Sweetness in my DIPA

[PHDrunk]

I recently brewed a 3.5 gallon batch of double IPA, all grain. The beer is pretty good at 7 weeks old (1 month in primary, 3 weeks in bottles) but peaking out from behind the hops is this sweetness I can't understand.

It fermented from an OG of 1.076 down to 1.010 so incomplete fermentation seems unlikely to me. Very little of the grist (7%) was specialty malts, and the flavor is not malty -- it tastes like table sugar. It's roughly 8.7% alcohol, could ethanol add sweetness like this?

I bottled with 3.5 ounces table sugar 3 weeks ago. The beer is well carbonated and pours a ridiculous head, so I would be surprised if there's still sugar left from priming.

The only other thing I can think of is that this was my first time using gelatin for clearing. I added half a packet of Knox gelatin and cold crashed in a swamp cooler prior to dry hopping for 5 days.

I know that the beer is still pretty new and the flavor could easily change in the next few weeks, but I like to drink my IPAs young while the hops are fresh.

So what do you guys think? Grist? Priming sugar? Gelatin? Gremlins? Thanks for any input, full recipe to follow.

Big C DIPA

9.5 lbs US 2 row (93%)
0.5 lbs crystal 40 (4.8%)
0.25 lbs carapils (2.2%)
0.2 lbs acidulated malt (0%)

Single infusion mash for 1 hour at 150F, grist ratio is about 1.5 qts/lbs

Batch sparge, 4.25 gallons of wort collected for the boil

Boston tap water, no water salts

Full boil, no top off. 3.5 gallons into the fermenter at OG 1.076.

Hop schedule

0.5 oz Chinook (12%) 60 min
0.5 oz Chinook (12%) 30 min
0.25 oz Centennial (8%) 20 min
0.25 oz Cascade (4%) 20 min
0.25 oz Centennial (8%) 15 min
0.25 oz Cascade (4%) 15 min
0.25 oz Centennial (8%) 10 min
0.25 oz Cascade (4%) 10 min
0.25 oz Centennial (8%) 5 min
0.25 oz Cascade (4% ) 5 min
0.25 oz Centennial (8%) 0 min
0.25 oz Cascade (4%) 0 min
0.25 oz Centennial dry hop for 5 days
0.25 oz Cascade dry hop for 5 days

Roughly 68 IBUs by the Tinseth method.

Pitched 11.5g packet of Safale US05, rehydrated. Three weeks in primary with no temp control (ambient is 60-65F). Half a packet of Knox gelatin to clear.





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[Shred]

I'm a complete hop-head maniac, but 68 IBUs seems kinda low for an 8.7% beer. I also typically mash lower than 150 for an IPA. Usually around 148. You sure it's not malt sweetness you're tasting?

 

[PHDrunk]

That's a good point about the balance. I guess when I think malty I would point at more of a bready fullness -- this seems more like a quick sweetness like candy. I suppose it may be the malt though.


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[Shred]

Could just be the crystal cutting through (though you really don't have much crystal in there).

 

[Calder]

A 9% beer at 1.010 is a lot sweeter than a 5% beer at 1.010. I like to add up to 10% sugar to my higher gravity beers to dry it out.

I think you are just tasting sweetness from the malt.

 

[fearwig]

A 9% beer at 1.010 is also literally sweeter than a 5% beer at the same FG, because of the SG of alcohol. I don't think it's a big difference. I would look at IBU and carbonation first. Carbonation gets overlooked.

 

[EAC]

sorry.

 

[PHDrunk]

Looking at my BU/GU ratio (0.89), it seems kinda low for the style on average (1.09 according to the 2008 BJCP guidelines). Seems like it's closer to a regular IPA. I guess it's the malt after all.

 

[pablosbrewing]

I bottled with 3.5 ounces table sugar 3 weeks ago. The beer is well carbonated and pours a ridiculous head, so I would be surprised if there's still sugar left from priming.
...
Boston tap water, no water salts
...
Roughly 68 IBUs by the Tinseth method.
...
Pitched 11.5g packet of Safale US05, rehydrated. Three weeks in primary with no temp control (ambient is 60-65F).
...
Half a packet of Knox gelatin to clear.

At 3.5 oz table sugar is a lot for this style even if you got the full 3.5 gallons to bottling - what was your bottling volume? There may be some sugar left to go.
...
From what I can tell Boston water needs some help for mash as well as hop bittering. I'd start with 1/4 tsp of gypsum (CaSO4) per gallon in both mash and sparge water. Looks like you are already adding acid malt so you may already be hitting a good mash pH?

Also as Shred mentioned, IPA/DIPA are commonly mashed at 148/149F to reduce residual malt character.
...
And you already discovered - everything DIPA is bigger, IBUs start at 80
...
Above 1.060 you should consider pitching more than 1 packet US-05.
...
Gelatin is usually 1/2 to 1 tsp per 5 gallons, I have never used a half packet. If the gelatin bound up some priming sugar and made it to bottles then I could see that affecting taste (possibly).

Let it age, keep sampling, it will be gone before you know it

 

[Denny]

You need to use sugar for part of the fermentables in a DIPA. That's what keeps it from being thick and cloying.

 

[PHDrunk]

At 3.5 oz table sugar is a lot for this style even if you got the full 3.5 gallons to bottling - what was your bottling volume? There may be some sugar left to go.

...

From what I can tell Boston water needs some help for mash as well as hop bittering. I'd start with 1/4 tsp of gypsum (CaSO4) per gallon in both mash and sparge water. Looks like you are already adding acid malt so you may already be hitting a good mash pH?



Also as Shred mentioned, IPA/DIPA are commonly mashed at 148/149F to reduce residual malt character.

...

And you already discovered - everything DIPA is bigger, IBUs start at 80

...

Above 1.060 you should consider pitching more than 1 packet US-05.

...

Gelatin is usually 1/2 to 1 tsp per 5 gallons, I have never used a half packet. If the gelatin bound up some priming sugar and made it to bottles then I could see that affecting taste (possibly).



Let it age, keep sampling, it will be gone before you know it

Is 3.5 oz really a lot of carbonation for the style? I've read a few times in this forum that the 'to-style' calculators will lead you astray and a baseline of 1oz/gal is a good place to start (adjust to taste).

I'm planning on trying some salt additions in my next batch to make the hops pop. I've heard the bru'n water pale ale profile is good.

Sounds like generally speaking, higher IBUs and a drier beer through lower mash temp and a sugar addition are in order.


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[fearwig]

That would be about 2.9vol at 70F. Reasonable, but I don't think I've ever had a commercial DIPA that fizzy. I think I'd be shooting for 2.4-2.7 (so 2.87oz/81g). I think fizz can help make it come off dryer, but also turn the bitterness unpleasant. I'm not a DIPA expert though.

 

[indianaroller]

Could also be a higher than ideal ph in your finished beer. I tasted an IPA with a ph of 4.6 and it was like drinking a sugar encrusted orange slice. Perceived bitterness was low even though there were plenty of IBU's. Make sure you de-carbonate your sample before testing ph.


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[fearwig]

No one seems to talk about final pH, true evidence of the homebrewing world's disconnect from the culinary world. So important. I dream of a BJCP style guide with final pH ranges.