Thoughts on my recipe - IIPA

[jaymclean]

I made a similar batch to this before and it came out great, just some minor changes to the grain bill and a change/addition in hops. This is a 5g batch that I'm planning on brewing this Sunday.

16 lbs 2-Row
4 lbs Amber Malt
1 lb Carapils

Mash at 150F(cooler tun), batch sparge at 168F.

2 oz Amarillo
1 oz Simcoe
1 oz Warrior
1 oz Citra
All are "continually" hopped, ala DFH style, starting at 90 min and then about every 7-8 minutes.

Using WLP001 that I collected from a previous batch. Already started stepping it up. Fermenting in swamp cooler at about 65-67F.

Dry hopping with 1 oz each of Amarillo, Citra and Simcoe after fermentation.

Beersmith estimates the following:
Estimated OG: 1.099 SG
Estimated Color: 11.7 SRM
Estimated IBU: 124.2 IBUs

Anyone have any thoughts, comments, glaring errors, disparaging remarks?

 

[motorneuron]

You might consider replacing some of the 2-row with sugar. That will help the beer attenuate more fully, and so avoid getting something more like an American barley wine. 1.099 is a high OG, after all, and even if you hit 80% apparent attenuation you'd be at 1.020 FG, which is pretty high. Alternatively, if you're okay with a somewhat sweeter beer, you might consider increasing the hops to balance it out. 120 calculated IBUs isn't actually THAT high for an IIPA, and a 1.020 FG can support more. I guess in sum, I feel like you're in an interesting hybrid position here between an IIPA and a barley wine.

I'm intrigued by the amber malt. The more generic mix I see is mostly 2-row, plus some sugar, possibly some carapils/wheat, and some 40L or 60L crystal. What kind of flavors did the previous batch have?

 

[jaymclean]

The previous batch only had 2 lbs of Amber and no Carapils. There was also no Citra in there and the dry hop was a different blend. Overall, it only had a very slight malt flavor to it and was mostly hops and the amber is mostly for color, at least in the last one. I also had done it as a biab because I didn't have my MT built yet. This time I was trying to go a little bigger on the beer and more hoppy.

 

[jaymclean]

Well, I changed it a bit and here's what I ended up with.

16 lbs 2-Row
4 lbs Amber Malt
2 lb Carapils

Intention was to mash at 150F(cooler tun), batch sparge at 168F, but my thermometer died and the replacement I got on short notice wasn't exactly accurate and I ended up with a lower OG of 1.074. Calculating in the corn sugar added later and it's back up to about 1.107

3 oz Amarillo
2 oz Simcoe
1 oz Warrior
2 oz Citra
All are "continually" hopped, ala DFH style, starting at 90 min and then about every 7-8 minutes.

It's been fermenting in swamp cooler at about 65-67F.

Added 4lbs corn sugar(boiled in water) after the krausen started to settle, 1lb a day over 4 days.

Dry hopping with 1 oz each of Amarillo, Citra and Simcoe after fermentation.
3-4 days later dry hopping with another 1 oz each of Amarillo, Citra and Simcoe.

BeerSmith puts the IBU at about 205, but that's just a calculated guess. It's still bubbling away at this point. Took a sample last night before adding the last lb of sugar and it was reading 1.020, so the yeast seems to be enjoying it's work so far. Obviously it's very green, but I couldn't resist tasting the sample. It's very citrusy at the moment, but overall had an interesting yet pleasant taste, even at this early stage. Can't wait to taste the final product. BeerSmith is clocking it in around 13% abv if it finishes out at 1.010 FG, but we'll see.

 

[eric_618]

That sounds kickass! Any chance for an extract conversion?

 

[Yooper]

Wow- that's a LOT of amber malt (and carapils)! Let us know how it comes out. I use 6 ounces of amber malt in my IPA recipe, and it's noticeable so I'd be very afraid of using so much. I'm curious to see how it ends up. Keep us posted!

 

[jaymclean]

That sounds kickass! Any chance for an extract conversion?

According to BeerSmith, use the following:

15lbs 7.9oz Pale Liquid Extract (8.0 SRM)
2lbs 7.6oz Carpils (1.5 SRM)
14.3oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 20L (20.0 SRM)

Everything else would remain the same. **I make no claims to the accuracy of this conversion, I simply opened my recipe and selected convert. If you have BeerSmith, I'd be happy to give you a copy of the recipe to import and play with.

Wow- that's a LOT of amber malt (and carapils)! Let us know how it comes out. I use 6 ounces of amber malt in my IPA recipe, and it's noticeable so I'd be very afraid of using so much. I'm curious to see how it ends up. Keep us posted!

