Seeking recommendations for beer blend style to fix IIPA

[EagleDude]

I made a IIPA based on the BCS Pliny recipe, but could not get the Simcoe, so I used Cascade instead. Resulting beer is way, way, way too bitter. All else considered, it is a good clean beer that is just way out of balance with little to no malt and massive hops. As such, I would rather not dump the batch and just brew a "fix-it" brew to blend. I have taken a Miller High Life and blended at 50-50 to make a drinkable and still super hoppy, low malt blend, so I think there is some potential for brewing a second batch and blending successfully.

There are two areas for suggestions. 1) what commercial beers would you suggest using for a "test" blend to help identify the type of beer I should make? 2) What styles/recipes would you suggest I brew for this blend?

Initial thoughts here are a lightly hopped cream ale, brown ale, a malty red ale, or the same BCS Pliny recipe without the hops.

Thoughts?

[brewinhard]

Ummmmmm....double IPA's are supposed to have a huge bitterness along with massive hop flavor and aroma. Did you expect this style to be more malty? Done right, these beers should be dry and very bitter with complex hop aromas and flavor. Maybe instead of blending this one you could just let it age for a few mos to reduce some of the hop profile. If you don't want to go that route then I would brew a simple american blonde ale and blend the two together. That should put you in the right ballpark.

[EagleDude]

Ummmmmm....double IPA's are supposed to have a huge bitterness along with massive hop flavor and aroma. Did you expect this style to be more malty? Done right, these beers should be dry and very bitter with complex hop aromas and flavor. Maybe instead of blending this one you could just let it age for a few mos to reduce some of the hop profile. If you don't want to go that route then I would brew a simple american blonde ale and blend the two together. That should put you in the right ballpark.

Yeah, Yeah, Yeah ... I guess it does sound a little odd to be complaining about the over-the-top hop character in a IIPA. I have brewed IIPAs that were absolutely amazing and drank commercial IIPA's that are incredible. On the other hand, there are other commercial IIPA's that are completely undrinkable IMO ... I tend to dislike excessive citrus and grapefruit hop flavours which is what I got with the cascade substitute.

Update: I tried a 50-50 blend with a SN porter and ended up with a real tasty dark IPA. A little more chocolate character and it wouldn't be too far off of Tasty's Janets Brown.

[Bugeater]

Try blending it with something like O'dells 90 Shilling or some other nice scottish ale. The malt should help balance out the hops a bit. I know what you mean about the hop bitterness being too much. You basically don't have enough malt backbone to support the bitterness. Mixing with a typical NAIL (north american industrial lager) won't work because they are way too dry. They don't need a malt backbone because they have so little bitterness.

Wayne

[dminnery]

When did you brew this? I'd let it sit for a 4-8 weeks to let the malt develop a bit and the bitterness will mellow, you could still dryhop at that point as well.

[mabrungard]

If this IIPA was brewed to the proper high strength, there is no way that its too bitter. The maximum bittering level achievable in any beer is about 80 IBU. Therefore, its more likely that you have another problem. Is there no malt character? Is there an infection that zapped the malt? Is there a tannic or polyphenolic taste cluttering the flavor?

I don't dispute that something is wrong. Its just that its probably not the bittering level.

[GrassMan]

Dear Mabrubgard,
Little to no malt is a definite characteristic of IIPA. i can't see why that would even come into play with Eagle Dude's question. It's not a matter of infection or poor brewing in any way.

As anyone who is a fan of IIPA knows, they span a wide spectrum of malts and hops, with one side of the spectrum being low malt, with tons of aroma and very low (perceived) bittering (AKA pliny the elder circa 2008-9). I assume that's what ED was going for, and that's my favorite IIPA version as well.

ED just wants an answer on what he can brew to mix with this beer to bring it back to the style he likes to drink. PERIOD. Offer suggestions on that or not. Best GM

[Quin]

... or the same BCS Pliny recipe without the hops.

Thoughts?

That's what I would try but maybe with about 30-40 IBUs total bittering and same dry hops so that any blend beer left over is something drinkable.