Hopaholic IPA

[pdellarocca]

Going to be brewing this one this weekend. Here is my idea for the recipe:

Hopaholic

Expected OG 1.065
IBU 82

Recipe
13lbs two row malt
1lb light Carastan (L15)
0.5lb Crystal (L40)
1oz Simcoe (13%) (60 mins)
1 oz Zythos(10%) (15 mins)
1 oz Cascade (4%) (10 mins)
1 oz Williamette (4.7%) (10 mins)
1 tablespoon Irish Moss
2 packets of Safale-05

What do you all think?

Thanks

 

[chickypad]

I'm not crazy about that hop schedule for an IPA with nothing later than 10 min and no dry hop. I think this might be bitter but not very "hoppy". IMO you've wasting the simcoe at 60 min if that's all you have of it. I'd also personally drop the crystal, you're a little over 10% there, but that's a preference. At the least I'd mash low. What size batch is this by the way, I'm thinking 6 gallon with that OG.

 

[Iansir]

Agreed nothing very hopaholic here. Needs way more 0 addition at least 2 oz in hop stand plus the same dry hop. 0.5 lbs c40 is good.

 

[pdellarocca]

Interesting feedback, thank you for your insight thus far. So, I figure I will add a second addition of Simcoe at 5 mins and move the Cascade to 5 minutes as well. Haven't dry hopped yet but I can definitely give it a try. Any ideas of what I should use for dry hopping? (I was thinking hallertauer).

Thanks

 

[pdellarocca]

Also, Chickypad, my idea was to have an amber-ish coloured ipa. I was going to try to accomplish that with the crystal, do you have any other input about how I can get to that colour?

Thanks

 

[chickypad]

Interesting feedback, thank you for your insight thus far. So, I figure I will add a second addition of Simcoe at 5 mins and move the Cascade to 5 minutes as well. Haven't dry hopped yet but I can definitely give it a try. Any ideas of what I should use for dry hopping? (I was thinking hallertauer).

I would move some of that to flameout - so something like an 1 oz at 10, 5, 0 min, then 2-3 oz dry hop. Simcoe + cascade combo is quite nice, zythos should go fine with those. The willamette might get lost, and I definitely wouldn't use hallertauer in an American IPA.

For color you could keep the C-40 or swap for C-60 and add a couple ounces of chocolate for a red color (roasted barley would do that too). I would drop the carastan - it won't give you much color and as I mentioned 1.5 lb is IMO a lot of crystal in an IPA.

 

[pdellarocca]

Hopaholic

For a picture please visit: http://pdellarocca.wordpress.com/2013/12/11/hopaholic-ipa/

OG 1.045
ABV 5.2
IBU 60
Boil Time 75 minutes
Strike 170 degrees F
Mash 152 degrees F

5 days in primary
8 days in secondary

Recipe
13lbs two row malt
1lb light Carastan (L15)
0.5lb Crystal (L60)
1oz Simcoe (13%) (75 mins)
1oz Zythos(10%) (10 mins)
1oz Cascade (4%) (0 mins)
1oz Williamette (4.7%) (0 mins)
1oz Zythos (10%) (0 mins)
1oz Cascade (4%) (Dryhop)
1oz Zythos (10%) (Dryhop)
1oz Simcoe (13%) (Dryhop)
1oz Columbus (15.2%) (Dryhop)
1 tablespoon Irish Moss
1 packet of Safale-05

Tasting Notes: People seem to be quite satisfied. One of my friends is not an IPA drinker and he said he liked it a great deal. Another friend’s wife doesn’t typically like beer but she had one to herself and loved it.

The smell is fruity and has profound notes of citrus. The scent was aromatic and one could smell peaches, lemon and grapefruit. The taste however was smooth and dry. Grapefruit is quite present in the flavor and the bitterness while not overpowering tickles the back of one’s mouth when tasting.

The color is a light amber color and while the beer came out to be 5.2 ABV (we had some issues during the boil) it turned out to be a success and I will probably alter the recipe to aim to get it within this range for next time (using 9-10 lbs of two row and less volume).

 

[pdellarocca]

So we are looking at brewing version 2.0 of this beer and while family and friends genuinely liked it I wanted to improve on a couple of items. I think it works well in the 5-5.5% abv range. The bitterness is also good where it's at.

What I want to improve is two-fold:

1-Malt complexity (while retaining roughly the same color. Roughly 7-10 SRM)
2-What really went over well were the fruity and citrusy aromas. People that tried it kept referencing, lemon, grapefruit, passion fruit and peaches on the nose. I want to find a way to bring that out even more. I was thinking of incorporating more cascade and using some Citra on the finish.

