Final Brew Before Moving to Seattle - Double IPA

Hello fellow HomeBrew Talkers,

I'm getting ready for a move from Pittsburgh to Seattle at the end of May, and I figured I may as well go out with a bang -- you know, give my friends something to remember me by or whatever. I figure, what better style to brew than a double IPA?

I recently got some hops in the mail, and I'm all set to brew next week. It's my first time brewing something this big, so I hope I don't mess it up.

A couple questions for those who have the time to help:

1. Mash pH. I never really got around to tracking down a Pittsburgh water profile, but if I understand correctly, our water has moderate hardness, and it's got a relatively high pH. This will be the palest beer I've brewed yet, in terms of the grains I'm using (mostly pale malt; the recipe is below), so would it be wise to include an ounce or two of acidulated malt? Is there a better option? pH buffer? I've never used either before, but feel it might be necessary for this batch. Or should I just leave my water alone and assume that the ridiculous hop bill would cover any astringency extracted from the grains?

2. Hop Choices. I've never brewed with Columbus or Summit before. I'm imagining a dank (columbus?) and puckering (summit) bitterness with a mildly fruity, piney backbone (mosaic, simcoe, amarillo). No idea if that's how this will actually turn out, but there's one way to find out. I'm hoping to avoid getting too much of that fabled onion note from summit. Does my hop bill raise any alarm bells in anyone's eyes?

Any other comments or suggestions will be greatly appreciated!

I'll be stepping up the starter a few days prior to brewing, and making sure to aerate the wort as best I can prior to pitching. I'll also be closely monitoring fermentation temps. If I'm going to do this, I want to do it the right way!

:rockin:

Recipe: Fair Whale Double Pale Ale
Brewer: troysoy2
Style: Imperial IPA
TYPE: All Grain
Recipe Specifications
--------------------------

Batch Size (fermenter): 5.25 gal
Estimated OG: 1.080 SG
Target FG: 1.014 SG (8.8% ABV)
Estimated Color: 6.2 SRM
Estimated IBU: 161.0 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 74.5 %
Boil Time: 90 Minutes
Ingredients:
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Amt Name Type # %/IBU
Fermentables
14 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 1 88.9 %
8.0 oz Munich I (Weyermann) (7.1 SRM) Grain 2 3.2 %
5.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L (40.0 SRM) Grain 3 2.0 %
15.0 oz Corn Sugar (Dextrose) (0.0 SRM) Sugar 4 5.9 %
Kettle Additions
1.50 oz Summit [17.00 %] - Boil 90.0 min Hop 5 79.1 IBUs
2.00 oz Summit [17.00 %] - Boil 30.0 min Hop 6 75.8 IBUs
0.50 tsp Irish Moss (Boil 15.0 mins) Fining 7 -
2.00 oz Amarillo Gold [8.50 %] - Boil 3.0 min Hop 8 6.1 IBUs
0.50 tsp Yeast Nutrient (Boil 1.0 mins) Other 9 -
Flameout - Allow to steep for 5 minutes before cooling w/ immersion chiller
2.50 oz Mosaic [12.00 %] - Aroma Steep 15.0 min Hop 10 0.0 IBUs
2.00 oz Columbus (Tomahawk) [14.00 %] - Aroma St Hop 11 0.0 IBUs
Yeast
1.0 pkg California Ale V (White Labs #WLP051) 1.2 L starter w/ stir plate -
Dry Hop 1 - 5 Days in Primary, added just before the end of fermentation
1.50 oz Columbus (Tomahawk)
0.50 oz Summit
Dry Hop 2 - 6 Days in Secondary
1.50 oz Mosaic [12.00 %]
1.00 oz Simcoe [13.00 %]
0.50 oz Columbus (Tomahawk)

Mash Schedule: Single Infusion - 150 Degrees F
Total Grain Weight: 14 lbs 13.0 oz

Your recipe and processes look good. It appears that you have a better handle than most novice homebrewers on the American IIPA style. Minor tweaks, if any, would be needed and likely based on personal preference. For me, I would remove the 90 minute summit addition and instead start your rolling boil at 90 with no hops for the first 30 minutes, then add 80-100 IBUs Columbus at 60 min. You'll have a better hot break with better hop character overall and limit the possibility of onionyness taking over.

Try to do a warm whirlpool & flameout for best results. A longer steep than 15 minutes will definitely help to offer maximum aroma potential. If you want more fruity, then don't boil your Amarillo and Mosaic - keep them in the sub 170 F whirlpool & dryhop. If you want something more dank/resiny, then focus on Columbus, Simcoe, & Summit. At most, add a portion of the fruity hops at direct flameout.

5% Munich and 3% C40 would help to be more noticeable without being detracting, but subtract this from the 2-row and keep the sugar at 6%. I might even toss some wheat malt in there for better head retention.

For IIPA water, you want high hardness and low alkalinity. If your alkalinity is above 50 ppm, then acidulated malt, phosphoric or lactic acid additions can help. pH of water is less important than pH of your mash. City water pH is most likely in a range of 7.7-8.2.

For a more detailed analysis of water treatments for IIPAs, you'll need to know your inorganic mineral content of the water you're brewing with. I like a 3:1 ratio of sulfate to chloride, magnesium and sodium both under 20 ppm, and enough calcium to support yeast health and boost hardness to appropriate levels (100 ppm++). Post your specifics in the Brew Science forum. One of the whiz kids over there could help you out a lot better than the lurkers of the Recipes forum.

Nice! Thanks for the very detailed feedback, EyePeeA. Very appropriate username, by the way.

Interesting that you would hold off on adding the bittering addition until 60 minutes, even with a 90 minute boil. I'll have to do some research on the subject. I hadn't thought about it making much of a difference besides the negligible increase in alpha acid utilization. Cool.

I'll definitely make a final decision on whether I want to focus on dank or fruity hop character. Good call. Maybe I'll focus on Dank/resin: add a slightly reduced amount of Mosaic and Amarillo directly at flameout, chill to 170 or so, and add the CTZ and some Simcoe for a 15+ minute whirlpool.

Also some very good points regarding the grain bill and water. I'm aiming to have a pretty simple malt character, but a hint more Munich and C40 couldn't hurt. I see that water chemistry may take a little more investigation before I come to a conclusion.

Thanks again for taking the time to push me in the right direction! Much appreciated.