Milkshake IPA base?

[ratinator]

Looking to do a pina cola ipa using 50/50 bru-1 (pineapple) and sabro (tropical fruit/coconut) with some lactose. What do you use for a grain bill? Thinking 2 row, white wheat, oats

 

[Jag75]

I'll be watching this thread . I've never had a milkshake IPA. When I think of a thick sluggish beer it turns me off . However a few of my friends have told me to try Fall of troy by Bealching Beaver . They said it's amazing. I think they want to try and make one so I'll be subscribing to this thread. Hopefully someone comments .

 

[sicktght311]

Milkshake IPAs are not thick. They’re just medium body sweet NEIPAs via lactose and vanilla beans. They just lend themselves well to fruit additions and flavors.

when I brew mine, it’s typically 75% 2 row, 10% flaked oats, 10% white wheat, 3-5% honey malt. Then I’ll add about .5-.75lbs lactose in during the boil for a 5gallon batch, and either pure vanilla extract at kegging, or 2 vanilla beans chopped and soaked in 1oz vodka for a week or so added to primary right before cold crashing.
Hop schedule is the same as any other NEIPA, and flavor additions are either in a Muslin bag weighted down with marbles for 3-5 days at the end of fermentation, or fake flavor adding at kegging if I’m lazy

 

[Dgallo]

Milkshake IPAs are not thick. They’re just medium body sweet NEIPAs via lactose and vanilla beans. They just lend themselves well to fruit additions and flavors.

when I brew mine, it’s typically 75% 2 row, 10% flaked oats, 10% white wheat, 3-5% honey malt. Then I’ll add about .5-.75lbs lactose in during the boil for a 5gallon batch, and either pure vanilla extract at kegging, or 2 vanilla beans chopped and soaked in 1oz vodka for a week or so added to primary right before cold crashing.
Hop schedule is the same as any other NEIPA, and flavor additions are either in a Muslin bag weighted down with marbles for 3-5 days at the end of fermentation, or fake flavor adding at kegging if I’m lazy

I actually disagree and believe a a milkshake ipa should have a much bigger body, otherwise it’s a NEIPA with vanilla. The base for oat cream IPAs(think other half day dream series) are perfect. Don’t necessarily need to use oats, I actually prefer flaked wheat.

My last milkshake ipa was
65% Pilsner
27.5%flaked wheat
5% white wheat
2.5% honey malt
Mashed 154*
1.25 lbs of lactose
Targeting a 1.020-1.024 fg. Remember fruits will thin it out a bit.

This was a nice base. I ended up adding peach, mango, and pineapple purée at a 1 lb per gallon at a 2.5:1.25:1.25 ratio. 3 vanilla beans scraped and diced used for a tincture with vanilla vodka added at kegging. Named it “Milo’s first Latch” after my birth of our first son.

 

[sicktght311]

I think it all comes down to preference. And when i say medium body i dont mind like a standard NEIPA. A well balanced standard NEIPA to me should be medium to light in body, so the hops dominate the palate. Milkshake IPA falls in the middle to me with medium creamy body due to mash temp and lactose. Thick body is a syruppy stout or pastry beer. Thats my take anyway.

As for Flaked Oats vs Wheat, its totally preference as well! And respect to allt he options! Taste testing back to back beers that incorporated flaked wheat and didnt, i preferred the oats only. Just what i felt like!

This is my Strawberry Milkshake IPA utilizing the recipe i listed above

https://i.imgur.com/JV23fIl.png

 

[Jag75]

What would you say the results of using flaked oats vs wheat are ?

 

[Dgallo]

Like @sicktght311 was explaining, it’s a preference thing. I like wheat for head retention and slightly less slick body than oats. Oats have a higher lipid percentage than other grains and larger chain proteins. With the higher lipid percentage, once you go above 10-15% of the gist, it can actually negatively effect head retention. Also since their protein chains are longer, they have a greater molecular weight and tend to floc out faster and clear up when in the keg for a month or so.

Body wise they are very similar, oats having a silkier/slicker mouthfeel.

I do like malted oats at about 7-10% in conjunction with flaked or malted wheat.

 

[MrBaloo]

Those are two beautiful beers!!! Congrats...

 

[ratinator]

Whats your typical mash temp?

 

[Dgallo]

I like 152/154

 

[Jag75]

I usually mash at 148 for 30min then 154 for 30min for my NEIPA. Do you think 148 is a waste and should just go to 152-4 for the whole mash ?