So here's what I'm thinking:

Recipe
11.5 lbs two-row malt
1lb light Carastan (L15)
1lb white wheat (L3)
1lb Munich (L6)
0.5lb Crystal (L60)
1oz Simcoe (13%) (75 mins)
1oz Cascade (4%) (75 mins)
1oz Zythos(10%) (5 mins)
1oz Cascade (4%) (0 mins)
1oz Williamette (4.7%) (0 mins)
1oz Zythos (10%) (0 mins)
1oz Citra (11%) (0 Mins)
1oz Cascade (4%) (Dryhop)
1oz Zythos (10%) (Dryhop)
1oz Simcoe (13%) (Dryhop)
1 tablespoon Irish Moss
1 packet of Safale-05

Any thoughts?

 

[Jayhem]

Dry hop with 1 oz Zythos, 1 oz Citra, 1 oz Cascade. That's similar to a hop schedule I do and the aroma and flavor is very much citrus/mango/passion fruit. Simcoe is a great hop but it's more "piney" and not really at home if the citrus aroma is what you want.

If you want more malt backbone use 2 lbs of munich. I use 2 lbs of Vienna in my IPA to give it more of a backbone as well as 0.5 lb crystal 60 for body and a nice copper color.

 

[pdellarocca]

Dry hop with 1 oz Zythos, 1 oz Citra, 1 oz Cascade. That's similar to a hop schedule I do and the aroma and flavor is very much citrus/mango/passion fruit. Simcoe is a great hop but it's more "piney" and not really at home if the citrus aroma is what you want.

If you want more malt backbone use 2 lbs of munich. I use 2 lbs of Vienna in my IPA to give it more of a backbone as well as 0.5 lb crystal 60 for body and a nice copper color.

hmmm great ideas... I will definitely take that into consideration.

 

[pdellarocca]

There was one other issue that I forgot to mention. There is a huge sediment at the bottom of these bottles which takes away from its otherwise excellent clarity. How can I resolve this issue?

 

[chickypad]

There was one other issue that I forgot to mention. There is a huge sediment at the bottom of these bottles which takes away from its otherwise excellent clarity. How can I resolve this issue?

What was your fermentation schedule? How do you handle the dry hop? Did you cold crash? If not I would suggest that.

Also, what size batch is this and is something going on with your efficiency? At 15 lbs of grain for a 5 gal I would expect like a 1.080 beer. I like Jayhem's suggestions with the munich and hops.

 

[pdellarocca]

What was your fermentation schedule? How do you handle the dry hop? Did you cold crash? If not I would suggest that.

Also, what size batch is this and is something going on with your efficiency? At 15 lbs of grain for a 5 gal I would expect like a 1.080 beer. I like Jayhem's suggestions with the munich and hops.

As for fermentation schedule, we fermented in primary for about 6 days, until it dropped to 1.008. We then transferred to secondary for 8 days and dry hopped in secondary for the entire time.

Our efficiency hasn't been great usually around 65-70% so a new recipe, given 11 lbs 2-row, 1lb vienna, 1lb carastan, 1lb Munich, and .5 lbs crystal 60, should give me an og of about 1.052-1.056.

As for the cold crash, you mean after the boil? If so yes we did cold crash with a copper coil (it still took about 45 mins to cool down).

 

[kombat]

No, a "cold crash" is performed after fermentation has completed. It refers to moving the fermenter into a refrigerator to cool it down to 0-4° C (32 - 39° F). This causes any chill haze to form and gradually precipitate out, as well as putting the yeast to sleep and having it also fall to the bottom. For an even clearer beer, dose it with some gelatin after it's reached the cold temperature (usually a day or so) and give the gelatin 2-4 days to work its magic. You'll end up with very clear beer.

For dry-hopped IPAs, I modify my cold-crashing/gelatin protocol a little. I've read that in addition to pulling down particulates and sediments, gelatin can also pull out precious hop oils imparted during dry-hopping. So my IPA schedule is this:

• Primary ferment in a 6.5 gallon carboy for 2-3 weeks
• Move fermenter into refrigerator
• 1 day later, add gelatin
• 3-4 days later, remove from fridge and rack to a 5 gallon carboy (minimal headspace) leaving sediment behind
• Allow beer to warm back up to room temperature
• Add dry hops, wait 7 days
• Move carboy back into fridge to cold-crash, but NO gelatin this time. Beer should already be very clear, this cold-crash is just to settle out hop flakes and get it cold to prep it for carbonating in a keg
• Rack beer to a keg and begin carbonating

This gets me VERY clear beer, while preserving all of the aroma from the dry hops.

 

[brewcephus]

As for the cold crash, you mean after the boil? If so yes we did cold crash with a copper coil (it still took about 45 mins to cool down).

That's not a cold crash, thats called chilling the wort. Cold crashing is after fermentation and and dry hopping is finished, you then proceed to "crash" the temperature down to around 34-35* for 24-48 hours before bottling/racking to keg.




edit: damn, kombat beat me to it lol.


@Kombat
I think I may try your cold crash technique on my next IPA. Quick question, do you only keg? I haven't finished my kegerator yet and am curious if this extended method would have any impact on bottle carbing?

