Baryleywine you'll see this is right in the middle . . . which was picked up by the judges. Part of your high FG may be a result of under-pitching and under-oxygenating your wort. Also it's common to substitute simple sugar for some of the fermentables to dry out the brew (let the hops sparkle).

it was made from a local homebrew supply store kit
This is how most of us started. No trying to slam local homebrew shops, but you have no idea of the hop's age or quality of storage.

I am wondering if it is as simple as amplifying the hop additions to really nail the hoppy bitterness and aroma.
This is an easy one: No. To nail it you must have a combination of proper water chemistry, know your hops are good, and perfect the technique of transferring those hop oils to your brew (which is often equipment-specific). For what it's worth, I'm still searching for the Perfect IPA . . .

 

Not enough dry hops, bottle conditioned for too long as well imo

 

So what everyone else just said should be considered. But, I think the easiest fix is add ~1/3 of your LME at the beginning of the boil and add the rest with about 10 minutes left. Google "late extract" or "extract late" and DME for more info. And, up your hops a lot.

Definitely check out the recipes that @PortLargo linked and then reread what he wrote because there is a lot of "wisdom" there

 

IIPAs typically run from 8-12 oz of total hops. Lots of late hops should be seen here. Most IIPAs would drink incredibly well after 2 1/2 months. An IIPA isn't about getting the most out of your hops so much as it's about having too many hops and not knowing what to do with them. Big beers are somewhat wasteful on a homebrew scale.

 

Sounds to me like you brewed an American Strong Ale. Bump up the hops a little and enter that bad boy in 22B and you may have a whole different response at competition.

 

I don't know that they are wasteful if they are your thing. Good, super hoppy commercial beer in these parts costs a pretty penny

 

I agree with @jlordi12 , DIPAs and such are more expensive to brew than blondes and browns for sure, but it still beats the hell out of buying them.

 

The first thing I would do is see what malts are used to make your LME. LME is basically concentrated wort. I use pilsen LME or DME as a base for extract beers because I know it is 100% pilsner malt. Some light LME has C malts in it already, and then adding more Crystal probably didn't help your cause. I used to build my grist like an all grain recipe and use the pilsen as a base like 2 row would normally be. Utilizing BIAB techniques I would mash the specialty malts with some 2 row and then top off my volume. The only gold medal I have ever got was through this method.
As for your hop schedule, you need more hops. Lots more.

 

You asked about getting the most out of hops but I'm gonna share with you some information on getting the most out of your malt extract.



HB42's Extract Brewing Tips...(Courtesy of Vikeman)

http://beeradvocate.com/community/threads/how-do-i-start-homebrewing.62630/#post-855434

First of all it's important to realize that good quality, fresh extract alone can brew fantastic beer as long as your recipe formulation and brewing technique are good. One of the best beers I've ever brewed, extract, all grain, or otherwise, was an abbey singel that was nothing but pilsen DME, a little table sugar, a touch of hallertauer, and wyeast 1214. I've brewed show stopping English bitters with nothing but Muntons extra light DME, a touch of crystal, some goldings, and wyeast 1968. And nothing is more popular than my simple extract hefe, which is nothing but 6 lbs of wheat DME, an oz of noble hops, and wyeast 3068 (it doesn't get any easier than that, and it's a great beer).

if you want to brew great extract beers, the following guidelines are imperative:

1) FULL WORT BOIL.

I can't stress this enough. If you're doing concentrated boils, you're never going to produce flawless beers, no matter what else you do. If you're brewing 5 gallons of beer, you MUST start with at least 6-6.5 gallons of wort, and this is ESPECIALLY true for very pale colored or very hoppy beers. Late extract additions are helpful for those who do concentrated boils, but they're not a sub for a real FULL wort boil.

2) Use only high quality, extra light, light, or pilsen extracts, and I much prefer dry extracts over liquid, as they tend to be fresher and lighter in color.

Every extract beer that you brew should be based on either extra light DME, or pilsen DME. When an all grain brewer builds a recipe, they start with a pale base malt and work from there, even for the darkest beers, and a great extract brewer should do the same. Extra light extract is nothing but basic good quality 2-row, and a touch of carapils, while pilsen extract is 100% pilsner malt, and either of these are a fantastic slate on which to build any amazing beer. If you want to brew beer like an all grain brewer, then you need to think like an all grain brewer and build your recipes from the ground up.

3) Use only FRESH extract!

Don't buy extract kits that have been sitting on a store shelf for who knows how many millennia. This is especially true with liquid extract, which has a much shorter shelf life than dry and tends to darken and taste stale over time. This alone is a good reason to completely avoid liquid as far as I'm concerned. And try to find a retailer that moves their product and always has fresh inventory. For example a larger online homebrew supply may be better at providing fresh products than your stagnant local shop.

4) Do NOT scorch your extract.

This is yet another reason why I prefer DME over LME, as DME floats while LME sinks to the bottom of the kettle. If you decide to use LME however, remove the kettle from the burner and FULLY dissolve your extract before putting it back on the heat.

5) Know which grains can be steeped and which can't.

The only grains that can be steeped are crystal/caramel/cara malts, and roasted grains like chocolate malt, roasted barley, and black patent malt. EVERYTHING else really needs to be mashed. Doing things like trying to steep oatmeal or munich does nothing but load up your beer with unconverted starch, which is not doing your beer any favors. If you want to include other grains in your extract beers, then do a mini mash, NO exceptions.

5) DO A FULL WORT BOIL! Partial boils kill beer. Seriously.

6) Keep your yeast happy at all times.

It's very important to pitch healthy yeast in adequate numbers, and use yeast that's appropriate for the style. Many extract kits come with a packet of generic "ale yeast" that is typically of low quality. You're never going to brew a fantastic English bitter with an old, stale packet of characterless "ale yeast". Get familiar with handling liquid yeast strains and making starters, and pay attention to proper pitching rates and proper fermentation temperatures, as both are extremely important for producing high quality beers devoid of off flavors.

7) Never ever rush your beer.

Great beer takes time, and most beers will benefit from spending some extra time in the fermenter and in the bottle. This means at least 2-3 weeks in primary before either bottling or moving to secondary, and if you're bottle conditioning give your beers at least 6-8 weeks in the bottle and you're sure to see a great improvement.

And for shit sake, get yourself a bigger kettle! That, along with getting some decent ingredients, are the best things that you can do for your extract beers.

And don't let anyone tell you that you can't brew great beer with extract, because that's BS. Some of the best beers that I've ever brewed were extract beers, no question.
by: Homebrew42

 

@scurvy311 I think that subbing out steeping for a minimash is often overlooked. I mean, if you can steep, you can mash.

 

Did you only use one 11.5 g packet of US-05 for your 1.098 OG DIPA? What was the batch size? If this was a 5-gal batch I wouldn't feel safe pitching just one packet..

FWIW, I'm planning a centennial IPA this weekend and am pitching at least 2 packets of US-05 into my 5-gal batch. I am anticipating an OG of around 1.068. Maybe the one packet didn't attenuate the beer completely, and left it a bit thicker and sweeter - like a barleywine. That's just my guess