 

[Dgallo]

Not exactly. I think doing your second step at 154 is too low. 148 with be good for beta amalyse but 154 is too low for full alpha amalyse conversion and you’ve already converted your beta so it’s kinda pointless. Your second step should be around 160-162

 

[Jag75]

I'm thinking of just running 152 for 60

 

[Dgallo]

Dbl post

 

[sicktght311]

I dont bother with multi step mashes for something like a NEIPA. I just go for single infusion at 152-154. If i'm adding Lactose, theres no need to really mash much higher than 154 as its already going to be pretty full and sweet, especially with a Milkshake IPA that has the Vanilla and fruit adjuncts. Most of my NEIPAs are always 152-154 regardless of milkshake or standard

 

[Dgallo]

I will say that step mashing can really help you dial in your mouthfeel and head retention/ structure while keeping your fermentabilty. I know both Sloop brewing and Foam brewers do this but I would assume a fair amount of our top for the style have some form of step or mashout

 

[Jag75]

Well I screwed up. I hope lactose fully dissolves at 170f lol

 

[Dgallo]

It will

 

[Jag75]

Hit the OG on the $$$. Love it when it comes together

 

[Jag75]

Ok so this is dangerous! 8.4 abv but doesnt seem like it . The citrus / cream is wonderful. Not overpowering at all . The hops imo were a slam dunk. I used mosaic , Amarillo, Galaxy and Mandarina Bavaria. I soaked orange peels and vanilla beans for about 4 weeks then added during kegging.

 

[Dgallo]

Glad it came out great!

 

[sleev-les]

What would you say the results of using flaked oats vs wheat are ?

I just brewed a MSIPA and used both. Just a bit.. 2 row, flaked oat, wheat and crystal 40L. Mine is just very clear since I used WL001 yeast as my home brew shop didn't have the yeast I wanted. The other variance I used was vanilla flavor vs beans. Just a little bit so not to overpower. It tasted pretty good and its carbing now. It's a pineapple Milkshake.

 

[RedlegEd]

Hi all and Happy New Year!
I don't like IPAs as most are just "hop bombs" that are over the top bitter, so I thought I'd try an NEIPA since it seems to have so much more citrus and character. I settled on a "milkshake" NEIPA inspired by a commercial kit recipe, and called my beer "Gilligan's NEIPA" (shared the recipe on Brewer's Friend.) Like @sleev-les, I used vanilla and coconut extracts instead of the real thing because I've found it's more precise and repeatable to use extracts. The beer came out great, wonderful mouthfeel, very citrus-y, and with a definite tropical/coconut background. When I do another, I'll use the same base, but use different extracts to modify the flavor. Ed

 

[NickC]

Glad this thread exists - helpful reference for my first milkshake ipa. Good looking brews up there! So I’ve been brewing new England’s for a while, but interested to try w/ added lactose and fruit. Are you guys making your own purée? Or how and when exactly do you add your fruit?

 

[Dgallo]

I

Glad this thread exists - helpful reference for my first milkshake ipa. Good looking brews up there! So I’ve been brewing new England’s for a while, but interested to try w/ added lactose and fruit. Are you guys making your own purée? Or how and when exactly do you add your fruit?

i make my own most if the time but Goya sells a great pulp/pure product in 12 oz packages for papaya, pineapple, coconut, guava, and ptobsbly a few others. I’ve used the pineapple and passion fruit so far and they were great and cheaper if I did it my self. I found it at Hannafords supermarket but I’m sure most nation chains carry it as well

 

[NickC]

Nice! Looks like Walmart and target both carry the Goya pulp. What was your experience with it? How many packs per gallon did you use?

I

i make my own most if the time but Goya sells a great pulp/pure product in 12 oz packages for papaya, pineapple, coconut, guava, and ptobsbly a few others. I’ve used the pineapple and passion fruit so far and they were great and cheaper if I did it my self. I found it at Hannafords supermarket but I’m sure most nation chains carry it as well

 

[Dgallo]

Nice! Looks like Walmart and target both carry the Goya pulp. What was your experience with it? How many packs per gallon did you use?

I used 6 packs for 5.5 gallons in the fermenter (5gallons into keg)so it was just a little under a lb per gallon. Both were very good. I used the passion fruit pulp in a milkshake sour and paired it with Galaxy hops and got a clear expression of passion fruit.

The pineapple I used 3 packs only because i also used mango and peaches in the purée(they were out of the mango one at my store so I went with frozen chucks of mango and peaches an purée that myself. Pineapple was note supportive which was what I intended but I’m sure if I used it the same as the passionfruit it would have been just as potent.

 

[NickC]

I read elsewhere Goya can be a little sour, but I’m not sure the person was referencing this Goya pulp specifically.

I’m def going to use a few packs of these along with some pineapple chunks I’ve had frozen for a month or 2.

Any experience with vanilla extract? Ideally I’d use vanilla beans, just so $$$$.

 

[Dgallo]

I read elsewhere Goya can be a little sour, but I’m not sure the person was referencing this Goya pulp specifically.

I’m def going to use a few packs of these along with some pineapple chunks I’ve had frozen for a month or 2.

Any experience with vanilla extract? Ideally I’d use vanilla beans, just so $$$$.

