Amber Ale w/ hops flavor question

My second batch of brew in a few months and I decided to do an amber ale.

5gallons
6lbs amber DME
.75lbs crystal 80
teaspoon irish moss at 15 minutes
.5oz simcoe 10% aa at 45 mins
1 oz sterling 6% aa at 10 mins
late addition of 5lbs of the extract at 10 mins
california ale yeast
33IBU's estimated
60 minute boil. steeped the grains from cold to about 150*ish.
SG-est at 1.055 FG exactly at 1.010
Fermentation started when it was 72* then the remainder of the fermentation done at about 68*. In primary for two weeks, popped open one bottle last night after 10 days.

Things I learned since this batch are to start with light DME always and use adjuncts to change color/flavor. I was very sanitary, using star san. I was extremely careful when racking to avoid sediment and the beer came out really clear.

HOP QUESTION:
Given the information above I need help figuring out hop flavors. I know this beer is probably "green" but when I tasted the beer there is this initial strong flavor. The flavor is kind of "piney", sharp tasting, which I suppose is a characteristic of Simcoe, but woah! But then when I swallow the beer the remaining flavor is excellent. Is the first part the flavor from the bitter hops (simcoe) and the second taste the flavor hops (Sterling)?

Maybe I am thinking too much about it. But I am trying to figure what hops I like and don't like and if the two different tastes are coming from the two different hops I would rather not use the hop that caused the first taste again because it is a bit much.

Also---with the late addition maybe it's just that the IBU's are way higher than expected and it's just a bitter, strong hop flavored beer!

Sorry about the length. Any discussion would be appreciated. I'll update my flavor info. when I check it in a couple of weeks.

adamjab19 said:

Also---with the late addition maybe it's just that the IBU's are way higher than expected and it's just a bitter, strong hop flavored beer!

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correct me if I'm wrong experts (I'm a noob); but doesn't late addition hops just add aroma and not much IBU's?

Yes- he's talking about adding the extract late in the boil, which increases hops utilization, giving about 25% more bitterness to the beer with the same ingredients.

I LOVE simcoe, but when young it's very piney and I think that's what you're tasting. I love a simcoe/amarillo combination, because they seem to complement each other well. I'm not sure about the sterling- I've only used them once, instead of saaz, I believe.

This will smooth out with some time, but may still taste piney to you, since you used simcoe for bittering.

YooperBrew said:

Yes- he's talking about adding the extract late in the boil, which increases hops utilization, giving about 25% more bitterness to the beer with the same ingredients.

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ah; gotcha. thanks.

Thanks everyone. I'll just let it age and expect to have a little piney type beer.

Two weeks in the bottle now and the simcoe has mellowed out some. Its starting too taste more like an amber IPA thingy as opposed to a pine tree. I'll report back in two more weeks!