bad recipe idea , how can I fix it?

OK,
I was listening to a podcast featuring BIG Dog from Scotland.
These guys made a 200 yo IPA recipe and actually recreated
the trip to India in casks on a modern ship.
Anyway, they gave a recipe for an off the chart IPA
in kiloliters and I used the SWAG (scientific wild assed guess)
to convert it. To top off this snowballing madness,
I substituted 1/2 gallon of honey to save money on the grain bill
and keep my chief financial officer (wife ) happier

1/2 gallon honey
1 # domestic 2 row
4 #'s Merris Otter
1# Red Wheat
.5 chocolate malt
1.5 # L30 Crystal malt
2 oz Columbus 4 additions
2 oz Centeniel 4 additions
white labs American Ale

My flimsy plastic hydrometer tube died so I have no Gravities. (really dislike those)
The batch fermented actively for four days and has a not so nice cloying sweetness.

My first thought is to brew a high gravity batch on top of this
or maybe split it between two milder batches?
Any constructive advice would be sincerely appreciated!!
Thanks

You really need to measure the gravity... if it is still sweet, and you can't measure gravity... Can you rouse the yeast or throw in a pack of US-05?

If you don't like taking gravity readings, then I'd be happy to tell you what's going on with your beer.

Let me find my dart board...

ChshreCat said:

If you don't like taking gravity readings, then I'd be happy to tell you what's going on with your beer.

Let me find my dart board...

Click to expand...

He didn't say ANYTHING about not liking taking grav readings. Sheesh...

KayaBrew said:

He didn't say ANYTHING about not liking taking grav readings. Sheesh...

Click to expand...

Except the part where he said he really dislikes gravity readings. Sheesh... let a guy be a smartass now and then.

Seriously, without taking gravity readings on this, you're not going to know what it's doing. Anything else is just a guess... hence the dartboard metaphor.

There is nothing wrong with blending. On the other hand if you don't want to blend I suggest an aggressive dry hop session. Many will say it doesn't change bitterness and perhaps it dosent, but it will change the perception of residual sweetness.

not TAKING GRAVITY READINGS , I dislike those flimsy specific gravity reading tubes

Veng said:

not TAKING GRAVITY READINGS , I dislike those flimsy specific gravity reading tubes

Click to expand...

Ahhh okiedoke. If I were you I'd get a new one (sturdier one probably) and check where you're at. That's a good amount of sugar to chew though that it could just be stalled out. With all that honey I'd think it would finish out pretty dry, assuming the yeast was able to attenuate that much sugar.

I don't have brewsmith on this computer or I'd punch it in and see what the expected OG and FG would be, but it just looks like a lot of sugar to me at a glance.

LOL I read that as not liking gravity readings too. Next time buy 2 tubes and it will ensure that you never break another one again.

thanks everyone! Looks like it's off to industrial surplus to devise a more durable tube.

Cast iron! No wait... that's not transparent... Cast iron and x-ray specs! That'll do it!

This is actually a switch, usually it's the hydrometer and not the sample container that always breaks.

I use something like this. It holds about 8oz of liquid , which is how much I sample each time.



Hydrometer Jar (11.5'') | MoreBeer