"Grapefruit" too strong

[Brewsday]

I took these grains (came pre-mixed on a craigslist buy):
71/4 lb Muntons pale 2 row malt,
1/2 lb chrystal malt and
1/2 oz black patent malt
And followed this hop schedule:
1 oz. Warrior (15.4%) 60 minutes
1 oz. Warrior 15 minutes
1 oz. Cascade (7.?%) 1.5 minutes

The resulting beer seems too "small" to carry all that hops. The grapefruit is "way" stronger than I wanted.

3 questions:

1) Does anyone have thoughts on which hop addition accounts for that (if one is indeed more responsible than another)...and...
2) It's been bottled for a month and may have mellowed a little...does anyone think it will mellow more?
3) I have 2.5 more of these batches to make. Would like something IPA-like. Any thoughts? I'm thinking of splitting the "half bag" and making two 10# batches.

I'm pretty well stocked with Warrior and Cascade pellets so I'd like to not buy others but would enjoy suggestions for getting the grain build to taste a little IPA-like.

Thanks.

 

[Dunerunner]

I'd lay off the Warrior at the 15 minute addition and move the Cascade to that position.

 

[glickmanii]

I second the Warrior @ 15. I generally use Warrior in my IPAs, but only as the bittering hop; you could also try Simcoe or Amarillo at 15min and 5min, as they seem to go nicely with Warrior in general.

 

[heeler]

What yeast did you use??? That made a big difference in mine, with safale us-05 I swear I was eating a grapefruit, way to strong for me. Now it could have been the combo of hops with that yeast buuuuut...... I made several brews with this yeast and they each had that grapefruit background so I have decided to make liquid yeast starters from now on.

 

[glickmanii]

I've never really had that issue with US-05. If you're fermenting at a constant, controlled temp (60-75F), that yeast should be producing a pretty clean palate.

Also, looking at your grain bill again, you might want to consider increasing the amount of crystal malt you are using (especially if what you've got is in the 10-20L range). I'm not sure what OG/FG/ABV you're getting, but in my opinion most well-balanced IPAs tend to have an alcohol content 6% and higher, and need a bigger backbone from the malt to give balance to all that wonderful hoppiness

And to answer your second question, yes, it will mellow over time. I've found that most IPAs tend to be best consumed within 2 months of bottling/kegging. Luckily for me, they generally don't last even half that long...

 

[Meshuggah]

I always get a very strong grapefruit character from cascades, so this leads me to believe it's them.

 

[Brewsday]

So often in these forums you read discussions and wish the poster/repliers would convey the outcome...so here goes.
As you often read in these forums..."give it time". Well, that's exactly what was needed. I made 2 batches relatively close together as a main goal of mine was to see if I could repeat with consistency. Of course I risked and almost paid for "jumping the gun"...that is, brewing a second batch before really tasting the first. But this beer has mellowed wonderfully. The "grapefruit" has muted to citrus and more "bitter" comes through now but there's also a nice lingering malty flavor...almost sweetness. AND in my humble opinion it has a nice rich mouth feel (where I originally worried about it tasting "thin").

Anyhow, 90 days of cellar, bottle conditioning, really fixed this beer. It's actually good enough to make another batch!

I am tempted to say "It's better to be lucky than good" but sticking with the forums' advice and having faith is more "lesson learned" than luck! Thanks all!

 

[cdubbaya]

Anyhow, 90 days of cellar, bottle conditioning, really fixed this beer. It's actually good enough to make another batch!

I'm glad your beer turned out well, there's nothing worse than having all that work go to waste. Not to mention now you have beer to drink!

However, as far as the recipe goes, I just have to point out that it shouldn't take 3 months for this beer to find it's taste. It seems like a fairly simple hop-forward ale.

If it's "too hoppy" then dial back the hops in the next batch as to not waste them in the batch. Pale Ales and IPA's are best consumed when fresh, so leaving them to condition for 3 months just means you are just losing enough hop aroma and flavor to meet your requirements.

I'm only saying this because if you like how the beer tastes now, work the recipe so you can enjoy it sooner.

Glad you gave it time rather than dumping it though, beer is beer!