Over bittered!

[DamnYankee]

I'm a complete newb to homebrew and sites like this. Hope I'm posting in the right place!

The past weekend I brewed an Imperial Stout, but it looks like I made a massive calculation error because I didn't read the recipe correctly and my IBUs have come in at about 130, where it should probably be about half that!

Question is where do I go from here? Can I brew another batch to the same recipe without any hop addition and blend together?

Hope someone can help - thanks in advance!

 

[rodabod]

How strong is this imperial stout? Increased bitterness becomes hard to perceive above 100 IBUs.

You may just be fine.

 

[MyQul]

What was you OG?

 

[DamnYankee]

my OG came in around 1.106

 

[nbpicklesno2]

That's a very brave first brew. You should be fine as long as you get the fg down as low as possible. Let's hope you've used enough yeast.

 

[MyQul]

My stout and porter book says 80 -90 is the maximum bittering you want for an imperial stout and IBU/OG ratio of between 0.5 to 1.0. Yours is 1.22. But as Rodabod says over about 100 it's hard to percieve. You can always blend it with another lower bittered stout if your unhappy with it. But try it first. You might end up liking it with 130IBU

 

[DamnYankee]

thanks guys - your feedback is definitely appreciated

nbpicklesno2 - it's actually my 4th AG brew, but the first I've done from recipe instead of a kit. Temp has been fairly consistent at 19-20 C and pitched with a 3L starter. After 2 days it had a nice thick krausen and loads of activity.

MyQul - I think that's more or less what I'd deduced. It kind of came to my attention when I tasted some of the wort when pitching and I thought "holy cow that's bitter!"

I'm very tempted to brew another low IBU and blend. I'm not sure that much bitterness suits an imperial stout.

 

[DamnYankee]

Would it be too soon to taste test the bitterness when racking to secondary?

 

[clibit]

Another option is to leave it alone for a long time after bottling. I did a massively over bittered brew once and it eventually mellowed out and was great. And a very strong beer like yours really wants to be aged anyway.

 

[DamnYankee]

thanks clibit - that was the other option I was considering. How long is a long time? 9-12 months?

 

[clibit]

Yes, that's a good estimate. I had my last bottle, an India Red Ale, after 20 months. It was absolutely fantastic, one of the best bottles of beer I have ever tasted.

 

[pms67]

Another option is to leave it alone for a long time after bottling. I did a massively over bittered brew once and it eventually mellowed out and was great. And a very strong beer like yours really wants to be aged anyway.

I have left my hops in a brew (American IPA) for way too long and its very bitter/harsh,should i leave to fade or bin???
Thanks

 

[clibit]

Never bin! Put it away and try a bottle a month.

Was it a dry hop you left in?

 

[rodabod]

Would it be too soon to taste test the bitterness when racking to secondary?

Probably. The yeast will continue to absorb some of the bitterness. A beer that strong, you'll be wanting to age it.

 

[pms67]

Never bin! Put it away and try a bottle a month.

Was it a dry hop you left in?

Yes,instead of 5 days,they were in for around 10-14 days.
I can taste something good in the beer,but the bitterness overpowers it,almost tastes like a slight infection?
I will give it time like you say,other brews to be getting on with in the meantime,cheers

 

[clibit]

I'm pretty sure time will improve it, hoppiness does gradually dwindle, especially if the excess hops were dry hops, or late boil hops.

Unless it's actually infected of course. Hopefully not!