IPA But Not An IPA?

[TimJack18]

I used the Brewer's Best IPA kit for my first brew. Everything went really well with the brewing day (I probably over-sanitized out of sheer paranoia), it sat in the fermentor for a few weeks longer than suggested (Work always getting in the way of my hobbies) and then bottling went off without a hitch, BUT!

When I sampled my IPA after the first few weeks in the bottle, it tasted like napalm. Overly hoppy, ridiculously piney taste, just awful. Didn't dump, figured worst comes to worst I try it again in a few weeks, see where it goes. At the eight week in the bottle mark, I tried it again and BAM!

Slightly strong hop taste start, the it melts into this gloriously malty caramel flavor. It doesn't taste like an IPA at all. It looks like an amber, tastes glorious, but wasn't exactly what I had thought it was going to turn out to be and I want to make more! The only thing I can think of that might have affected the taste was that I had a lot of sludge above the water line from when I areated my brew that I'm assuming was the hop pellets. When I areated, I had a ton of foam on top that didn't subside for a while. I was worried if I knocked that sludge into the fermentor it might cause the brew to sour and get infected. Could that be why my IPA doesn't taste like an IPA? Any thoughts and insight would be wonderful!

Brewing my first amber tomorrow, hoping for good results!

 

[Imx3]

I Just did the same kit, I kegged mine and drank a few this weekend. It tastes like a brown ale with a lot of hops. Its good, just not a typical American IPA.
It has a good mouth feel and tastes good, had some friends try it and they liked it. Just not what I was expecting.

 

[chickypad]

Looking at that kit it's probably a recipe issue if you followed the directions exactly. They have you boiling a large amount of LME in a concentrated boil which can lead to over darkening and some flavor changes. The whole lb of caramel 40 is probably exacerbating that. Then they really only have 1.5 oz of flavor/aroma hops total (that last addition of cascade). Did you take an FG reading? If you do the kit again I would suggest this:

Consider cutting the steeping grains in half (could make up the difference with a few oz of sugar)
Boil as much water as you can, more like 3-4 gal if possible.
Only boil the DME and maybe a lb or two of the LME for the full time, save all the rest for flameout
Change the hop schedule to this

1 oz columbus 60 min (start of boil)
1 oz cascade 15 min
1 oz columbus 5 min
1.5 oz cascade flameout
get a couple extra oz of cascade or other combo to dry hop with 5-7 days before packaging

I think that will get you a lot closer to an American IPA. There are also a ton of proven recipes in the database if you want to look for something there.

 

[JordanKnudson]

I used the Brewer's Best IPA kit for my first brew. Everything went really well with the brewing day (I probably over-sanitized out of sheer paranoia), it sat in the fermentor for a few weeks longer than suggested (Work always getting in the way of my hobbies) and then bottling went off without a hitch, BUT!

When I sampled my IPA after the first few weeks in the bottle, it tasted like napalm. Overly hoppy, ridiculously piney taste, just awful. Didn't dump, figured worst comes to worst I try it again in a few weeks, see where it goes. At the eight week in the bottle mark, I tried it again and BAM!

Slightly strong hop taste start, the it melts into this gloriously malty caramel flavor. It doesn't taste like an IPA at all. It looks like an amber, tastes glorious, but wasn't exactly what I had thought it was going to turn out to be and I want to make more! The only thing I can think of that might have affected the taste was that I had a lot of sludge above the water line from when I areated my brew that I'm assuming was the hop pellets. When I areated, I had a ton of foam on top that didn't subside for a while. I was worried if I knocked that sludge into the fermentor it might cause the brew to sour and get infected. Could that be why my IPA doesn't taste like an IPA? Any thoughts and insight would be wonderful!

Brewing my first amber tomorrow, hoping for good results!

Congrats on your first brew!

I'm a bit confused, though, as what you initially described sounds exactly like what I expect from an American IPA -- "Overly hoppy, ridiculously piney taste." Your description of how it tasted 8 weeks later doesn't resemble an IPA because hops fade with time, and usually faster than slower. It sounds to me like you brewed and drank an IPA, didn't enjoy it, waited for the hops to fade out, and discovered that you like maltier beer. (Nothing wrong with that).

As for that foam in your fermentor, it's very doubtful that it was a problem. If you used StarSan to sanitize your bucket/carboy, there is almost guaranteed to be foam when you pour in the wort. I know we make a big deal about sanitation and the risk of infection, but really if you follow the basic procedures, you don't have anything to worry about (especially since, being your first brew, you were surely using brand new equipment -- it doesn't get cleaner than that).

 

[mrgrimm101]

Congrats on your first brew!

I'm a bit confused, though, as what you initially described sounds exactly like what I expect from an American IPA -- "Overly hoppy, ridiculously piney taste." Your description of how it tasted 8 weeks later doesn't resemble an IPA because hops fade with time, and usually faster than slower. It sounds to me like you brewed and drank an IPA, didn't enjoy it, waited for the hops to fade out, and discovered that you like maltier beer. (Nothing wrong with that).

That is exactly what I thought when reading the OP's post. Hop flavor and aroma fade quickly, leaving you with a sweeter, maltier beer, as the hop balance has diminished. Something like a big, hoppy Imperial IPA will likely fade to something that more resembles a barleywine.

As for that foam in your fermentor, it's very doubtful that it was a problem. If you used StarSan to sanitize your bucket/carboy, there is almost guaranteed to be foam when you pour in the wort. I know we make a big deal about sanitation and the risk of infection, but really if you follow the basic procedures, you don't have anything to worry about (especially since, being your first brew, you were surely using brand new equipment -- it doesn't get cleaner than that).

I've always been told "Don't fear the foam!" StarSan foam actually contains yeast nutrient. And as long as the foam is in contact with a surface, it is sanitized. I love the stuff.

Again, just a couple things I've been told.

 

[pablosbrewing]

Hop choices vary a lot more than when I started brewing 22 years ago.

May not be complete but a pretty good list:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_hop_varieties

Figure out what hops are in your favorite IPA(s), or check out the list and pick a flavor character you think you will like.

 

[chickypad]

That is exactly what I thought when reading the OP's post. Hop flavor and aroma fade quickly, leaving you with a sweeter, maltier beer, as the hop balance has diminished. Something like a big, hoppy Imperial IPA will likely fade to something that more resembles a barleywine.

Good points, though at 8 wks in the bottle it shouldn't be quite that bad. I still think there are some recipe flaws - it's got 3 oz of essentially bittering additions and only 1.5 oz late, and the OP was expecting an American IPA.

 

[JordanKnudson]

Good points, though at 8 wks in the bottle it shouldn't be quite that bad. I still think there are some recipe flaws - it's got 3 oz of essentially bittering additions and only 1.5 oz late, and the OP was expecting an American IPA.

Wow, 3 oz for bittering? Since OP didn't post the recipe from the kit, I didn't look it up, but you're right. That's definitely unbalanced in terms of hop additions! So maybe it wasn't the piney hop flavor that put him off, but the crazy amount of bitterness that accompanied it...OP, does that sound about right?