Too much residual sweetness

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JBrady

JBrady

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Hey guys I made a APA that would have been absolutely awesome except its got way too much residual sweetness. I mashed at 153 for 60 minutes which I didn't think was too high, at least not high enough to make this beer end up as sweet as it did. OG was 1.059, FG was 1.011. Isn't 1.011 pretty dry? Why does it taste so sweet? Heres what the grain bill looked like:


Amount Item Type % or IBU
8.50 lb Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM) Grain 80.95 %
1.50 lb Vienna Malt (3.5 SRM) Grain 14.29 %
0.50 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L (40.0 SRM) Grain 4.76 %
1.00 oz Centennial [6.00 %] (60 min) Hops 21.1 IBU
0.50 oz Williamette [4.00 %] (25 min) Hops 4.9 IBU
0.50 oz Centennial [6.00 %] (25 min) Hops 7.3 IBU
0.75 oz Centennial [6.00 %] (5 min) Hops 3.2 IBU
0.75 oz Williamette [4.00 %] (5 min) Hops 2.1 IBU
0.50 oz Centennial [6.00 %] (0 min) Hops -
0.50 oz Centennial [6.00 %] (Dry Hop 10 days) Hops -
0.50 oz Williamette [4.00 %] (0 min) Hops -
0.50 oz Williamette [4.00 %] (Dry Hop 10 days) Hops -
1 Pkgs American Ale (Wyeast Labs #1056) Yeast-Ale

Did I do something wrong with the grain bill to make the beer so sweet? I have no exp. with vienna malt until now, does vienna and marris otter together support over sweetness? Thanks for any info on the matter, I don't want to have this problem again.

Also the beer has been in the bottles for two weeks at around 67 degrees with no real fridge time yet, if that helps.
 
Yeah, I'm not seeing it either. I hate to ask, but how many different times have you tasted the beer? Is it at all possible that your buds were accustomed to something bitter you consumed previous to trying your home brew? Not trying to call your senses into question. I just don't see anything odd with the recipe or OG/FG.
 
If your therm is slightly off, you could have actually mashed higher than 153, on accident. I use 2-3 thermometers now just to be safe. Still, the 1.011 isn't bad so obviously there weren't that many unfermentables. I mashed my AB clone @ 154 recently and didn't like how much sweetness I got from it...still good, but def a little too sweet. Especially with crystal malt in the mix.
 
I have a saison that finished at 1.004, and people say it tastes sweet. Could entirely be that the flavor is just reading as sweet.

Is the beer well carbed? If not, you could you be getting some sweetness from your priming. Has this occurred on previous brews?
 
Outside of a bad thermometer, the only thing I can think of is that the beer isn't fully carbed yet.
 
JBrady said:
Hey guys I made a APA that would have been absolutely awesome except its got way too much residual sweetness. I mashed at 153 for 60 minutes which I didn't think was too high, at least not high enough to make this beer end up as sweet as it did. OG was 1.059, FG was 1.011. Isn't 1.011 pretty dry? Why does it taste so sweet? Heres what the grain bill looked like:


Amount Item Type % or IBU
8.50 lb Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM) Grain 80.95 %
1.50 lb Vienna Malt (3.5 SRM) Grain 14.29 %
0.50 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L (40.0 SRM) Grain 4.76 %
1.00 oz Centennial [6.00 %] (60 min) Hops 21.1 IBU
0.50 oz Williamette [4.00 %] (25 min) Hops 4.9 IBU
0.50 oz Centennial [6.00 %] (25 min) Hops 7.3 IBU
0.75 oz Centennial [6.00 %] (5 min) Hops 3.2 IBU
0.75 oz Williamette [4.00 %] (5 min) Hops 2.1 IBU
0.50 oz Centennial [6.00 %] (0 min) Hops -
0.50 oz Centennial [6.00 %] (Dry Hop 10 days) Hops -
0.50 oz Williamette [4.00 %] (0 min) Hops -
0.50 oz Williamette [4.00 %] (Dry Hop 10 days) Hops -
1 Pkgs American Ale (Wyeast Labs #1056) Yeast-Ale


Did I do something wrong with the grain bill to make the beer so sweet? I have no exp. with vienna malt until now, does vienna and marris otter together support over sweetness? Thanks for any info on the matter, I don't want to have this problem again.

Also the beer has been in the bottles for two weeks at around 67 degrees with no real fridge time yet, if that helps.
Click to expand...

Is it possible the hopps were old? I have about a lb of hopps in my freezer from a co-worker who grows it. I used some a batch or two ago that should have made a beer more on the bitter side than in the middle of the style and it turned out sweet too. I think the hopps has lost some of its strenght as it's been around since fall and was only frozen several weeks ago.

That is a fair amount of hopps...it shouldn't have turned out sweet
 
Not claming to be an expert, but I think you're in the ballpark on the vienna - that and the caramel. Between the two you might be getting more maltiness than desired. I made an extract APA a while back that was light DME and just enough 10L (or was it 20L?) to get the color right. Anyhoo, came out great and the color was dead-on next to a Sierra Nevada.

Now, if it's cloyingly sweet, it has been bottled for only two weeks. Maybe in another week or two it'll turn around?
 

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