Making my first beer recipe.

[HomeBrewMasterRace]

Hi all, giving my first beer recipe a go and wanted to get some feedback. I've entered it into Brewers friend and was hoping for some feedback.

I'm going for a citrusy/lemony flavor in an IPA. I was thinking about dropping the bittering hops all together or adding in 1oz of citra at 30 min instead of the bittering

I am hoping to also have some maltiness as well as a darker beer color.

Thanks in advance!

 

[HB_ATL73]

I was thinking about dropping the bittering hops all together or adding in 1oz of citra at 30 min

See where that brings you in terms of IBUs. You can get plenty of citrus/lemony flavor and aroma from the dry hops, but you still should have bittering hops to balance the malt sweetness. Also, 30 min boiling a hop will give you minimal/no flavor or aroma- that amount of time will be bittering. You would be better adding at flame out or dry hop.

You can play around with color with this but will change the flavor characteristics of the beer. So its all about what you want to achieve. Your current beer will be relatively light in color. https://www.brewersfriend.com/srm-calculator/

Now, adding more munich or other higher lovibond grains with the sole purpose of achieving a darker beer is probably not the way I would approach it but you can always experiment and see the result

 

[HomeBrewMasterRace]

Hi HB_ATL73,
Thank you so much for the reply, I gotcha, I should change most of the hops to a flameout addition then. I'll keep in the Simcoe for bittering and maybe do a citra in dry hop.

I should also clarify that I was not trying to get it to be a darker beer, I was shooting to have it look slightly tan and not golden yellow.

Thanks!

 

[Soulshine2]

Citra is a good start. Also toss some Mosaic in there .I'm enjoying the results of my own tangelo pale ale right now using both those hops. Along with citrus zest it can be a nice summer thirst quenching brew.

 

[TheFlyingSparge]

IMO you don't need as much bittering hops as what you have in there. Especially because the grain bill is not particularly malty. If you're going for citrusy, target most of your your hops for 15min or less in the boil or do some in the whirlpool and the rest dry hop. Anything over 20min in boil will go to bittering and you'll boil off the aroma compounds. Even in the whirlpool you will still get a small degree of bittering qualities but add much more to your aroma. If you're going for citrusy, try swapping in some Citra at the end rather than Lemondrop. It has a higher Alpha Acid % than Lemondrop so you need less of it. This means less leaf matter to deal with also.

 

[ProblemChild]

Looks solid as an APA. I am guessing that you mean CaraMunich II if you are hitting 60L? That will offer a lot in terms of malty flavor and the darker caramel will be very present.

The only two things I see that are more a matter of my preference than anything else are this
1) sub out 1/2 the 60L Munich with Munich 1. That will help with the malt flavor, and color, but keep the Caramunich II from being too much.
12 lb 2-row
1/2 lb Munich I
1/2 lb Caramunich II

2) Centannial at 30 gives more IBU's but starts taking away from flavor. Move it to 20 min. Bump the Simcoe if necessary to compensate, but it should help wiht the flavor of the hop better. Actaully, both the Centennial and Cascade at 10 is a great way to go.

Again, these are preferences, but NOT necessary. Your recipe is solid.

 

[Jako]

if you want more malt character why not try Maris Otter. i did a kolsch Red IPA in november that turned out great! if you are interested i can share my recipe i have been asked to make it again 3 times now.


i should add it looks pretty solid. but the IBU's would be pretty high. you could do a 60 min addition and add the hops at flame out and do a hop stand to get some IBU but retain all the hop flavor and aroma. it sounds like you want an amber ale almost. you could sub out some 2 row for Munich or some Red X if you can find it.

my Kolsch had 50/50 Munich and Red X and 3 oz of roasted barley after my first running's then sparge the rest off. it was very red crisp malty and refreshing.

 

[HB_ATL73]

If you're going for citrusy, try swapping in some Citra at the end rather than Lemondrop. It has a higher Alpha Acid % than Lemondrop so you need less of it. This means less leaf matter to deal with also.

I dont think this is completely true. AA will provide the bittering component of the hop while the essential oils of the hop are responsible for flavor and aroma. The composition of oils varies based on the hops variety.
When you say "it has higher AA% than lemondrop so you need less of it" would hold true if you were using as a bittering hop in the boil and not for dry hopping

Here is a list of hop oils and their characteristics
caryophyllene » woody
citronellol » citrusy, fruity
farnesene » floral
geraniol » floral, rose, geranium
humulene » woody, piney
limonene » citrusy, orange
linalool » floral, orange
myrcene » green, resinous, piney
nerol » rose, citrusy
pinene » spicy, piney
3-mercaptohexanol » guava, tropical
3 mercaptoheyl acetate » muscat, passion fruit
4-mercapto-4-methyl-pentan-2-one » black currant, tropical

Hops by compound

Geraniol-rich Hops
Aurora, Bravo, Cascade, Centennial, Chinook, Citra, Mosaic, Motueka, Styrian Golding

Linalool-rich Hops
Amarillo, Cascade, Centennial, Citra, Glacier, Millennium, Mount Hood, Nugget, Pacifica, Willamette

Hops that Contain 4-mercapto-4-methylpentan-2-one (4MMP)
Apollo, Cascade, Centennial, Citra, Chinook, Cluster, Equinox, Mosaic, Simcoe, Summit

 

[HB_ATL73]

Hi HB_ATL73,
Thank you so much for the reply, I gotcha, I should change most of the hops to a flameout addition then. I'll keep in the Simcoe for bittering and maybe do a citra in dry hop.

