IPA recipe

1# of caramel makes a sweet beer. Try 4-6oz. next time. Also try to get the FG around 1.008-1.010.

 

2# of crystal and a mid-attenuating yeast are to blame here. What was your FG?

 

I would think it would taste a little less sweet with a little carbonic acid from carbonation. I think the original problem is ~3# too much grainbill (base and caramel). What you have there is a ~IIPA. Your hop utilization could also be a little lower than expected. Cheers

Oh, you could also be undergoing a lupulin threshhold shift : )

 

How many all-grain batches have you brewed?...there are a lot of variables. Cali 5 leaves a little more dextrins...which would be near perfect for a Sans Crystal IPA : )

 

The crystal, carapils, high gravity, and yeast choice all sort of combined here to give you a higher finishing gravity than is desirable in an IPA. You could do several things that could help out in the future.
(1) Mash lower to make a more fermentable wort (maybe; don't really know where you mashed)
(2) Sub some sugar for base malt to make a more fermentable wort
(3) Cut back or eliminate crystal to make a less sweet more fermentable wort
(4) Cut back or eliminate carapils to make a more fermentable wort
(5) Use WLP001/WY1056/S-05 for greater attenuation
(6) More healthy yeast (e.g., via pitch rate, better oxygen).

 

My first point of attack in reducing sweetness would be the crystal malt and carapils. The averagely perfect ipa had a good balance for the style, IMO, with the total of crystal and carapils at approximately half of what you used. As I just posted in the two hearted clone thread I started, I like this yeast strain (CaliV=1272=BRY-97, I think) and really haven't found it to be too sweet personally, but I also like a little sweetness in my IPAs. Here's hoping the 1# of crystal in that clone doesn't make me eat my words.

 

Caramel malts plus oxidation of a highly hopped beer, such as an IPA, will produce an increase in apparent sweetness. This could be part of your problem.

 

I didn't see any mention about your fermentation temp or set up but I believe if you ferment too high it could lead to a boozy alcohol flavor.

Proper mash temp and good fermentation temp shouldn't cause any 6.6% beer to taste boozy. I just brewed a 6.4% ipa in which I mashed low around 151 and fermented pretty low at 64, Cali yeast strain, and the beer drinks like a 5% beer. When I was drinking one of the first bottles I was thought does this even have alcohol but at the time I was done with bomber I had a buzz.

Temp control = good beer.

 

Fermenting at higher temps generally is thought to lead to a less fermentable wort, with more dextrin content, creating more body in the beer, and hence, a lower abv due to a high finishing gravity. How does this lead to boozy alcohol flavor?

 

Fermentation at too high a temp does cause the yeast to produce fusels. The reasons you gave are for high mash temperatures.

 

Ambient or internal temp? 70* ambient is higher than ideal for the first few days of fermentation. Even 70* internal is higher than most with temp control are aiming for.

 

Thanks. Brain was in the wrong place. As you surmised, my eyes saw fermentation, my hands typed fermentation, and my brain processed mash. The human brain early in the morning and low on caffeine is a scary thing. Amazing I can arrive at work in one piece in the morning.