Recipe TOO sweet- but grains already mixed together- what to do??

Take a look at the recipe below, and tell me what I can do to adjust the sweetness from the 33% of caramel malts. The grains are already mixed. Will 84 IBU's be enough to balance?


10 lbs. American 2-row
4 lbs. American Caramel 10°L
1 lb. American Caramel 40°L

.75oz. Galena (10.1 %AA) 60min
.75oz. Chinook (10.7 %AA) 20min
1oz. Pride of Ringwood (11 %AA) 10min
1oz. Simcoe (11.9 %AA) 3min
1oz. Czech Saaz (2.6 %AA) 1min

1oz. Crystal Whole (4.6 %AA) Flameout
2oz. Crystal Whole (4.6 %AA) Secondary 5 days
1oz. E Kent Goldings (5.5 %AA) Secondary (after Crystal) 7 days

Yeast : White Labs WLP009 Australian Ale

You could just double up the grains to make 10 gal. But just the 2-row no more caramel malt. and then split it up to make to 5 gal. batchs.

C10L isn't very sweet, so it won't add much. Your best bet at this point is to increase the IBU by moving the Chinook add to 30 minutes. This will also let the Saaz and Crystal come out more.

I agree that the lighter caramel won't add as much sweetness. Your head retention may be through the roof, which is kind of nice. If you haven't crushed yet, you can crush coarser if possible, or leave 10% whole but still mash it. Make sure mash is really complete, and I'd stay on the lower temperature range, maybe 148 to 152. Possibly, if you're able to shake the grain container, the weight and size of the grains may cause partial separation, which would help you remove a couple handfuls of mostly caramel.

wow! all great replies- thanks!!! i was getting nervous a bit...

I'd mash a little cooler if you want that thing to finish up anywhere in the teens (less than 1.020 that is). I'd also up the IBU.

Didn't mean to scare you in that other thread too much, and didn't know your grains were already mixed. Definately good suggestions in here. Mash low to get the 2-row as fermentable as possible and up the bitterness some. You'll push the final gravity down and have a better balance.

If you are looking for something on the sweeter side and not too bitter of an IPA, I suggest reading the American Amber Ale wiki. Wiki Bob NQ3X has a very informative write-up in there.

ok, i changed the hop utilization to counter the excessive sweetness. by my calculations, my ibu's are around 85, which seems high, but with 33% caramel malt i feel it would be appropriate. heres the order- can you check it out and let me know what you think? thanks!

.75oz. Galena (10.1 %AA) 60min
.75oz. Chinook (10.7 %AA) 20min
1oz. Pride of Ringwood (11 %AA) 10min
1oz. Simcoe (11.9 %AA) 3min
1oz. Czech Saaz (2.6 %AA) 1min

1oz. Crystal Whole (4.6 %AA) Flameout
2oz. Crystal Whole (4.6 %AA) Secondary 5 days
1oz. E Kent Goldings (5.5 %AA) Secondary (after Crystal) 7 days