I'll be sure to post a follow up on here when it's on tap. I used 2lbs of amber in a previous IPA and it was really good, the hops stand out more than anything. This one has twice the hops of my previous one, along with around 50% more ABV it seems. I was pretty impressed with the sample I took the other day and I can only imagine it will be better when it's actually done fermenting and had a little time to age. It's finally down to bubbling about once every 3 seconds now after a week at around 66-68.

 

[jglazer]

I know you already brewed it but I would have doubled the dry hop dosage (which you may still be able to . Maybe even dry hop in 2 stages with 1 oz of each for 4-5 days then another 1oz of each for 4-5 days after you take the first additions out.

 

[DerCribben]

Holy crap 205 IBU's!! And I thought my 129 IBU IIPA was serious... Subscribed! Very interested to hear how this turns out!

 

[eric_618]

According to BeerSmith, use the following:

15lbs 7.9oz Pale Liquid Extract (8.0 SRM)
2lbs 7.6oz Carpils (1.5 SRM)
14.3oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 20L (20.0 SRM)

Everything else would remain the same. **I make no claims to the accuracy of this conversion, I simply opened my recipe and selected convert. If you have BeerSmith, I'd be happy to give you a copy of the recipe to import and play with...

Thanks so much! And I do have BeerSmith.

 

[nicklepickles]

Well, I changed it a bit and here's what I ended up with.

16 lbs 2-Row
4 lbs Amber Malt
2 lb Carapils

Intention was to mash at 150F(cooler tun), batch sparge at 168F, but my thermometer died and the replacement I got on short notice wasn't exactly accurate and I ended up with a lower OG of 1.074. Calculating in the corn sugar added later and it's back up to about 1.107

3 oz Amarillo
2 oz Simcoe
1 oz Warrior
2 oz Citra
All are "continually" hopped, ala DFH style, starting at 90 min and then about every 7-8 minutes.

It's been fermenting in swamp cooler at about 65-67F.

Added 4lbs corn sugar(boiled in water) after the krausen started to settle, 1lb a day over 4 days.

Dry hopping with 1 oz each of Amarillo, Citra and Simcoe after fermentation.

BeerSmith puts the IBU at about 205, but that's just a calculated guess. It's still bubbling away at this point. Took a sample last night before adding the last lb of sugar and it was reading 1.020, so the yeast seems to be enjoying it's work so far. Obviously it's very green, but I couldn't resist tasting the sample. It's very citrusy at the moment, but overall had an interesting yet pleasant taste, even at this early stage. Can't wait to taste the final product. BeerSmith is clocking it in around 13% abv if it finishes out at 1.010 FG, but we'll see.

4 lbs corn sugar?? Probably going to get some cideryness in the final beer id imagine...

 

[jaymclean]

4 lbs corn sugar?? Probably going to get some cideryness in the final beer id imagine...

I read that in a number of places and came across the thread below in my research that explains the origins of the cider myths. A lot of high ABV beers use sugars to get there, search any DFH 120 minute clone and you'll find varying degrees of dextrose usage. I'll know for certain when I finally put it on tap though.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f14/adding-sugar-your-beer-not-going-make-taste-like-freakin-cider-90498/

 

[nicklepickles]

I read that in a number of places and came across the thread below in my research that explains the origins of the cider myths. A lot of high ABV beers use sugars to get there, search any DFH 120 minute clone and you'll find varying degrees of dextrose usage. I'll know for certain when I finally put it on tap though.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f14/adding-sugar-your-beer-not-going-make-taste-like-freakin-cider-90498/

That may be, but i dont think dfh 120 is a good example, as its by far the sweetest iipa out there and (imo) a terrible example of the style, but thats just me.
If youre in to that kind of thing then all power to you, i just find that for iipas a better way to increase abv is to lower the fg rather than increase og. Definitely update on this though, you may be on to something

 

[jaymclean]

That may be, but i dont think dfh 120 is a good example, as its by far the sweetest iipa out there and (imo) a terrible example of the style, but thats just me.
If youre in to that kind of thing then all power to you, i just find that for iipas a better way to increase abv is to lower the fg rather than increase og. Definitely update on this though, you may be on to something

Agreed, DFH is an extreme example and isn't exactly the flavor I'm going for. This one is more about the hops than anything, as an IPA should be. I chose to use the sugar to compensate for my off mashing temps(bad thermometer) and to help get the FG down. It wasn't part of my original recipe, but we'll know in time if it works out. I'll be sure to post updates when it's ready along with a photo of the final product.

