*unwanted* sweetness in beer

[perrypainter]

Hi all, I just brewed a slightly high gravity brew, I would classify it as a dark ipa.
I used a total of 3.0oz hops total, including dry hopping .5oz at primary AND secondary. However the brew is still a bit sweet.
So...

Is there some sort of guideline ratio of btu to S.G. ratio for certain styles?

I love a good pale ale and I have yet to get that "hoppy" beer taste and aroma.

Tips?

 

[andrew300]

Recipe and gravity readings would be helpful. For an IPA, you want the ratio around 1

 

[Golddiggie]

Was this an extract brew, partial mash, or all grain?? Really need to see the recipe. If it was either a partial mash, or all grain brew, then be sure to also post up the mash temperatures (start and finish)...

 

[Calder]

3 ozs hops seems low for an IPA IMO.

Recipe & Gravity.

 

[Golddiggie]

3 ozs hops seems low for an IPA IMO.

Recipe & Gravity.

Can't say that since we don't know what the hops were, or when they were added. Without the AA% numbers, and schedule, who knows...

 

[dgoldb1]

Let me guess, IPA extract kit that finished at 1020? I've been there before. Add more hops.

 

[perrypainter]

Yeah, I found my journal! including a recipe would be a good idea. Here it is (all grain)
10# 2row
.5# Special B
.5# caramel 60L
24 hr starter with white labs English Ale Yeast

Mashed 70 mins
Initial mash temp 154 F
Final mash temp 152 F

Sparge 171 F for 60 min

The hop schedule was roughly:
.5 oz perle 7% (60 min boil)
.25oz spalt 4% (60 min boil)
.75 oz Amarillo 7.5% (60 min boil)
1 oz spalt 4% (5 min)
.5 liberty 4.0%(1 min aroma)
.5 Liberty 4.0% dry hop (primary)
.5 Liberty 4.0% dry hop (secondary)
1 oz perle 7% dry hop (secondary)

O.G. 1.060
F.G. 1.010

So I guess about 5 oz of hops total. I know the Liberty have more fruity tones, so that prob has something to do with it. Any help would be great. thanks guys.

 

[Golddiggie]

By Beer Smith calculations, that's only 37 IBU from the hops... Is this supposed to be based on an American, or English IPA style? Either way, I think you hit too far below the IBU range to get the hop bitterness you were looking for. Those typically start in the 40-45 IBU range (English being the lower value)...

Kicking up the Amarillo to 1oz and the 60 minute Spalt addition to .75-1oz would have landed you within either style range.

From the amount of grains you used, and your OG, you hit 76% efficiency... Solid result there.

Did you use any beer recipe software when you decided on this recipe? I would imagine that if you had, or used something decent, you would have seen the low IBU value for the brew, and adjusted the hop schedule to offset it.

How many all grain batches have you done with your setup? Is it dialed-in yet?

 

[Yankeehillbrewer]

My experience has been that English Ale yeast will tend to give you a Maltier beer, and Special B is a pretty potent malt. Combine the two and I think that is where you are getting your sweetness from, even though you got good attenuation. If you really want a Dark IPA, I would suggest that you cut the Special B and replace it with some Carafa III. I would also drop the German Hops and replace them with American hops... Columbus, Chinook, Simcoe, Centennial, etc... For yeast you could go with any of the American Ale yeasts or a Dry English yeast, I had good results with Wyeast 1098 in an Arrogant Bastard clone I did. It really let the hops come through, but WY1056,S-05 or WLP001 are always solid choices.

 

[perrypainter]

Golddiggie, this is my first all grain. Followed the rubbermaid mlt conversion thread on here. No software yet, that would be nice but I'm pretty broke indefinitely so I am trying to get neccessary equipment first to see what I can get away with.
Yankeehill, that sounds like solid advice, I'm definitely gonna stick with more american hops next time.
On that subject...anyone know of any good bulk deals on hops right now?

 

[Yankeehillbrewer]

Golddiggie, this is my first all grain. Followed the rubbermaid mlt conversion thread on here. No software yet, that would be nice but I'm pretty broke indefinitely so I am trying to get neccessary equipment first to see what I can get away with.
Yankeehill, that sounds like solid advice, I'm definitely gonna stick with more american hops next time.
On that subject...anyone know of any good bulk deals on hops right now?

Hops Direct always has great prices, and if you can go in on a bulk buy with some other people you can really get your price per ounce down. I bought about 5lbs from them this year and I think I averaged about .75 cents/oz, including shipping. But be sure to get some kind of vacuum sealer(if you don't already) to store them in or they will go to waste. I found that out the hardway. Fresh Hops is my Second choice, they are more pricey but almost always have the varieties I'm looking for and their Hops are really nice.

 

[COLObrewer]

Ye olde balance chart helps:

For instance for a 1.060 gravity brew that you want extra hoppy you need appx. 45IBU to still be balanced, etc. Still kinda depends on the amount of non-fermentables though and your personal tastes.

 

[perrypainter]

That is perfect! Thank-you.

 

[Golddiggie]

Golddiggie, this is my first all grain. Followed the rubbermaid mlt conversion thread on here. No software yet, that would be nice but I'm pretty broke indefinitely so I am trying to get neccessary equipment first to see what I can get away with.
Yankeehill, that sounds like solid advice, I'm definitely gonna stick with more american hops next time.
On that subject...anyone know of any good bulk deals on hops right now?

You don't have $21 to spare? That really blows... I picked up Beer Smith when I was unemployed last... Just meant I couldn't buy store beer that month... Not really an issue, since I had my own either ready or would soon be ready to drink. There are sites you can enter your recipe into so that you can at least see if it's balanced as you want... I don't think they're as good as actual installed software, but that's just my take on it...

 

[COLObrewer]

. . . No software yet, that would be nice but I'm pretty broke indefinitely so I am trying to get neccessary equipment first to see what I can get away with. . . . .

I believe Qbrew is still free, should be able to download it on any download site. It's kinda cumbersome and may not have everything.

 

[perrypainter]

I was under the assumption beersmith was more. Hmmm. And I'm gonna have to find out about mac compatability...

 

[android]

go to the 'brewing software' area of the site and get one of the free calculators or software packages, it really helps out a ton to have something else calculate for you. i would agree with others that your perceived sweetness came from the special b, the english ale yeast, and the lack of IBU. 1.010 shouldn't normally produce a 'sweet' beer, but i guess this goes to show it can.

 

[beergolf]

For mac compatibilty use Beeralchemy...

COLObrewer beat me to the chart.....