Over-hopped extract batch. Fix?

[BarefootFriar]

So I went with a full boil on my first extract kit because I was feeling cocky and thought I'd get all cute with it. What I failed to account for, however, was that the instructions were for a partial boil. End result is that the beer looks and smells tasty. Front taste is great, too. But I'm most definitely not a fan of hop-forward beers, and this is very bitter on the finish. I found an IBU calculator online and by my best estimate I've got about 84 IBUs on a beer that should be closer to 30-45. It's tasting more like an IPA than a California Common.

What can I do to fix it? Should I age it longer than anticipated?

I was planning on leaving it in primary for a total of 3 weeks, then bottling and conditioning for another two, and then refrigerating and testing one at a time until I hit what I wanted. Will the additional time on the yeast cake help reduce the bitterness, or am I pretty well stuck with it?

Oh, the stats you may want: OG was 1.048. Fermented with Safale S-05 at 60°F for just over a week now. Current grav is 1.013.

 

[bottlebomber]

It's a really hoppy session IPA now. It will take quite a while for hop bitterness to fade, you may as well drink it and make more. Learn to love hops!

 

[BarefootFriar]

Okay, I can roll with that. Should I dry hop for aroma, or leave well enough alone? It doesn't seem to have a hop flavor, just a bitterness at the end.

 

[Yooper]

Actually, full boil vs partial boil doesn't change the IBUs in the beer, as hops isomerization is independent of wort gravity. The calculators are based on old data, and I would bet the 84 IBUs is wrong. It's actually VERY difficult to get an 84 IBU beer- I think Pliny the Elder, which calculates out to something 250 IBUs has been tested, and it's actually at something like 80 IBUs.

Bitterness fades fast, so I think you'll be fine.

 

[bottlebomber]

When he said he "got cute with it" I read into it a little and thought maybe he added extra hops.. If not, then the recipe probably turned out exactly like it's supposed to. If you are tasting the wort, it almost always tastes very harsh and hoppy compared to what the finished product will taste like.

 

[BarefootFriar]

No, I added the hops that came in the kit, but I figured the extra bitterness was due to the increased boil size and time.

I'll just leave it alone and see what happens.