american ipa extract recipe, tastes fruity, thoughts?

hello all, im new to home brewing, bought an extract kit from a store several weeks ago. american ipa kit, safale-05 yeast used. in primary for 7 days at 75 degree room temp, transferred to secondary, in there a total of 7 days as well. bottled 16 days ago, cracked one open and wow does it taste fruity! any thoughts would be appreciated. thanks.

the fermentation temp of was most likely to high and it produced some off flavors, I would bring the temp down to at least 65 next time. The easiest thing to do i place the fermenter in a tub of cold water and add frozen water bottles to help maintain the lower temp. then when fermentation is almost done let it rise to 70 to finish out

Its still a young beer. Give it time for the flavors to blend. I believe a slight citrus flavor in the finished product is expected for this beer...so a stronger citrus flavor would make sense in the unfinished beer. Someone with more experience can discuss possible off-flavors from your high fermentation temp.

Glynn said:

the fermentation temp of was most likely to high and it produced some off flavors, I would bring the temp down to at least 65 next time. The easiest thing to do i place the fermenter in a tub of cold water and add frozen water bottles to help maintain the lower temp. then when fermentation is almost done let it rise to 70 to finish out

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Yes, that's the most likely cause. If the fermentation temperature was 75, that would make a pretty fruity ale. If the room temperature was 75, the beer temperature was probably higher (maybe 80-85!), and that would make a very fruity tasting beer.

It's also possible that you used some "fruity" hops, as that is very common in IPAs. So some of the fruit flavor may be coming from the hops as well.

I would agree that you are getting esters from high ferm temp, mixed with the citrus of hops. Is it sweet also? It might not have been done fermenting and there are still sugars left over.

Thanks for the replies, the room temp was one thing that I thought could be the culprit. It isn't sweet at all, just fruity, more like apricot. I used 1 oz chinook, 1 0z cascade, and 1 oz Amarillo throughout the boil. Will this fruitiness subside over time in the bottle? It isn't that bad tasting if it wasn't supposed to be an ipa, one would think it's an apricot pale!

Amarillo definitely has a fruity side. It does fade over time, but an IPA is supposed to have hop flavor and aroma.

Will this beer get better in the bottle? Or are the fruit flavors something that will be a constant? Is it best to condition bottles at room temp or in the fridge? Some many questions, I know! Thanks for your advice.

If you're using the primary only, I prefer 3-4 weeks total in the carboy. If you're using a secondary, you can do 1-2 weeks in the primary and 2 weeks in the secondary. The temp. is crucial in the first 5-7 days. You want it to be in the 60s for this style.

For an American IPA, I like the 62-68 F fermentation range... especially with the typical California Ale yeast. If your IPA already fermented at 75-80 F, then it will not get better. When this yeast is fermented at high temps, you get more fruit and less citrus. Some of that fruitiness will be from Amarillo, but most will be from fermenting high. So most likely, what you did is already done. The only betterment for an IPA would only be from a proper conditioning/carb time and temp which won't take away from the fruitiness per se. I would shoot for 17 days at 72-74 F before you put the bottles in the fridge.