Overly malty harvest ale wort needs repair

[BilltheBrewer]

I brewed a 5-gallon harvest ale today, tasted the wort and boy is it malty. Super sweet. I hit my OG; my efficiency was 63.48%. I figure I either underhopped, or somehow shorted myself on water adds during the mash and/or batch sparge. (I haven't pitched yet; it's resting in the fermenter at 68º.) I bittered with 0.5 oz Columbus at 60 min and 0.5 Chinook at 5. These alone should have given me 32.6 IBU. I added 1 oz each of fresh Columbus and Chinook hops (homegrown from mature plants) for 20 minutes during an unchilled whirlpool that started at 170º and ended 10 degrees lower. The BF recipe editor said the fresh hops should have added another 5.8 IBU, and the software appears to adjust for fresh vice leaf or pellets, etc. I've never had my hops tested but they've produced good beer in the past.
The only other possibility I can figure is that I didn't add enough water, as noted. My issue might involve a little of both - or something else entirely. I've poked around a bit for a solution. Can I get away with a distilled water dilution prior to pitching the yeast? An isomerized hop extract addition? (I'm considering a dry hop addition at the tail of fermentation, fwiw, although that won't do much to counter the sweetness.) Thoughts? Appreciated.

 

[Minbari]

What is your gravity sitting at?

It's also hard to tell just from wort. The yeast will be eating the sugar, so it won't be that sweet once it is fermented and carbonated

 

[Over The Cliff Brewing]

I would look to see if you hit your volume first. If that is below your expected volume then adding some water might be the answer. As @Minbari said, let it ride with a good yeast pitch and see what you get.

 

[BilltheBrewer]

What is your gravity sitting at?

It's also hard to tell just from wort. The yeast will be eating the sugar, so it won't be that sweet once it is fermented and carbonated

Ah, that's true. 1.61.

 

[BilltheBrewer]

I would look to see if you hit your volume first. If that is below your expected volume then adding some water might be the answer. As @Minbari said, let it ride with a good yeast pitch and see what you get.

Actually came up short. Barely 5 gallons made it into the fermenter.

 

[Minbari]

Ah, that's true. 1.61.

Was that the Target?

Most yeast would get that down to 1.015-1.020 depending on yeast and oxygenation, etc.

 

[Limey]

It's called "sweet wort" for a reason!

 

[Sandy Feet]

At 1.061, I would hope it is sweet That is what it needs to be for yeast to do their thing.
No sugar, no alcohol.

 

[Craigerrr]

I would be interested in seeing your Harvest Ale recipe
I have a Double Chocolate Cranberry Stout, and a Christmas Ale to brew soon, but I have been wanting to do a harvest ale as well.
Toying with the idea of a Harvest Ale instead of the Christmas Ale.
My Christmas Ale gets Fuggles and Cascade for 37 IBU's, a pound of honey (or equivalent other sugar), as well as some fresh ginger root, and couple of cinnamon sticks. Maybe just removing the ginger and cinnamon would make it more like a Harvest Ale

 

[Craigerrr]

To your question though, 1061 should be ridiculously sweet.
Personally, I never taste the wort post brew.
The first time I taste the beer is a post fermentation gravity sample.
Hard to predict IBU's if you don't know your alpha acid%, but experience should help you guesstimate.
I would definitely NOT dry hop this beer, I don't think you want hop aroma and flavor coming through.

 

[BilltheBrewer]

To your question though, 1061 should be ridiculously sweet.
Personally, I never taste the wort post brew.
The first time I taste the beer is a post fermentation gravity sample.
Hard to predict IBU's if you don't know your alpha acid%, but experience should help you guesstimate.
I would definitely NOT dry hop this beer, I don't think you want hop aroma and flavor coming through.

I taste mainly to understand where it's coming from and what that process does. I may be overreacting, but this one seems a good bit sweeter than normal. I was thinking hops extract get some bitterness in there to counter the sugar. But I've never used it. At a minimum - and since I came up kinda short of wort into the fermenter - do you think I could benefit by adding some distilled water?

 

[Minbari]

I taste mainly to understand where it's coming from and what that process does. I may be overreacting, but this one seems a good bit sweeter than normal. I was thinking hops extract get some bitterness in there to counter the sugar. But I've never used it. At a minimum - and since I came up kinda short of wort into the fermenter - do you think I could benefit by adding some distilled water?

Adding water will dilute it, reducing the OG and the resultant FG will be lower too.

It will be a drier beer, but be aware, it won't be more hoppy, because you will be diluting that too.

You are the cook

 

[BilltheBrewer]

@Craigerrr Glad to. It's public under my handle, but this BF link is supposed to work. If not, I'll paste it in.

<iframe width="100%" height="500px" src="https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/embed/1581118" frameborder="0"></iframe>

 

[Craigerrr]

Thank you
If you gravity was astargetted I would leave it and let it ferment. It is your beer though...

 

[Donoroto]

I brewed a 5-gallon harvest ale today, tasted the wort and boy is it malty. Super sweet. I hit my OG; my efficiency was 63.48%. I figure I either underhopped, or somehow shorted myself on water adds during the mash and/or batch sparge. (I haven't pitched yet; it's resting in the fermenter at 68º.) I bittered with 0.5 oz Columbus at 60 min and 0.5 Chinook at 5. These alone should have given me 32.6 IBU. I added 1 oz each of fresh Columbus and Chinook hops (homegrown from mature plants) for 20 minutes during an unchilled whirlpool that started at 170º and ended 10 degrees lower. The BF recipe editor said the fresh hops should have added another 5.8 IBU, and the software appears to adjust for fresh vice leaf or pellets, etc. I've never had my hops tested but they've produced good beer in the past.
The only other possibility I can figure is that I didn't add enough water, as noted. My issue might involve a little of both - or something else entirely. I've poked around a bit for a solution. Can I get away with a distilled water dilution prior to pitching the yeast? An isomerized hop extract addition? (I'm considering a dry hop addition at the tail of fermentation, fwiw, although that won't do much to counter the sweetness.) Thoughts? Appreciated.

Super sweet is normal prior to fermentation. That sweet turns to alcohol.

No rescue needed. Ferment it.

 

[Sandy Feet]

I would be interested in seeing your Harvest Ale recipe
I have a Double Chocolate Cranberry Stout, and a Christmas Ale to brew soon, but I have been wanting to do a harvest ale as well.
Toying with the idea of a Harvest Ale instead of the Christmas Ale.
My Christmas Ale gets Fuggles and Cascade for 37 IBU's, a pound of honey (or equivalent other sugar), as well as some fresh ginger root, and couple of cinnamon sticks. Maybe just removing the ginger and cinnamon would make it more like a Harvest Ale
View attachment 32844
View attachment 32845

John Palmer has a Pumpkin Beer recipe in How to Brew. Isn't a Harvest Ale a Pumpkin Beer without the Pumpkin? (Spices only)