Brewsephus
Active Member
Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a problem. I don't know what type of malaise I had when I made this error, but the fruit of my labor is undrinkable. I mean, it's really bad.
Here's the back story. I've only been brewing for a little while, first batch was ok. (Didn't care for the style, was a gift from the wife). Second batch is bottled, need a little more time to condition. Second batch should turn out nicely. Third batch...thats when the train went off the tracks. I was trying to brew a big IPA. I got a great recipe from BYO.com (http://***********/stories/recipeindex/article/recipes/104-india-pale-ale/2249-dicks-brewing-co-bottleworks-ipa-clone) and started brewing. I think because I had one successful brew, and batch #2 went so well I got a little complacent? Cocky? Head-strong? Drank too many beers while brewing?
The recipe calls for 11.75 lbs. of LME. I thought each Briess container had 6.6 lbs of LME. Just so you know, you probably already do, they are only 3.3 lbs each. This wouldn't be a MAJOR problem if I had brewed something that WASN'T an Imperial IPA. (Headstrong?) But I just sampled it and it is insanely bitter, borderline undrinkable. It doesn't start off bad, a little floral, definitely hoppy, but the after taste knocks you on your ass, in a bad way. I know some people like bitter beers, and I am one of those people, but this is a beast of a different nature.
How do I fix this?
I know some of you will say: "Let it condition for 12 months and the hop flavor will mellow out." No. I just started brewing, I feel like I'm on a roll, and I want to do open heart surgery on this batch.
Some Ideas: Mix it with something that is more sweet, malty. A batch that is high in malt, or that has unfermentable sugars in it. Add sugars directly to the fermenter? Add Malt Extract to the fermenter and re pitch some yeast?
I know someone, somewhere on this forum, has had this problem before. How did you handle it? What can I do to fix this beer?
Here's the back story. I've only been brewing for a little while, first batch was ok. (Didn't care for the style, was a gift from the wife). Second batch is bottled, need a little more time to condition. Second batch should turn out nicely. Third batch...thats when the train went off the tracks. I was trying to brew a big IPA. I got a great recipe from BYO.com (http://***********/stories/recipeindex/article/recipes/104-india-pale-ale/2249-dicks-brewing-co-bottleworks-ipa-clone) and started brewing. I think because I had one successful brew, and batch #2 went so well I got a little complacent? Cocky? Head-strong? Drank too many beers while brewing?
The recipe calls for 11.75 lbs. of LME. I thought each Briess container had 6.6 lbs of LME. Just so you know, you probably already do, they are only 3.3 lbs each. This wouldn't be a MAJOR problem if I had brewed something that WASN'T an Imperial IPA. (Headstrong?) But I just sampled it and it is insanely bitter, borderline undrinkable. It doesn't start off bad, a little floral, definitely hoppy, but the after taste knocks you on your ass, in a bad way. I know some people like bitter beers, and I am one of those people, but this is a beast of a different nature.
How do I fix this?
I know some of you will say: "Let it condition for 12 months and the hop flavor will mellow out." No. I just started brewing, I feel like I'm on a roll, and I want to do open heart surgery on this batch.
Some Ideas: Mix it with something that is more sweet, malty. A batch that is high in malt, or that has unfermentable sugars in it. Add sugars directly to the fermenter? Add Malt Extract to the fermenter and re pitch some yeast?
I know someone, somewhere on this forum, has had this problem before. How did you handle it? What can I do to fix this beer?