 

[jaymclean]

Well, 11 full days in the primary so far and it's down to 1.010 today, but it's dropped .001 a day the last couple of days, so it may keep going a little bit more. It has a nice citrusy aroma and flavor to it right now along with a noticeable alcohol taste. Based on the math, its at 13% right now.

Do you think I should let it keep going at 68F for a few more days and check the FG again, bring it up to 75F room temp to finish it off, or crash it? I was planning a 2nd dose of dry hops as well. It currently has 8oz from the boil and 3oz I added yesterday. I'm sure this one is going to require a little more aging than my previous batches.

 

[Yooper]

Well, 11 full days in the primary so far and it's down to 1.010 today, but it's dropped .001 a day the last couple of days, so it may keep going a little bit more. It has a nice citrusy aroma and flavor to it right now along with a noticeable alcohol taste. Based on the math, its at 13% right now.

Do you think I should let it keep going at 68F for a few more days and check the FG again, bring it up to 75F room temp to finish it off, or crash it? I was planning a 2nd dose of dry hops as well. It currently has 8oz from the boil and 3oz I added yesterday. I'm sure this one is going to require a little more aging than my previous batches.

It's probably not going to go lower, but it still could drop a point or two. I'd either leave it be, or rise the temperature to no more than 72 degrees.

After it's done, it will be ready for dryhopping.

 

[jaymclean]

Thanks. Maybe I just won't add any ice bottles tonight then, that should bring it up to the 70F range and I'll just put less in tomorrow to keep it there. I started the dry hop a little early yesterday thinking it wasn't going to really get any lower. I'll guess I'll head to the LHBS tomorrow to get another 3 ounces for a 2nd dry hop as well. I'm thinking a 2nd does may help even it out a little anyway.

 

[jaymclean]

It finally made it to 70F today and the FG is at 1.008. I plan on doing another dose of dry hops tomorrow or Monday and we'll see how it goes from there. I'm thinking this is going to be a 3 month beer at this rate. On a good note, I tapped my first Kolsch today and its pretty good. Not quite like the IPAs I'm used to, but good and very drinkable.

 

[jglazer]

It finally made it to 70F today and the FG is at 1.008. I plan on doing another dose of dry hops tomorrow or Monday and we'll see how it goes from there. I'm thinking this is going to be a 3 month beer at this rate. On a good note, I tapped my first Kolsch today and its pretty good. Not quite like the IPAs I'm used to, but good and very drinkable.

If you age this for 3 months if will lose a ton of hop aroma and some hop flavor. Are you aging it just because of the alcohol bite?

 

[jaymclean]

If you age this for 3 months if will lose a ton of hop aroma and some hop flavor. Are you aging it just because of the alcohol bite?

Yes, mostly because of the alcohol bite. I'll be aging it in the keg it'll be served from, so I'm hoping not to lose too much since it'll be a sealed environment. Also, by 3 months I meant total time. It'll be about 3 weeks in the primary and then I plan to crash in in the keezer at around 35F for a week to get everything to drop out. After that, it'll go into a keg and sit in the keezer for at least a few more weeks.

 

[jglazer]

Ah ok then that sounds good to me. Take a few samples here and there as it ages to know when it gets to that sweet spot

 

[jaymclean]

Well, it's off to the keg for some aging. I had it crashing in the keezer for the last 5 days or so and it looks like everything has dropped out nicely. Took a sample and it's the same as the last one, 1.008 which gives me a final, albeit mathematical, ABV of 13.2. I've got to say the WLP001 does a really good job even though it was harvested from another batch 6 months before pitched in this one. The alcohol taste is gone now and it is quite fruity/citrusy now due to the hops. I ended up doing 2 sets of dry hops, 3oz each, about 3 days apart. I'll update the recipe shortly to reflect that. Anyway, here are some pics of it. Now I just need to name it...

5.5 gallons of drunken hops next to my Kolsch.


FG/Taste Sample

 

[jaymclean]

Well, it was different. Not something I would necessarily buy at a store. It was drinkable, albeit in small 8oz Solo cups to prevent total inebriation. It received mixed reviews from friends, some liked it and wouldn't leave until 2am and other stuck with the Kolsch. It's actually almost gone now, I'm down to probably less than a gallon, and making room for the Gingerbread IPA that's patiently waiting in a keg in the keezer.

 

[guinnessface]

That looks like a winner. I love using citra and I found that dry-hopping with 1 oz whole leaf makes all the difference. Like motorneuron mentioned, sugar might help. I brew an IIPA with a pound of honey and it helps with crispness and attenuation. Just a few things to consider. Best of luck!