Belgian stout, WTF?

[rexbanner]

I made a Belgian stout that's been in primary for a month. I'm still very new to brewing Belgian beers and I tasted it recently.

Bleh. It's so effin bitter it's unbelievable. Here's some specs:

10 lbs belg pils
.5 lb chocolate malt
.5 lb roasted barley
.5 lb special B
1 lb d2
enough EKG to reach 32 IBU
WLP500
mashed at 149

I know it's still a little young, but I'm very disappointed. I guess next time I'll throw a lb of caramunich or something, but why on earth did it get so bitter? I brewed a freaking dry stout with similar specs but less gravity, no chocolate, and a lb of roasted barley and it tasted great. Is it because of the low mashing temp? Highly attenuative yeast? I had high hopes for this one. Maybe time will mellow it out.

 

[pauljmccain]

If you don't like drinking it now, might as well wait and see!

 

[FlemingsFinest]

Your mash temp seems to me to be a bit low. Bumping it up to anywhere from 152-155 would bring out sweeter aspects of the malts, perhaps toning down the bitterness a bit. Just an idea, others may disagree.

 

[lumpher]

with that recipe, i'd mash at 153-155. let it sit a year or 2. it'll attenuate. if you don't wanna wait, dump it and try again with a workable recipe

 

[bannonb]

low mash temp means more alcohol flavor. That should add some heat and dryness, but if that's not the bitterness you refer to then maybe you put in too many hops. Are you sure you're at 32 ibu? how many ounces of what aa% hops did you put in for how long?

I like Paul's suggestion...wait a few weeks and see.

 

[robtotten]

What were your fermentation temps like?

 

[jmo88]

Roasted grains affect the bitterness. Unlike hop bitterness, the roasted bitterness deteriorates very quickly. I notice a huge difference from week 3 to week 4 in my American stouts and those flavors meld nicely once I give it time. Since you are getting a drier beer with a Belgian strain, it'll only increase the perceived bitterness. I disagree with some of the others about mash temp, it'll make very little difference going from 149 to 153, I think that's the least of your worries. It's just young, roasty, and dry. Give it a few more weeks.