 

[m3n00b]

No, a "cold crash" is performed after fermentation has completed. It refers to moving the fermenter into a refrigerator to cool it down to 0-4° C (32 - 39° F). This causes any chill haze to form and gradually precipitate out, as well as putting the yeast to sleep and having it also fall to the bottom. For an even clearer beer, dose it with some gelatin after it's reached the cold temperature (usually a day or so) and give the gelatin 2-4 days to work its magic. You'll end up with very clear beer.

For dry-hopped IPAs, I modify my cold-crashing/gelatin protocol a little. I've read that in addition to pulling down particulates and sediments, gelatin can also pull out precious hop oils imparted during dry-hopping. So my IPA schedule is this:

• Primary ferment in a 6.5 gallon carboy for 2-3 weeks
• Move fermenter into refrigerator
• 1 day later, add gelatin
• 3-4 days later, remove from fridge and rack to a 5 gallon carboy (minimal headspace) leaving sediment behind
• Allow beer to warm back up to room temperature
• Add dry hops, wait 7 days
• Move carboy back into fridge to cold-crash, but NO gelatin this time. Beer should already be very clear, this cold-crash is just to settle out hop flakes and get it cold to prep it for carbonating in a keg
• Rack beer to a keg and begin carbonating

This gets me VERY clear beer, while preserving all of the aroma from the dry hops.

Man I wish I had the patience for a double cold crash.

 

[pdellarocca]

No, a "cold crash" is performed after fermentation has completed. It refers to moving the fermenter into a refrigerator to cool it down to 0-4° C (32 - 39° F). This causes any chill haze to form and gradually precipitate out, as well as putting the yeast to sleep and having it also fall to the bottom. For an even clearer beer, dose it with some gelatin after it's reached the cold temperature (usually a day or so) and give the gelatin 2-4 days to work its magic. You'll end up with very clear beer.

For dry-hopped IPAs, I modify my cold-crashing/gelatin protocol a little. I've read that in addition to pulling down particulates and sediments, gelatin can also pull out precious hop oils imparted during dry-hopping. So my IPA schedule is this:

• Primary ferment in a 6.5 gallon carboy for 2-3 weeks
• Move fermenter into refrigerator
• 1 day later, add gelatin
• 3-4 days later, remove from fridge and rack to a 5 gallon carboy (minimal headspace) leaving sediment behind
• Allow beer to warm back up to room temperature
• Add dry hops, wait 7 days
• Move carboy back into fridge to cold-crash, but NO gelatin this time. Beer should already be very clear, this cold-crash is just to settle out hop flakes and get it cold to prep it for carbonating in a keg
• Rack beer to a keg and begin carbonating

This gets me VERY clear beer, while preserving all of the aroma from the dry hops.

Ok I get the concept. I'm not kegging but bottling instead. I don't see this as having an impact on the process but I figured I'd mention it.

The one issue the my brew partner and I have is that I don't think either of us have the fridge space to cold crash as you've described. So I,ll speak to him and see if we can find a solution.

 

[kombat]

Quick question, do you only keg? I haven't finished my kegerator yet and am curious if this extended method would have any impact on bottle carbing?

Yes, I only keg, but everything I've read says that nothing short of filtering your beer will reduce the yeast cell count below what is necessary to bottle carb. That is, I would expect bottle carbing to still be effective even after double-cold-crashing and gelatin. But I don't have any experience with bottle carbing to back that up.

 

[chickypad]

I was thinking efficiency in the 40's but I see you must be doing 6 gal batches.

For clear beer and little sediment I have better luck just keeping it in primary a full 2-3 wks, the trub gets more tightly compacted and I also get less beer loss. If dry hopping I'll do that for about 5 days then cold crash if bottling, if kegging I don't bother with an additional cold crash as it clears well in the keg. For dry hopping with pellets I do use a large bag as I have trouble getting those to settle out sometimes. I think gelatin might not be wise for bottle carbing - I'd research that. I don't use it so no direct experience.

 

[pdellarocca]

I was thinking efficiency in the 40's but I see you must be doing 6 gal batches.

For clear beer and little sediment I have better luck just keeping it in primary a full 2-3 wks, the trub gets more tightly compacted and I also get less beer loss. If dry hopping I'll do that for about 5 days then cold crash if bottling, if kegging I don't bother with an additional cold crash as it clears well in the keg. For dry hopping with pellets I do use a large bag as I have trouble getting those to settle out sometimes. I think gelatin might not be wise for bottle carbing - I'd research that. I don't use it so no direct experience.

Now that I'm reviewing our notes that batch actually had a little problem during the boil. We actually sparged too much and boiled very close to 8 gallons (so much so that some over boiled over the side). I<m readjusting with my calculator now and this is what I'm thinking:

9lbs 2 row
2 lbs of dark munich (20L)
1 lb light Carastan (15L)
1 lb American White Wheat (3L)
.5 Crystal (60L)

That should get me to an OG of 1.055-1.060