IPA tastes sweet

Greetings all,
I've had an IPA in my primary for the 2 weeks now, and it still tastes too sweet, I'm wondering if the yeast didn't finish.
here's the recipe:

12 lbs two-row
1.5 lbs crystal 60
1 lbs munich
3/4 lbs cara 8
1/2 lbs wheat malt

1 oz 15% chinook @ 60 mins
constant hop from 30-0 mins with 1oz 9.1% cascade, 1oz 13.7% Citra, 1 oz 6.7% Crystal

Wyeast Denny's Fav 50

should come out at around 90 IBU bust it sure doesn't taste that way.

measured og of 1.072
current gravity 1.21 (seems high for the yeast I'm using)

I made an all grain 2 litre starter for this brew and the beer was happily fermenting and swirling in the carboy for 2 or so days, not much activity has happened since.

Should I pitch more yeast or wait another week?

1.5 lbs crystal 60
1 lbs munich
3/4 lbs cara 8

this is where I think the sweetness is coming from....

when you say "not much activity"...what are you referring to? Hint: you better not say airlock.

What temp are you fermenting at?

21 seems a bit high. If it were me and it was 2 weeks from pitching yeast, I'd probably throw in a pack of US05 or something and see if it cuts it down.

But, to me that recipe is too sweet anyway.

That's 76% 2 row. Personally, I think your base grains need to be way closer to 90% I would get rid of the 60 and the munich all together. If you HAD to, I guess use the 60 and maybe only half a pound at most. I've done a few IPAs with 60 and it was always borderline cloying for me. Now a days I only use 40, 20 or Vienna. 90% 2 row, 10% of one of those.

That's alot of crystal malt for a 5 gallon batch of IPA. I think that's your problem. Plus you may be getting residual sweetness due to your higher FG.

I'm fermenting at 68F. I don't have a fridge to put it in but my closet has a pretty steady temp. by activity I mean things swirling around inside, which stopped after 2-3 days. But that's normal so I'm not really sure why I pointed that out :cross:
so far the yeast has only attenuated 71% and its supposed to go to 78 or so, maybe I'm being too impatient, I've never used this strain before.

DennyS 50 is a slow chugger. Give it 30 days and check again. Also since you're two weeks in it'll be safe to ramp the temp up a bit 70-72 should get things started


Edit. I mean give it 30 days total so about 2 more weeks.

I've got a pumpkin ale still fermenting after 3 weeks using Denny's 50

alright thanks, i'll try to be patient!

I've done this recipe before with american ale yeast and I didn't find it too sweet at all.

All good advice. Sounds like a fairly potent IPA!

Mpavlik22 said:

That's alot of crystal malt for a 5 gallon batch of IPA. I think that's your problem. Plus you may be getting residual sweetness due to your higher FG.

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I agree. If you didn't find it too sweet last time, it could be the yeast strain (Denny's tends to accentuate malt flavor) but that recipe is a darn sweet recipe, more suitable for an American amber than an IPA.

That's great, if you like it. But nearly 15% crystal malt in an IPA is super sweet. I don't have a sweet tooth, so it would be cloying to me. Some people love the balance of hops and sweetness, though, so it's definitely a matter of taste.

Oh yeah..what was your mash temp?

mash temp was 153.

you folks are right, this is probably too much crystal to be calling it an ipa.. but my first batch was so hoppy that I didn't know what else to call it. American strong ale?

silverhammer said:

mash temp was 153.

you folks are right, this is probably too much crystal to be calling it an ipa.. but my first batch was so hoppy that I didn't know what else to call it. American strong ale?

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It looks like an American amber (also known as an American red), but it's a little too "big" for that. Have you ever had Green Flash's HopHead Red? Or Bear Republic's Red Rocket? That's sort of how your recipe strikes me.

Possibly even nugget nectar-ish if you used some Vienna and pils. Let us know how it turns out.

Yeah, imperial/hoppy reds can be delicious! Hope that sucker attenuates for you!