As promised, I've given this a go and here is the report back:
Here is a link BrewToad which shows the recipe I devised called Mike's Double Dragon. I am going to post a version here on HBT in a moment and will include a link to that soon.
http://www.brewtoad.com/recipes/mikes-double-dragon
Edit: here is
the link to the recipe here on HBT.
The recipe is based on the text from this thread which reads:
"20plato OG and the hopping is use Summit for bittering and a blend of Simcoe and Amarillo for flavor, finish and dry-hop. On my Pro-Mash recipe software I target 180 IBUs, but in reality I only extract probably half of that. Ferment it with an American yeast and dry hop it with at least a half ounce per gallon towards the end of primary fermentation."
From that point I basically followed the guidelines from Russian River for creating a double ipa: low use of Crystal malt, mostly 2-row, corn sugar to boost ABV, etc.
So today I finished the second dry hop step and kegged. I pulled a quick sample after kegging and HOT DAMN this is good! I've found myself going back to the tap 3 times for a 4oz sampler.
So it's not quite finished yet. I will post back in a week with a photo and a taste comparison. But here are my initial thoughts:
1) I had an OG of 1.085 and a final gravity of 1.008. That gives this a whopping 10.1% ABV, almost 1% above Founders. Honestly I didn't expect the S-05 to do quite that well! I achieved such high attenuation by keeping fermentation at 68 and swirling the fermenter (which is filled with CO2 and won't oxidize) whenever possible as fermentation died down. I upped the temps to the 70s for one final push on the last day or two.
2) From memory the color is too light. It's a straw color with a slight orange hue from the Munich malt. I'm still thinking about what to do to boost the color, but maybe use crystal 60 instead?
Tasting this early sample, here are my thoughts:
Appearance: Straw with an orange hue. On the light side for an IPA but acceptable. Clear with a very slight haze. Will update with head retention later.
Smell: Hop forward for sure. Pine, grapefruit, passion fruit, apricot, a little boozy.
Taste: Very dry, passion fruit and apricots, nice slick bitterness that coats the back of the tongue and lingers (this is something I notice with Double Trouble as well). A hint of alcohol but very pleasant, I would have guessed 8% ABV, not 10%.
Mouthfeel: Hard to review at this early stage but I would say it is thin, crisp, and flat since it has no carbonation.
Overall: When you can drink it flat, it's a winner. Probably the best I have ever brewed, but also the most involved. The best thing I've had on the east coast.
So there you have it. This is a good one. I'm going to post it in the recipes section in a moment. Pics to follow in a week or so.
-Mike
Twitter: @MikeKGibson
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