Beer tasting at FG reading: hops or alcohol?

So I'm a novice (this is my first brew) and I wanted to ask a question or two about diagnosing off-flavors.

I brewed an IPA and took a taste after measuring my FG (a bit lower than I expected but only by a little--expected 1.014-1015 ish and got 1.011 or 1.012 ish (used Safale US-05 and OG was 1.057-1.059ish--right where I estimated it). This FG reading is about a week and a half after boil. I will take another one in a couple days when I plan to move to secondary for dry hopping and clearing--I didn't do a good job straining out hops from the kettle.

My main question whether there an obvious difference between a heavy bitterness and fusel alcohol flavor? In other words, if there is a lot of fusel alcohol, it would be pretty obvious? I'm a little concerned my fermentation was a touch high (I was in the middle of the heatwave). I didn't really detect any esters (banana) or diacetyl (buttery). I know all of this will settle with time, but for learning's sake I am curious.

Overall, it tasted pretty good for an IPA at room temperature and no carbonation.

 

Have you ruled out Acetaldehyde? I just mention this because you don't include it in the OP and I think it is relevent, but I didn't want to step on your toes if you had ruled it out

 

How high was your fermentation temp? You'll likely be OK unless it was pretty high (above 80 or more or so). Its probably heavily bitter from the hops since you made an IPA. The raw wort is always a little bitter, the flavor will certainly mellow out with time.

 

I don't think you would confuse fusels with hop bitterness. The bitterness might mask the fusels, but the tastes are quite different. Higher alcohols are hot and solventy.

 

You are using some great terminology and conveying relevant information for someone who hasn't brewed more than one batch. Congrats for knowing what you're doing!

 

Moreover, if this is your first brew dont worry. Give it three weeks in the bottle before chilling it and I'm sure it will turn out well.

 

My experience with fusel alcohols has been that they are very detectable. They have a very harsh alcoholic taste commonly referred to as "solventy", but I like to compare it to the "firewater" burn of cheap vodka or whiskey.

Heavy hop bitterness is very different. It's more of an herbal, earthy kind of bitterness.

I guess everyone's taste buds are different, but that's how I perceive the two.

 

+100 to that. Whatever you're tasting now, more likely than not, it'll have mellowed out by the time it's ready to drink.

 

After I racked my first brew to secondary back in June I tasted the sample. I was trying to figure out how to describe it but "solventy" sounds like a good description. It wasn't a medicinal taste (bottled water so no chlorine/chloramines) but reminded me of something like an antiseptic. After being in secondary for a couple weeks and bottle for 3 it was completely gone.

 

My IPA's have always seemed far too bitter when that young, but have also always blended with relatively little time.

 

The IPA I just popped open spent 6 days in primary, 2 weeks in secondary and 2 weeks in the bottle. I tasted it between each racking and alcohol stayed consistent while the hoppiness and mouthfeel was maturing with age. After I chilled and tasted the final product I was quite pleased with the blend. Be patient and give your beer time to mature.

 

I didn't notice any acetaldehyde taste. I'm sure it is there since it is still young, but it might be masked by the bitterness of the hops.

 

It certainly didn't have that cheap vodka or whiskey "firewater" burn. I do know that flavor, so I'll take that as a good sign.

The bitterness type was hard to perceive (other than a lot of it), but it was more earthy than herbal. When I opened the lid on the fermenter it had a hoppy pinesole cleaner kinda smell though.

 

I have a few books and this forum to thank for that!

 

Thanks for all the feedback everyone. All of it was very helpful and encouraging!

I guess if it tastes ok now, it will only get better with time, so I'm not going to worry. I just wanted to determine how obvious the fusel taste is. I'm sure my next brew will get a lower fermentation temp since the weather is cooling down a bit, and I will also use the "swamp cooler" method. I don't think this was too high. I got it down to low to mid 70s by the time i pitched and had it in a cool closet untouched during fermentation. So I'm guessing it fermented around 70.