Ballast points sculpin IPA

[in_a_days]

The extract version is absolutely delicious, you will love it. I would recommend only dry-hopping for 7 days, max. If you leave it any longer, you can really pull some grassy flavors which detract from the beer. Make sure to quietly stir the beer in the secondary on day 2 and 4 of the 7 day dry hop to get the hops touching all the beer. I have really noticed a big improvement in the strength of the aroma of my beers by doing this. After the hops settle (day 6), I usually cold crash for a day to get most of the hops to settle to the bottom, then keg (usually force carb because I am too impatient to wait because it's so damn good!)

Thank you, I appreciate your suggestion and endorsement of the recipe! If I may submit a noob question/scenario... I'm not sold on a secondary fermentor. I was planning siphoning into a pot with water and priming sugar, and going straight to bottles. I'm not really hung up on 'clairity.' But I have also been considering options! I have considered getting a 'bottling bucket,' 'cause that seems like it will be a lot easier and cleaner than bottling via siphon-tube. And if I'm going to get a bottling bucket, why not utilize it as a secondary, right? Would there be any harm in picking up a 'bottling bucket' to use a secondary and dry hop after transfer? I can handle patience.

When transferring to secondary, is siphoning standard procedure vs just pouring the bucket? If the emphasis of secondary is on clarity, do I want to transfer fluid only and no yeast sediment? Thank you again for the feedback!

 

[AOD]

You SHOULD get a bottling bucket, it's not very expensive. Be sure to use PBW on it and the fermenter after the beer is bottled to clean everything well.

I have made 196 beers the last 5 years and I've secondaried maybe 4 of them. When I switched over to kegs, that technically becomes my secondary. As a new homebrewer, I'd encourage you to just use the primary as you planned. Keep it simple for now and focus on the basics of being clean and cleaning.

I would recommend only dry-hopping for 7 days, max. If you leave it any longer, you can really pull some grassy flavors which detract from the beer. Make sure to quietly stir the beer in the secondary on day 2 and 4 of the 7 day dry hop to get the hops touching all the beer.

The grassy flavor from hops doesn't just come from time. I dry hop most beers 10-14 days with no major problems. Whole hops and the type of hop can cause grassiness. I agree the stirring method may help mix the hops better, but again, for a new homebrewer, I wouldn't reccomend this.

This beer is 3 ounces of dry hop, which is killer. Enjoy!

~Adam

 

[jimlin]

Hey Adam, I'm about to use Mosaic for the first time, and was thinking a big west coast IPA to do it with. Thinking about the Sculpin grain bill, but bittering with Magnum and then flavor and aroma with Chinook and Mosaic, heavier with the Mosaic. Same two hops for dry hopping, again, more Mosaic than Chinook. Probably also skip mash or first wort hops and bitter at 60.

Have you used Mosaic in other brews?

jim

+1 on the post above, I did this beer using the 1.062 OG and a very low mash temperature. I mixed Mosaic hop into the mix, but kept the amount and timing the same for the 60/30/0 hop additions.

I was told not to worry too much about the specialty grains, just make it light enough to let the hops shine. I came up with the following, but if you don't have Mosaic, just adjust the beer until you get 51 IBU for 60 minute, 15 for 30 minute and go big on the knockout and dry hop.

6.0 Gal Batch
7.0 Gal PreBoil
72% Mash Effy
OG 1.062
FG 1.009
IBU 77

12 lb American 2-Row
1 lb Carapils
1 lb Crystal 10L
0.25 CaraMunich
Mash 148-149F

1.0 oz Amarillo - Mash Hop (9 IBU)
1.5 oz Mosaic - 60 min (51 IBU)
0.6 oz Mosaic - 30 min (15 IBU)
1.4 oz Mosaic - 0 min / Whirlpool
1.0 oz Amarillo Dry Hop
1.0 oz Simcoe Dry Hop
(Optional: I added 2.0 oz Mosaic Dry Hop)

Wyeast 1056

Awesome beer.

~Adam

 

[AOD]

Have you used Mosaic in other brews?

Sure have! I think 3-4 beers now. I made an IPA where I used Mosaic at 60, 20, 15, 10, 5, 0, WP, DH. Single all the way through and it was amazing.

I recently just kegged an imperial red (oak aged, dry hopped) with both Mosaic and Simcoe. I used only Simcoe the first time I brewed it and this new batch came out well. Great aroma.

Shoot me a PM or email if you have specific questions. Cheers!

~Adam

 

[Charmin1073]

Just cracked open one of the grapefruit variations of the sculpin. Don't think they are going to last very long. Great summer IPA. Gonna have to brew another batch soon. Cheers.

 

[richlong8020]

Just made this clone yesterday. Very excited to see how it turns out. It's fun to watch the fermentation get crazy in the blowoff tube.

 

[Remmy]

My Sculpin has been fermenting for two days now. Smells good. My OG was 1.060

 

[m3n00b]

This is my favorite IPA. Can't wait to brew it.

 

[jimlin]

Finally brewed yesterday. Went with the North Star grain bill... or so I thought. I subbed the CaraVienne with C40 and not C20. C20 is supposed to be closer, but I had a brain fart at the LHBS. Ah well.

