Off Color on our first IPA?

So the C50 explains at least some of you dark color.

Did you use wheat extract? Or wheat? If you steeped wheat, you got starch in your beer which might explain the "wheaty" taste. Or it could be that you are not a fan of the yeast.

It sounds like you made a drinkable beer. I would try brewing again with light DME, drop the carapils and wheat and try US05 (dry yeast).

 

I just brewed a hoppy APA with white labs 13 (london ale) yeast which seems to have brought out a lot of juicy fruitiness from the hops. May be worth a look if you have a preference for English yeast. Watch for higher than advertised attenuation though

 

Just FYI, the LME will have some crystal malt in it already. It may be OK to go 100% of it in order to get a wort that is as fermentable as an IPA wort from the pros...

Personally if you don't like the sweetness, I'd cut the C-50 and replace it with more LME.

 

Wheat malt isn't steepable, unless you steep it under specific conditions relating to temperature, water to grist ratio, and time that actually make it a Mash. Otherwise, the starches may not be fully converted to sugars/dextrins. If your homebrew store gave you this recipe, you may want to take whatever else they are telling you with a grain of salt.

 

Drop the carapils because there are already caramel malts in most DME/LME you don't need it here. Some all-grain brewers use carapils, some don't. I can almost guarantee you will make a better beer than this one if you drop the carapils and the wheat and use US05. The hop schedule looks good but most people would use something "less special" at 60 minutes instead of Simcoe. Try brewing this again with some minor changes, that will give you a real good comparison of what happens when you tweak a recipe.