Beer too bitter, anything I can do?

[Hooty]

Started brewing this year and for my third batch I brewed a pale ale that was supposed to be similar to a Stone Pale Ale. It's been in the fermenter now for 16 days and the gravity is stable at 1.012. I tasted my sample and it is very bitter, much more than I expected. Any chance this bitterness will mellow out as it conditions? If not, is there anything I can do such as rack to a secondary and add something sweet like honey?
Here's what I brewed:
3.75 lb light LME
2 lb light DME
steeping grains: .5# 2 row pale
1.5# crystal 60
6 oz. crystal 70
steeped in 3 qts. water at 155 for 45 min.
3 gallon boil for 60 min.
1 oz. Warrior at 60 min.
.5 oz. Fuggles at 15 min.
.5 oz. Willamette at 15 min.
Nottingham yeast
Fermented at 68 deg

I'm guessing the Warrior is a little too strong for my malt bill, maybe(?)

What do you guys think?
thanks

 

[JVD]

Bitterness will mellow over time.If its too bitter let it sit for 6 months or more.

 

[mkade]

You could consider experimenting on a small scale with adding some Cl (NaCl would work). It's possible that your SO4/Cl ratio from your brewing water is part of it.

 

[samc]

Hops will fade over time as well, not sure but that may outpace any bitterness fade.

I would dry hop to balance out the bitterness.

 

[MBasile]

Hops will fade over time as well, not sure but that may outpace any bitterness fade.

I would dry hop to balance out the bitterness.

Yeah, I would think flavor and aroma would fade before bitterness, I'd suggest dry hopping and calling it a Stone inspired session IPA.

 

[Homercidal]

You could do as MBasile suggests, or just RDWHAHB. I recently brewed a Centennial Blonde that was pretty bitter. I just let it sit for a couple of weeks and settle and mellow and now it's still just a touch more bitter than I planned, but much better. I think that a Pale Ale will do even better if it's just a touch too bitter. Just call it an IPA or let it sit for a few weeks to a couple of months.

 

[Willie3]

Time heals all bitterness...

 

[MBasile]

The real questions are: 1) Does it taste like beer? B) Do you like it? If you have answered yes to both of the previous questions, please proceed to the next step.

Orange) Don't worry about it, drink it and tweak the next batch to get closer to your goal.

 

[pkeeler]

No, don't add honey or sugar. This will thin out the malt profile and accentuate the bitterness. Give it time. Dry hopping in a secondary was a great idea. Also, carbonation will help balance out the bitterness.

 

[BioBeing]

Also remember you are tasting green, warm, uncarbonated beer. The flavor will change quite a bit in the next few weeks as you let it ride out the primary and then condition in the bottle/keg. While dry hopping might well help (doesn't it always? ) without experience in the way this beer changes, it is hard to predict what will become of it in another month or two.

 

[KingBrianI]

A gravity sample from a beer that's been in a fermenter for 16 days isn't going to accurately represent what the beer will taste like once it's carbed and conditioned. Having said that, if it truly is way too bitter, you could try racking to secondary on top of a double or triple dose of gelatin. I've heard, though never tried it myself, that large amounts of gelatin can strip bitterness from a beer.

 

[markg388]

it's gunna feel like you're waiting 2 years for that thing to mellow out. If you're impatient/need the space or bottles like me, I say brew a batch of something on the sweet/malty side like an american style hefeweizen, open 2 beers at a time and mix them together. It'll probably taste a bit like gumballhead, I saved a too-sweet munich dunkel this way by mixing it with a pale ale and it was really tasty.

 

[Hooty]

The beer is not hoppy, just bitter. And it tastes like chit right now. I realize that the taste will change some but if there is something I could do about it now I would rather do it than take a chance that it will change on it's own. But I guess I should just wait it out and see what happens to it. One question: does it have a better chance of mellowing in the fermenter or in the bottle? In other words, should I leave it in the fermenter as long as possible or should I bottle it this weekend like I planned? If I dry hop it, will that mask some of the bitterness? I like pale ales that are a little hoppy but I'm not a big fan of IPAs. I don't want it to get too hoppy. Should I do this in the primary or secondary?
thanks,

 

[Hooty]

it's gunna feel like you're waiting 2 years for that thing to mellow out. If you're impatient/need the space or bottles like me, I say brew a batch of something on the sweet/malty side like an american style hefeweizen, open 2 beers at a time and mix them together. It'll probably taste a bit like gumballhead, I saved a too-sweet munich dunkel this way by mixing it with a pale ale and it was really tasty.

NOt a bad idea. I was thinking about brewing a half batch of the same beer minus the bittering hops and then mixing the two in the bottling bucket. How long is too long in the primary? Is it safe to go past a month? I've read that the chance of picking up off flavors increases after the first four weeks.

 

[Willie3]

There was a great artilce in either a Zymurgy or BYO that did a test on Trub with 8 brewers. Over a two month period there was no discernable difference from beer that was left on the trub for a week to another that was left on for 8 weeks. If you feel the need to take it off the trub and have another carboy to rack into by all means do so and it can stay in the secondary off the trub for a long while.

I never had issues with staying on for 5 to 6 weeks but I don't practice it. If it happens it happens and I don't lose sleep over it but I don't make a habit out of it.

WW