12.5 lb 2-row
1 lb carapils
1 lb C10
0.5 lb C40

24g magnum @60
28g Mosaic and 14g of Chinook @ 20
28g Mosaic and 14g of Chinook @ 5

Will dry hop with Mosaic and Chinook

Was all over the place with my numbers unfortunately. Preboil was suppsed to be 1.051, and I got 1.054. Not a big deal, I figured I'd just be sure not to boil to vigorously. Unfortunately, my boil-off was WAY less than I anticipated, so I actually came up 3pt lower than my originally anticipated gravity. Anticipated 1.064, ended up with 1.061.

Second brew in a row that I got higher efficiency than my typical 70%. New mill at the LHBS is likely the cause. I can adjust for that next time. The boil-off... I stupidly didn't adjust it now that the season has changed. Winter brewing saw a much larger boil-off percentage due to the cold temps and dry air during New England winters.

But, overall, pretty uneventful. Hoping the beer finishes dry so as not to be more bitter than I intended, seeing that I was low on the OG by a few pts.

 

[AOD]

I rebrewed my recipe posted above on Friday. Mosaic hops are the beans if you haven't used them yet, but any IPA hop (or blend of hops) will work great in this recipe.

Jim, my effy was low too...not sure what happened exactly. My preboil was a couple points down so I added a little DME to bump it. Should be OK.

Just to reitterate for folks who haven't brewed this, Target OG should be 1.063, mash low @148-149 or replace 0.5-0.75 lb extract with corn sugar to dry the beer out.

Cheers,
~Adam

 

[jimlin]

I rebrewed my recipe posted above on Friday. Mosaic hops are the beans if you haven't used them yet, but any IPA hop (or blend of hops) will work great in this recipe.

Jim, my effy was low too...not sure what happened exactly. My preboil was a couple points down so I added a little DME to bump it. Should be OK.

Just to reitterate for folks who haven't brewed this, Target OG should be 1.063, mash low @148-149 or replace 0.5-0.75 lb extract with corn sugar to dry the beer out.

Cheers,
~Adam

I've found with my system, I tend to have to aim 2 degrees higher than recipes call for. So my 152 should dry out pretty well. But we'll see. Suppose I could boil up a little sugar to add to the fermenter, but I'll probably just let it go as is

 

[tgmartin000]

I was able to get a couple Sculpins when we visited San Diego last year - thought it was amazing and hope to brew it soon.

In the meantime, any locals interested in doing a beer trade? I live in Denver, so we've got plenty of worthy beers to trade. Hit me up!!!!

 

[zandrsn]

No, that's correct. IBU formulas don't work for West Coast IPAs. Pliny calculates at like 240IBU (Rager), where in reality it's around 90.

So just ignore what the formula says, and carry on.

hi all, I realize this is an old thread, just wondering about the IBU calculations as I plan to brew a sculpin inspired IPA this weekend. Is this true? I can't find any info to back this up... I generally calculate using Tinseth, and my clone recipe is coming out around 90+ ibus...

 

[jimlin]

After 16 days (last week dryhopping in secondary with 2 oz Mosaic, 1 oz Chinook) it's down to 1.011. The gravity sample I took smells amazing! Reminded me of the complexity of Lagunitas' lil sumpin sumpin aroma. Should be kegging it within the week. Might cold crash it tonight for a few days first.

 

[SDbrewerJake]

After 16 days (last week dryhopping in secondary with 2 oz Mosaic, 1 oz Chinook) it's down to 1.011. The gravity sample I took smells amazing! Reminded me of the complexity of Lagunitas' lil sumpin sumpin aroma. Should be kegging it within the week. Might cold crash it tonight for a few days first.

Right on man. I'm fixing to make the extract clone in the op to a T and wanted to do a side by side. Take a picture of your final product.

Sculpin>Pliny Yeah... I said it.

 

[tgmartin000]

Anyone tried the clone kit from Austin Homebrew?

 

[SDbrewerJake]

Anyone tried the clone kit from Austin Homebrew?

Just checked that site out. You can buy all their ingredients and hops, caps, yeast etc... From more beer for way less than 60. I'm getting all the ingredients with an extra bucket, caps, starsan, and tons of extra hops based off this recipe for only 77 and that is free shipping.

 

[m3n00b]

Just checked that site out. You can buy all their ingredients and hops, caps, yeast etc... From more beer for way less than 60. I'm getting all the ingredients with an extra bucket, caps, starsan, and tons of extra hops based off this recipe for only 77 and that is free shipping.

I can't find their list of ingredients...

 

[SDbrewerJake]

They don't have the hops on there but they say its 7 lbs lme and 2 lbs dme(light on both im sure) with steeping grains. Not sure what steeping grains but nonetheless you can get that for dirt cheap on more beer as well. Maybe check some of the other guys' ag kits they used on this thread for a steeping grain. Or... Try the original recipe in the op.

 

[m3n00b]

They don't have the hops on there but they say its 7 lbs lme and 2 lbs dme(light on both im sure) with steeping grains. Not sure what steeping grains but nonetheless you can get that for dirt cheap on more beer as well. Maybe check some of the other guys' ag kits they used on this thread for a steeping grain. Or... Try the original recipe in the op.

