IPA Troubleshoot Help

[VagabondBrew]

Type: All Grain Date: 7/14/2012
Boil Time: 60 min
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.00 %
Measured Original Gravity: 1.064
Measured Final Gravity: 1.010
Actual Alcohol by Vol: 7.1 %
Bitterness: 62.3 IBUs
Fermented @ 68 degrees

Mash @ 152 60min

Ingredients
10 lbs 8.0 oz Pale Malt (2 Row)
2 lbs Munich Malt - 10L
1 lbs Caramel/Crystal Malt - 10L
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
All Whole Leaf Hops
0.90 oz Summit [15.10 %] - First Wort 60.0 min
1.00 Items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 mins)
1.00 oz Amarillo Gold [10.80 %] - Boil 10.0 min
1.00 oz Amarillo Gold [10.80 %] - Boil 5.0 min
0.70 oz Cascade [8.10 %] - Boil 5.0 min
1.00 oz Cascade [8.10 %] - Aroma Steep 0.0 min

1.0 pkg California Ale (White Labs #WLP001)


So there is the recipe. Checked it today (15 days in) and it has 0 aroma, a weird almost sweet flavor with a nice bitter after taste. Not a dry/crisp flavor or hop flavor that stands out.

Basically 2 questions

First, anyone notice anything wrong or anything that jumps out that should be changed.

Second question, what should I do now? Just rack it and see how it conditions? Should I secondary it and dry hop, or rack it and add some hops to the keg? Any other tricks that might help it?

 

[phenry]

Your recipe looks pretty similar to the IPA recipe I've settled on continually brewing/tweaking, and I'd say mine has plenty of hop flavor and aroma. Not sure what could be wrong with your recipe in terms of those qualities.

As to what to do with it, if it's done fermenting I'd go ahead and bottle/keg it. I rush my IPAs as much as possible, which is usually 2 weeks to ferment and 1 week to bottle condition before I start drinking them. I've never had carbonation problems with that kind of schedule, and they really are best those first 3 or 4 weeks after bottling IMHO.

 

[Yooper]

Since it seems to be lacking hops aroma/flavor, you could just add some dryhops to the fermenter and then in 5 days keg it. That should increase the hops flavor/aroma and not necessitate an extra transfer.

 

[bobbrews]

I would make the following tweaks:

Mash @ 150 60min

Mainly American 2 Row
4-7% Munich Malt - 10L
4-7% Sugar
2-4% Crystal 10L

Pellet Hops

25 IBUs Summit, Boil @ 60.0 min
Another small charge of Summit at 30 or 20 min (optional)
2.00 oz Cascade - Boil 15 or 10 min
2.00 oz Amarillo (or maybe some more Summit) - Aroma Steep 0.0 min

3.00 oz dryhop (Amarillo/Summit)

1.0 pkg California Ale (White Labs #WLP001) w/starter

-----------

I wouldn't worry about the aroma/taste pre-bottling. Give it time, dryhop, bottle, then taste again.

 

[PaulyWantsABeer]

Type: All Grain Date: 7/14/2012
Boil Time: 60 min
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.00 %
Measured Original Gravity: 1.064
Measured Final Gravity: 1.010
Actual Alcohol by Vol: 7.1 %
Bitterness: 62.3 IBUs
Fermented @ 68 degrees

Mash @ 152 60min

Ingredients
10 lbs 8.0 oz Pale Malt (2 Row)
2 lbs Munich Malt - 10L
1 lbs Caramel/Crystal Malt - 10L
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
All Whole Leaf Hops
0.90 oz Summit [15.10 %] - First Wort 60.0 min
1.00 Items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 mins)
1.00 oz Amarillo Gold [10.80 %] - Boil 10.0 min
1.00 oz Amarillo Gold [10.80 %] - Boil 5.0 min
0.70 oz Cascade [8.10 %] - Boil 5.0 min
1.00 oz Cascade [8.10 %] - Aroma Steep 0.0 min

1.0 pkg California Ale (White Labs #WLP001)


So there is the recipe. Checked it today (15 days in) and it has 0 aroma, a weird almost sweet flavor with a nice bitter after taste. Not a dry/crisp flavor or hop flavor that stands out.

Basically 2 questions

First, anyone notice anything wrong or anything that jumps out that should be changed.

Second question, what should I do now? Just rack it and see how it conditions? Should I secondary it and dry hop, or rack it and add some hops to the keg? Any other tricks that might help it?

Hey bro, don't worry. Your beer is in it's infancy. 15 days is nothing. I recommend that you transfer to a secondary and dry hop for 7 days before bottling. Even after bottling, your beer will change quite a bit. After 2.5 weeks in the bottle, then chill one and test it out.