It's too sweet!

[Sea]

Is there any way to curb the sweetness of my IPA? It's been in the fermenter for only a month, and at 7% ABV, it's still syrupy sweet. Maybe re-pitch some higher gravity yeast? Thanks!

 

[D2T]

What temp did you mash at?

 

[Sea]

Mashed 150-155 deg, sparged w/170 deg h2o

 

[D2T]

I recently did an all grain IPA and it turned out great. I mashed at 152 to try to keep it dry and not sweet.

From what I understand though, if you mashed too high you'll have more unconvertable sugars that the yeast won't break down. So I guess you could try a higher gravity yeast but it may not help much.

 

[the_bird]

What's the gravity reading? What was the recipe?

 

[homebrewer_99]

All wort is sweet. You have to add hops to it to balance it out.

 

[Axegod]

All wort is sweet. You have to add hops to it to balance it out.

Very true about the wort and the hops.

Also, a strong hop aroma will cut the sweetness....of course it will not add to bitterness but here is the analogy: the old trick of cutting a small piece of onion and another of apple...if you hold your nose, you can't tell the difference. I made a 20 IBU beer..and dry hopped...and it balaces very well.

Try dryhopping....it will give lots for the nose, and may balance out the brew.
(note your will need about 1-2 weeks time for dryhopping).


PS...what were the hydrometer readings?.....if you are close to the target SG..try the dryhopping...if the SG is really high, maybe repitch yeast.

Again, this all depends on the recipe..
Cheers.

 

[Sea]

Thanks for all of the input.

I've gone from an O.G. ov 1.070, to the current gravityy: 1.016. As for hops, I boiled with 4 oz. of 15 A.A., and finished with 1 oz of 5.5 A.A.. I'm sorry to say that Ihaven't graduated to all-grain brewing yet. I used 6 Lbs. light D.M.E., 1 Lb. Vienna, and 1 LB. Crystal 40. I usually use liquid extract but the local homebrew shop was closed the day I got the itch to brew, so I had to settle for the poor selection at the only department store I've ever seen that carries beer making supplies.

Thanks again.

 

[Axegod]

By the hydro readings...it looks like it is done..close to 76% attenuation which would be normal for a average ale. In that case, I would try the dry hopping if you had the time and was really concerned about the sweetness.

The other thing is that the better will taste a little less sweet when carbonated and the flavours will come together more after about 3 weeks in the bottle.

Cheers.

 

[Orfy]

At 1016 it is gonna have a fair body and some residual sweetness. Maybe the malt you bought was not gone through the best quality control? If it's not a recognised quality brand then you have know way to know what you are getting.

There is a chance that a secondary pitching will lower the gravity and sweetness but that may not help and will delay your beer for another few weeks.

This may sound daft but one way to get the beer drier (and this is a last resort). I'd normally not suggest this but if the beer is close to being undrinkable then it may be worth it. Add some sugar along with the yeast. It'll make for a drier beer, help feed the yeast but the down side is it'll boost the ABV and may affect the taste. At around 8% ABV you may be pushing what the yeast are happy with.

 

[Bobby_M]

I don't know how you got 1.070 with 6lbs of DME. It should be closer to 1.055 if you used 5 gallons. In any case, I agree with the idea of dry hopping to get the hop nose on it. How many gallons were in your brew pot? The reason I ask is that there is only so much IBU you can get into a highly concentrated wort. Once you dilute, you dilute your IBU too. You can also boil an ounce of hops in about 1/2 gallon of water to make a hop tea to add to the brew.