Exactly why I was asking for a list. I want to know what the grains/hops are.

 

[Remmy]

Dry-hopped my Sculpin last week. Going to bottle this weekend. FG was 1.012. 6% ABV...not the 7% I had hoped for. It does taste pretty good, though.

 

[m3n00b]

Dry-hopped my Sculpin last week. Going to bottle this weekend. FG was 1.012. 6% ABV...not the 7% I had hoped for. It does taste pretty good, though.

Just makes it easier to drink more!!

 

[SDbrewerJake]

This brew is exact to the op. Bottling on Sunday and will crack one open on thursday and do a side by side picture and comparison on this thread.

 

[Remmy]

Here's my Sculpin after 1.5 weeks of carb.

 

[jimlin]

Right on man. I'm fixing to make the extract clone in the op to a T and wanted to do a side by side. Take a picture of your final product.

Sculpin>Pliny Yeah... I said it.

My mosaic/chinook ipa based on the grist from the sculpin recipe in this thread. Mistakenly replaced the caravienne with c40 instead of c20, so a tad bit darker than Sculpin but still delicious. Not crystal-free like some insist West Coast IPAs be, but I don't care. 6.8%, approx 80 IBU (rager), but doesn't taste that bitter. Mosaic hops offer up a ton of new fruit flavored (some have said pear) with a bit of pine from the chinook. Complex aroma, but extremely easy drinking despite being almost 7%.

1st kegged brew too. Loving how clear it's gotten

 

[Travestian]

This is my favorite brew so far. Perfect clone!

 

[SDbrewerJake]

The flash made it look darker. The scent was super fruity and the first couple drinks tasted like a delicious ipa. The yeast started to come through dt I put it in the freezer for an hr and didn't let it settle all the way. I put a ton in my fridge so tonight I will be able to enjoy the beer from beginning to end. Without the breast caramel taste over powering after the first sips. Can't wait for work to be over. Only 8 more hours!!!!

 

[Remmy]

More Sculpin home brew.

 

[SDbrewerJake]

More Sculpin home brew.

Dude your deck area... What a sight. I live in San Diego and we don't have trees like that. Sure I have a palm tree in my front yard... But a forest... That's awesome. Probably makes the beer taste better.

 

[Remmy]

Thank you. I'd trade living in PB over living in CT in a heartbeat. I love SD! We have ticks and other nasty bugs out in those woods. We also have bears. Not fun. But, yes, the beer tastes awesome when I'm looking out that way. The front of my house is the same - all woods.

As you probably noticed, I don't like people. 23 years of living (growing-up) in New York City will do that to you.

 

[m3n00b]

I love pb!!!

 

[SDbrewerJake]

Yeah PB is nice until you have kids. Haha. Well shoot even though living in a craft brew city like San Diego you have heady topper right next door. Got a sixer of that stuff and long the day until we meet again. If you ever need any sd brews for heady. I'm your guy!!!

 

[Remmy]

I live close to VT (I go snowboarding a lot there) but I have yet to have a Heady Topper. They aren't available in CT and I'm not driving 4 hours to go get any.

They are, however, available in NYC (which I am close to).

I've been to SD many times and have had awesome beers there at many breweries.

 

[SDbrewerJake]

Well if you enjoy sculpin I would suggest you to stay clear of it. The balance of the extreme hops and mellow malt in heady almost killed sculpin for me. I still enjoy it but ht threw the curve off of how I rate ipas. Pliny is over rated but ht is something special.

 

[Remmy]

You need a Gandhi-Bot in your life if you like Heady!

 

[SDbrewerJake]

You need a Gandhi-Bot in your life if you like Heady!

Isn't that even harder to get ahold of? I've read about it before and would be willing to do a trade.

 

[Remmy]

It's not that hard in CT compared to Heady. Gandhi goes really, really quick. But if I look hard enough, I'll find it. I think I have about eight remaining.

 

[BrettV]

Has anyone tried a partial mash version of this? I'd like to brew this this weekend, but my in-kitchen set-up only allows me to mash up to about 4-5 pounds of grain. It seems the grain is a lot less important than the hops, anyway, so if I were to mash maybe 2-3 pounds of 2-row in with the specialty malts from the AG recipe on page 2 and then just "fill in the blanks" with light DME, I'd probably be good to go. I just want to try mash hopping, which I wouldn't be able to do with the extract recipe on page 1.

I'd probably also change a few of the hops, because I have a ton of old hops in my freezer that I need to use up (0.25 oz. of Citra, 0.25 oz. of Northern Brewer, and a whopping 2.5 oz of Willamette.)

 

[m3n00b]

So I went to the lhbs and they wanted $5 an oz for Amarillo. Can anyone help me design a hop schedule for something similar to sculpin using the hops I have on hand? The top row are all 2oz and the the bottom are 1 oz. Mt hood is 1/2 oz. Probably won't be using the saaz.

 

[BrettV]

Amarillo seems to be out of stock a lot of places due to a bad harvest year. I'll probably replace it with Cascade.