I should also clarify that I was not trying to get it to be a darker beer, I was shooting to have it look slightly tan and not golden yellow.

Thanks!

Your beer will turn out that color. Citra is a good dry hop and as others have mentioned is a good hop alongside mosaic. I have no experience with lemondrop so others may have better advice.

On a side note,

Centennial /cascade IPAs are always great. I dont think you will get the hop profile you are looking for now but give it a try in a future brew

 

[Jako]

I dont think this is completely true. AA will provide the bittering component of the hop while the essential oils of the hop are responsible for flavor and aroma. The composition of oils varies based on the hops variety.
When you say "it has higher AA% than lemondrop so you need less of it" would hold true if you were using as a bittering hop in the boil and not for dry hopping

Here is a list of hop oils and their characteristics
caryophyllene » woody
citronellol » citrusy, fruity
farnesene » floral
geraniol » floral, rose, geranium
humulene » woody, piney
limonene » citrusy, orange
linalool » floral, orange
myrcene » green, resinous, piney
nerol » rose, citrusy
pinene » spicy, piney
3-mercaptohexanol » guava, tropical
3 mercaptoheyl acetate » muscat, passion fruit
4-mercapto-4-methyl-pentan-2-one » black currant, tropical

Hops by compound

Geraniol-rich Hops
Aurora, Bravo, Cascade, Centennial, Chinook, Citra, Mosaic, Motueka, Styrian Golding

Linalool-rich Hops
Amarillo, Cascade, Centennial, Citra, Glacier, Millennium, Mount Hood, Nugget, Pacifica, Willamette

Hops that Contain 4-mercapto-4-methylpentan-2-one (4MMP)
Apollo, Cascade, Centennial, Citra, Chinook, Cluster, Equinox, Mosaic, Simcoe, Summit

great post.

 

[HomeBrewMasterRace]

Thanks everyone, I'm bumping the Simcoe up to 2 and flame out hopping with 1 Oz citra. I'll let everyone know how it goes. This will be my superbowl beer!

 

[planetscott]

I always add carapils. It adds some color, but mostly it enhances mouthfeel 1/2 to 3/4 pf a pound is all you need.

 

[HB_ATL73]

Not related to this thread-

.

planetscott- I noticed your tag with Covert Hops- how is the club? I live in the Atlanta area and curious about the clubs in the area

 

[planetscott]

Not related to this thread-


planetscott- I noticed your tag with Covert Hops- how is the club? I live in the Atlanta area and curious about the clubs in the area

We're currently in the preliminary judging stages for the Peach State Brew Off. Check out our FB page for event details. The day of the event, we will have a people's choice award and a raffle that coincides with the awards. There are always some great prizes we give away. Registration is closed, however the People's Choice is still open. Feel free to attend one of our judging sessions, or the event it's self. When we are finished, we will most likely migrate to Twain's for the after party.

 

[HomeBrewMasterRace]

Just bottled this yesterday, didn't turn out as lemon-ey as i thought it would, but it definitely has a citrus smell with a slight green melon flavor. It's bottle conditioning and i'll know for sure how it'll turn out next week.

I definitely like the Simcoe as a bittering hop

 

[HomeBrewMasterRace]

This beer turned out good. I would definitely change the yeast as I think It would've been better with a West coast style yeast

 

[ProblemChild]

With your recipe, the yeast will make a huge difference. There are things going on, but nothing is over the top. The yeast will be a noticeable player.

If you could, post your final recipe so we can see what you did.

FWIW - it seem to me that as good a yeast as you have used, maybe something that attenuates slightly less may take you where you want to go. I have had a great luck with WLP005/WY1098 and it makes a very clear batch.

 

[HomeBrewMasterRace]

This one turned out pretty light with a sweeter hop flavor. I was definitely not expecting the lemon drop to taste like a melon, but that's what I'm getting from it.

Next time I may add some oats or something of that make to add some Moreno body to the beer. But it definitely is a good one -- a different yeast may also make it quite a bit better. I would think a warmer fermentation yeast to add some more character.

 

[HomeBrewMasterRace]

Final Recipe:
12lbs 2-row
1lb munich

1oz simcoe (60min boil)
1oz of centennial (20 min)
1 oz cascade (5min)
1 oz lemon drop (flameout)
1 oz citra (flameout)
1 oz Lemondrop (Dry hopped at 7 days, left in until racking)
1 oz Lemondrop (Dry hopped at 10 days, left in until racking)

Fermented with Nottingham yeast at 70* for 2 weeks.

Turned out good. It's an easy drinker, not too bitter but not too sweet. So far i've only had good reception from everyone who has given it a try.

A change i would make is definitely using WLP0051 a dry but more fruity yeast.

 

[ProblemChild]

It sounds fantastic truthfully. Easy to tweak an easy drinker with minor additions to hop it up or just leave well enough alone.

WY1968 is worth a shot as well with that. Drops crazy clear and puts a nice fruity flavor in it. Needs a d-rest and does its magic at about 72°F