Balance Strong IPA

I brewed an IPA that has a very strong alcohol taste. I've heard that aging an IPA can result in lost hop aroma and flavor. What can I do to balance out this high alcohol flavor? I currently have 2oz of Centennial hops in the keg...should I do more? Is there something I could have done prior to kegging?

Thanks!

How bout some details? OG, FG, mash temps, fermentation temps, recipe, etc...

Poobah58 said:

How bout some details? OG, FG, mash temps, fermentation temps, recipe, etc...

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Sorry 'bout that. I was at work when I posted. Here are the details

OG: 1.090
FG: 1.014
ABV: 9.97%

Recipe:
17 lbs 2-Row
2 lbs Crystal 20
.2 lbs Chocolate Malt
1.2 oz Centennial (9.2%) (90 min)
1.2 oz Centennial (60 min)
1.2 oz Centennial (30 min)
1.2 oz Centennial (15 min)
1.2 oz Centennial (flame-out)
2.0 oz Centennial (Dry hop - hop sack tied to keg dip tube)
Irish Moss and Yeast Nutrient (10 min)
Wyeast #1056 yeast starter (2.5 liter decanted)

Brew Day:
Mashed at 1.25 quarts per pound of grain at 144 degrees for 60 minutes
Mash pH: 5.4
Sparged with 3.7 gallons at 170 for 10 minutes
Had to do a second sparge because I didn't get the full pre-boil volume
Boiled down to 5.5 gallons for 90 minutes
Pre-Boil Volume & Gravity: 7.5 gallons @ 1.062
Post-Boil Volume & Gravity: 5.5 gallons @ 1.090

Fermentation:
Primary: 3 weeks at 70 degrees
Cold crash: 2 weeks at 33 degrees

My efficiency is 63-65% (hence the high grain bill).

You are probably going to need a bit more than 5 weeks to tone down that alcohol taste from a 10% beer. If you keep it in the keg, you can dryhop it again in a few weeks to keep the hop flavor/aroma.

That is a strong, young brew, and I'm not surprised it tastes 'hot'. I would have primary-ed like you did, but secondary-ed for a month or two before cold crashing and final dry hopping. Now that you've cold crashed it, all your yeasties are in deep sleep at the bottom of your carboy, so they won't be able to finish the job. I would rouse the yeast, and let it set for a month (50-60f), then dry hop again for a week, then keg.

Uh, I see you have already kegged, so without a good amount of yeast in suspension, you may never be able to clean up this beer. You could always blend batches! 'There are no bad beers, only badly blended ones!'

kpr121 said:

You are probably going to need a bit more than 5 weeks to tone down that alcohol taste from a 10% beer. If you keep it in the keg, you can dryhop it again in a few weeks to keep the hop flavor/aroma.

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Should I pull the hop sack that's in there now or will that be ok?

Hex said:

Uh, I see you have already kegged, so without a good amount of yeast in suspension, you may never be able to clean up this beer. You could always blend batches! 'There are no bad beers, only badly blended ones!'

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Could I add new yeast or would the environment kill them off?

I do have a pale ale on tap. I could just pour a 50/50 whenever I want some IPA I suppose

Definitely try the blend. I don't think adding yeast at this point will help very much. Cheezydeamond wrote this, in another thread, and I agree:

"Conditioning stops in the fridge.
So you will preserve the unconditioned immature flavor of your beer.
I condition mine 6 weeks warm.
Clear beer that tastes 40% worse than it would after a few weeks warm is cutting your nose off despite your face."

and this is what I do:
I primary all my ales for 3 weeks 64-69f, secondary for a month 50-60f, dry hop in secondary for an extra week 50-60f, bottle condition 70-80f for three more weeks. That's 11 weeks before it is a good, right, bright beer that I can serve anyone and feel proud.

You could always boil off some volatile alcohols (170f), but you will be on your own from there.

Hex said:

Definitely try the blend. I don't think adding yeast at this point will help very much. Cheezydeamond wrote this, in another thread, and I agree:

"Conditioning stops in the fridge.
So you will preserve the unconditioned immature flavor of your beer.
I condition mine 6 weeks warm.
Clear beer that tastes 40% worse than it would after a few weeks warm is cutting your nose off despite your face."

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OK, I'll hook it back up to the tap and enjoy the blend. Thanks for the advise

Maybe the third time I brew this will be the charm!

Hex said:

You could always boil off some volatile alcohols (170f), but you will be on your own from there.

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I considered that but it's probably more work than I'm willing to invest. I'll blend it and chalk it up to another learning experience.

Give it some time. Adding yeast won't do squat. You went from 1.090 to 1.014. The yeast has done it's job. Next time mash a little higher and ferment a little cooler. For this batch, just let it sit in the fridge a few more weeks and it should be fine...
PS I wouldn't leave those hops in the keg for more than 3 weeks. They get yucky!

The biggest issue is the mash temp. Once you go below 150,you are going to lose a lot of your long chain sugars that will help balance the beer.

Even then, a beer this big is going to need some aging. Somewhere around here there is a thread on the need to age stronger brews. As a rule, the higher the ABV, the longer the aging period.

If you can, set aside the keg (without the hops) and leave it for a month. Check it and see how it improves. My preference is to age brews that are above 7% for at least 4 months.

I hooked the keg back up to the tap and poured 1/3 of a glass, then topped it off with my APA. I gotta say that this is seriously one of the best beers I've had. It's extremely well balanced and the flavor is amazing. Thanks for the suggestion of blending beers! I'm going to try to replicate this in a recipe for an upcoming brew session.

Even though I blended this with my APA, it's still strong as hell and it got me a little drunk so I hope this makes sense

beerkrump said:

The biggest issue is the mash temp. Once you go below 150,you are going to lose a lot of your long chain sugars that will help balance the beer.

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I suggest trying the same recipe with a higher mash temperature. My go to mash temp for an ipa is 152... Any time I go lower than 150 I get too much attenuation, resulting in a less-than amazing beer- it's still beer though!!!

My thought process was to mash at a lower temp to get a drier beer and showcase the hops more. However, that's probably not such a great idea with a strong beer. In the future I'll probably stick to 152-154 like you guys are saying.

Have you ever had Gubna by Oskar Blues? 10% IIPA and it tastes really alcoholic to me. Still delicious, though. Yours might compare to this.

kanzimonson said:

Have you ever had Gubna by Oskar Blues? 10% IIPA and it tastes really alcoholic to me. Still delicious, though. Yours might compare to this.

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The only Oskar Blues beer I've had is their Ten FIDY. I'll have to see if I can get some Gubna in Wisconsin because they don't distribute to Minnesota.

I guess it comes down to whether you like the beer or not. If not, it sounds like you found a good solution in blending with the APA, and next time you'll know that you shouldn't make such a strong IIPA!!

If you still want to brew something with that much alcohol but with better balance, HBT can certainly help you with the recipe.