Well most fruits in general will lower the ph, especially tropical/citrus fruit. Red Raspberries also cause a huge drop in ph. You can make adjustments to you beer so counter it If you choose.

I make my own tinctures from vanilla beans and haven’t ever used vanilla extract but it’s basically the same thing if you get a high quality vanilla extract but you’d be paying for the quality anyway. I believe the measurement is 1 tbsp of extract equals 1 vanilla bean but don’t quote me on that

 

[Jag75]

Well we had a big beer tasting get together last night. 7 guys sitting around a campfire eating food and tasting beers . Everyone brings 10$ and 2 bombers. Had a blast . Started at 530 and didnt stop till 3am . My milkshake IPA turned out pretty dang good. We had some fall of troy there to compare it to . Fall of Troy had a little more creaminess to it and had more vanilla that popped out . However the guys were impressed how close I got without ever even trying Fall of Troy. So next time I'll add more vanilla beans and maybe a tad more lactose , or actually add the lactose in the wort when I'm supposed to lol. If any of you haven't tried Fall of Troy you should . It's a really good milkshake IPA.

 

[NickC]

When do you guys add your fruit? I’m on the fence between 3 days after pitching, or wait until the tail end of fermentation. I also normally do my 5-6oz dry hold at the tail end. Would I be ok to dump fruit and dry hops at same time?

 

[sicktght311]

Typically i'll add it 2 days before my cold crash. That way its in there for a total contact time of 4-5 days before sending it to the keg

 

[Jag75]

I didnt add fruit to mine . Do most milkshake IPA use fruit?

 

[Dgallo]

I didnt add fruit to mine . Do most milkshake IPA use fruit?

Many do. You used an orange tincture instead, so you added “fruit” through a different means.

 

[Dgallo]

When do you guys add your fruit? I’m on the fence between 3 days after pitching, or wait until the tail end of fermentation. I also normally do my 5-6oz dry hold at the tail end. Would I be ok to dump fruit and dry hops at same time?

So I would actually advise you slightly different if you’re dryhoping at the tail end of fermentation in normal IPAs or NEIPAS. I would add my fruit at the very tail end of your primary fermentation. Fruit has a high percentage of fermentable sugars but will not be anywhere as vigorous as the primary ferm. If you add the fruit early the primary will blow off some of your fruit aroma. when you wait til day 4/5 when it’s slowed it won’t blow off much aroma but there will still be plenty of yeast in suspension to take on the fruit without producing acetaldehyde or VDK.

The fruit will take about 3-7 days to fully ferment out, usually 5. Once you see the secondary fermentation from the fruit slow down, then you can add your dryhop so it will still scrub some o2 for you but won’t blow off a lot of The hop aroma.

 

[NickC]

Excellent! I like that idea a lot. Thanks again

So I would actually advise you slightly different if you’re dryhoping at the tail end of fermentation in normal IPAs or NEIPAS. I would add my fruit at the very tail end of your primary fermentation. Fruit has a high percentage of fermentable sugars but will not be anywhere as vigorous as the primary ferm. If you add the fruit early the primary will blow off some of your fruit aroma. when you wait til day 4/5 when it’s slowed it won’t blow off much aroma but there will still be plenty of yeast in suspension to take on the fruit without producing acetaldehyde or VDK.

The fruit will take about 3-7 days to fully ferment out, usually 5. Once you see the secondary fermentation from the fruit slow down, then you can add your dryhop so it will still scrub some o2 for you but won’t blow off a lot of The hop aroma.

 

[InspectorJon]

Any experience with vanilla extract? Ideally I’d use vanilla beans, just so $$$$

Check this out as a source for vanilla
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/buying-vanilla-beans.673760/

 

[NickC]

Check this out as a source for vanilla
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/buying-vanilla-beans.673760/

I bought a bottle of Watkins pure extract and added a drop to a NEIPA I recently tapped. I didn’t like it. Definitely didn’t give me the flavor I get from some of the better breweries that use vanilla around here. Not sure if it’s because I added directly to the glass, or if that’s just what you get from extract. I’ll be trying the beans again, and prob use 3 vs 1 for this 5 gal batch. I used one bean in a stout recently and couldn’t pickup any flavor.

 

[Jag75]

I added a drop of pure vanilla to a bomber of my orange cream milkshake IPA. It definitely gave more vanilla aroma and flavor to it . I did 2 orange peels and 2 vanilla beans for my tincture. The smell of the tincture was amazing but the vanilla was lost a bit once I kegged . So I'm thinking of going 4 to 5 vanilla beans next time.

 

[sleev-les]

I used 2.5 oz of extract at kegging in my Pineapple Milkshake. Took all pineapple out of the beer so had to add more puree to balance it out. Got it squared away ,but next time I'll only use about a half oz if I use extract