Three days into fermenting beer and getting really sharp, bitter flavors, will that mellow out?

I'm 3 days into fermenting my IPA in a Fermentasaurus under pressure (if it makes a difference) and I've just taken a hydrometer reading, all better than expected. The beer looks beautiful and hazy, smells great and tastes mostly delicious already.

However, there's a sharp, bitter afterflavor on it. Is this normal while it's fermenting for another few weeks, does that mellow out after a while?

The reason I'm asking is because I am ready to start dry hopping but I don't want to over-hop this beer if it's going to keep it's sharp hop burn already.

Recipe:

Malts (5.7 kg)

  • 5 kg (74.1%) — Pale Ale — Grain — 6.5 EBC
  • 700 g (10.4%) — Thomas Fawcett Pale Malt, Maris Otter — Grain — 5.9 EBC

Other (1.05 kg)

  • 700 g (10.4%) — Flaked Oats — Adjunct — 4.3 EBC
  • 350 g (5.2%) — Brown Sugar, Light — Sugar — 15.8 EBC

Hops (335 g)

  • 15 g (25 IBU) — Columbus 15% — Boil — 75 min
  • 60 g (25 IBU) — Citra 11% — Boil — 10 min
  • 20 g (12 IBU) — Columbus 15% — Boil — 10 min
  • 60 g — Citra 11% — Boil — 0 min
  • 40 g — Centennial 10% — Boil — 0 min
  • 20 g — Columbus 15% — Boil — 0 min
  • 60 g — Citra 11% — Dry Hop — 3 days
  • 40 g — Centennial 10% — Dry Hop — 3 days
  • 20 g — Columbus 15% — Dry Hop — 3 days

Yeast

  • 2 pkg — White Labs WLP007 Dry English Ale

Topic bitterness dry-hop fermentation homebrew

Category Mac


If it's still fermenting, you're likely just experiencing the hops still in suspension. After fermentation is complete, a LOT of this material and the associated bitterness will drop out of suspension. In other words, it is very normal for a beer, of ANY style, to taste very bitter after just 3 days of fermentation, then to have it all mellow out after the fermentation is complete, and especially later after a couple weeks of conditioning in the bottle or keg.

Personally I don't think you'll need to add any more hops, as the existing hop charges are pretty high already. I might suggest splitting the batch if possible, adding more dry hops to part of the batch but not the other, then after the beer is finished and carbonated, see if you can taste the difference. I'm not sure I could.

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