How to Take an IPA Kit Up a Notch... Or TWO!?

[PGEduardo]

So I finally have like 3 seconds of free time this weekend and dammit I'm going to brew!

I got a Brewer's Best Pale Ale 5 gallon extract kit for Christmas, and I'm finally going to brew it. However, I think it might be a bit too tame for my liking. Recipe link HERE

Essentially:
6lb Light LME
1 lb Caramel 20L specialty grains
2 oz Cascade
1 oz Citra
OG ~1.051-1.055

Hop schedule is 2 oz. Cascade at 60 minutes and 1 oz. Citra at 5 minutes.

I'm looking to move into BIAB after this weekend, so I was considering upping the specialty grains/doing a partial mash of some sort to kick this beer into Double IPA territory.

Can anyone suggest an amount and type of grain to mash, and at what temp? (I'm thinking a shorter mash, like 30 minutes maybe?) Also, are the specialty grains still good from Xmas (plus shelf life)?

I think I'll copy the hop schedule from other recipes, adding in some more cascade and dry hopping with cascade/simcoe.

Thanks for any advice!

 

[wilserbrewer]

Well, 2lbs of grain should yield about 1% abv, so I would try 2-4 lbs 2 row base grain. Also since the LME may already have some crystal, I would not add any more. A little sugar, corn or cane would get you more gravity as well, no more than a pound IMO.

Big late finish hops! Hops at flame out, hop stand at 160 degrees! And dry hop like hell...hope this helps!

Your kit grain should be fine! I would mash the 2 row at 150 - 152 for an hour, not sure why you mention 1/2 hour, but that is likely ok.

 

[PGEduardo]

Well, 2lbs of grain should yield about 1% abv, so I would try 2-4 lbs 2 row base grain. Also since the LME may already have some crystal, I would not add any more. A little sugar, corn or cane would get you more gravity as well, no more than a pound IMO.

Big late finish hops! Hops at flame out, hop stand at 160 degrees! And dry hop like hell...hope this helps!

Thanks for the advice! I plan to order a bag from you once I save up enough to get the kettle I want :rockin:

 

[wilserbrewer]

I forgot, with more fermentables, you may want to pitch two packs of yeast!
Pitch yeast at mid to low sixties and keep it under say 65 - 68, with a big beer the fermentation will generate heat as well, and if you pitch hot it can go nuclear on you

 

[PGEduardo]

if you pitch hot it can go nuclear on you

Good thing I'm a nuclear engineer! Yeah I planned to pitch two packets of US-05. This will be my 10th batch so I finally have my fermentation control dialed in...

 

[PGEduardo]

I would mash the 2 row at 150 - 152 for an hour, not sure why you mention 1/2 hour, but that is likely ok.

Well I just wanted to save some time since I'm likely doing this tonight. When I go full BIAB I intend to do 60/90 minute mashes, but from reading here it seems like there's some debate about converting the mash in very quick timeframes. I'm not shooting for efficiency here, just some well-rounded gravity addition.

I might try some rye or a red (not sure what type) grain for more of a rye/red IPA version...

 

[Calder]

I find I have conversion in 20 minutes, usually mash for 30.

Mash low. I like IPAs dry. Mash about 148/150.

Don't add any more crystal, maybe take some out.

Add a pound of sugar to help lower FG.

Use 2-row.

Add lots more hops in the last 15 minutes.

 

[wilserbrewer]

Ok, hope it worked out...I was hesitant to advise a 20 minute mash not knowing the relevant parameters involved,,,cheers!

 

[PGEduardo]

Ha ha, just pitched now. I ended up adding 3# of 2 row (double milled by the LHBS, but it still looked a bith coarse to my inexperienced eye).

ALSO, it wasn't simply the Pale Ale kit either, it was actually a 2013 Hopnog kit! Sounds gross, but it's essentially a semi-stout IPA kit on it's own merit. (I freaked out a bit thinking eggnog-ish beer.)

Fermentables:
6.6 lb Light LME
1 lb Light DME

Specialty Grains
4 oz. Carapils
8 oz. Caramel 40L

Hops
2 packs of 1 oz. Citra
1 oz Chinook
1 oz Willamette

Unfortunately, even with the 3# of two row + specialty grains mashed for 60 minutes at 150 I only hit 1.062, albeit with a solid 6 gallons (I thought the mashed grains would soak up more). I went ahead and pitched 2 packs of rehydrated US-05, and also kicked up the hops with some Amarillo at flameout. I also have Cascade, citra and simcoe to dryhop with (3oz, but I might save 1 oz for a teaball type keg addition).

Should be tasty, even though not quite the DIPA I was shooting for.

I don't want to add sugar/honey just to up the ABV since I prefer well-rounded to dry.

 

[wilserbrewer]

ALSO, it wasn't simply the Pale Ale kit either, it was actually a 2013 Hopnog kit! Sounds gross, but it's essentially a semi-stout IPA kit on it's own merit. (I freaked out a bit thinking eggnog-ish beer.)

.

http://www.homebrewing.org/Brewers-Best-Hop-Nog-2013_p_3154.html

semi-stout IPA?

Looks like an American Ale to me, never heard of Semi-stout IPA? How did you mash and rinse / sparge, I would have expected a little more gravity?

 

[PGEduardo]

Lol, I meant stout as in decent OG with more hops than I expected.

I simply steeped the grains in near full volume, adding heat a couple times to hold near 150. Decent hand squeeze. No sparge. The upper range for OG in the kit stated 1.062, but I think that's for 5 gallons and I got 6...

 

[Calder]

Ha ha, just pitched now. I ended up adding 3# of 2 row (double milled by the LHBS, but it still looked a bith coarse to my inexperienced eye).

Fermentables:
6.6 lb Light LME
1 lb Light DME

Specialty Grains
4 oz. Carapils
8 oz. Caramel 40L

Hops
2 packs of 1 oz. Citra
1 oz Chinook
1 oz Willamette

Unfortunately, even with the 3# of two row + specialty grains mashed for 60 minutes at 150 I only hit 1.062, albeit with a solid 6 gallons (I thought the mashed grains would soak up more). I went ahead and pitched 2 packs of rehydrated US-05, and also kicked up the hops with some Amarillo at flameout. I also have Cascade, citra and simcoe to dryhop with (3oz, but I might save 1 oz for a teaball type keg addition).

Should be tasty, even though not quite the DIPA I was shooting for.

I don't want to add sugar/honey just to up the ABV since I prefer well-rounded to dry.

With 6 gallons, I make the gravity from the extract to be 1.047. That would mean you got .015 from the grains, or a total of 90 points from 3.75 lbs. That is 24 points per lb, or about 67% mash efficiency. Not bad for no-sparge.

 

[PGEduardo]

^Awesome, thanks for the calcs! The 3/4 lb of grains from the kit didn't appear to be crushed much at all so that explains some of the loss of efficiency. I think I'll enjoy dialing in my BIAB method...