Over hopped IPA

Let it ride. I've done "theoretical" IBU's near 300 and the end result was fantastically balanced. In the real world, IBU's are like a log curve... Closer you get to 100, the harder it is to go higher.

The end result will be determined by your recipe, types of hops used, FG, water profile, etc... Many factors. Don't sweat it!

 

I would resolve to have a beer that was more bitter than intended. We're only talking about 10 bottles of beer or so in a 1 gallon batch. They'll mellow some over time.

If you can't bear the thought of 10 bottles of extra bitter beer, you could buy the same recipe kit and brew another batch, making the opposite mistake -- omit the bittering hops and add extra hops to the later hop additions that you missed the first time around. Blend your too-bitter batch with your not-enough-bitter batch to approximate the recipe you intended.

 

I did something similar a couple years ago. It will mellow out a little with time, but it will still be very bitter months from now.

I would go with pweis909's second suggestion. Brew 1 gallon of the same beer or something similar, but under bitter it then blend them.

 

If the idea of blending out the bitterness sounds good to you but you are pressed for time and can't brew another, you can always blend in the glass with commercial beers. That means having two beers open at one time, but it could be an interesting learning experience if you choose a few different types of beer as blenders.

 

Do you bottle?

If so, try them fresh and see how you like it. I still think this is a "mountain out of a mole hill" type situation, I'm sure it will be great as is. If not, then let age... But it will lose some of the brighter hop notes.

 

This would not matter to the average hophead out there/here ...but if you are looking for flavor with minimal bitterness, don't boil your hops...just steep them right before you chill your wort...and use as much as you want

 

It really is as simple as it sounds. But I always recommend that before you blend a large batch, you work with smaller samples to find the ratio that works for you. Once you get that, you scale up, and you blend proportionally in your bottling bucket or keg. If bottling bucket, add priming sugar, stir gently to mix, give it 10 minutes or so to equilibrate, and bottle as normal.

 

Mix it up. You know how wine is labeled as "Table Red?" It's a blend, because each individual wine has flaws.

I've made beers that were too thick and too sweet. Mixed it with a Miller Lite and problem solved!

RDWHAHB

 

The Godfather of Homebrewing Charlie Papazian’s mantra.

Relax Don’t Worry, Have a Home Brew!

 

This. Theoretic IBU and perceived bitterness are two very different things. And with all the creative ways people are hopping their beers nowadays: FWH, whirlpool additions, mash hopping, etc. it’s becoming one of the less useful brewing units.
I used to teach homebrew classes and one of the ways I’d get people to change their understanding of IBU was to pour a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Pilsner Urquell, and Guinness and have them arrange them from most to least bitter. The answer?
Guiness, Urquell, SNPA.
That always blew some minds...

 

I wish more people understood this.

 

People who laughed at “Triple Hop Brewed”, then paid $10 a bottle for this: https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/13307/56842/

 

A fool and his money . . .

 

No tools in the homebrewers arsenal. It’s objective. Is it too bitter for you? Then it’s to bitter! Does it taste good? Then it isn’t. Unless you are competing, that’s all that matters.
As far as the class, it was the opposite! They always ranked SNPA as the most bitter, but at 45IBU, Guinness is technically the most bitter of the three!

 

Correct me if I am wrong, but I think IBUs (by definition) must come from hops, but bitterness can come from a variety of sources (like roasted malt).