efreem01

Recipes 

Hey all,

I ordered the Double IPA kit from austin homebrew along with the 1% alcohol boost (don't ask).

Here are the kits specifications:
OG: 1.088
IBU: 62.7

When i enter the figures for the 1% Alcohol Boost into beersmith, i get an OG of 1.095 and an IBU drop to 51.4. This actually pulls the recipe out of the IIPA criteria, so i was wondering why this happens? Why would adding more sugar decrease the hop utilization? By the way, this is a 2.5 gal partial boil.

To compensate, since this is a kit and i don't have more hops i was thinking of increasing my boil to 3 gal. That way i come out with an IBU of 69.1.

Do you all think this an acceptable measure to compensate for the IBU drop? Would there be any other side effects i'd have to think about?

__________________
Primary : Nada
Secondary Edwort's Apfelwein, AHS Titannia Wheat On Deck: LHBS IPA [Recipe Unknown], Corona Clone (Lawnmower Beer)
Bottled: Spicy Orange Pale Ale, Stone Cold Brown Ale Kegged: Spicy Pumpkin Ale
"When I read about the evils of drinking, I gave up reading"

Pabst Blue Robot

Recipes 

Higher gravity worts affect hop utilization negatively. If you don't want to do a larger boil, you could add the sugar in the last 10 or 15 minutes instead of at the beginning, making the impact on the hop utilization fairly minimal.

__________________
This is the ORIGINAL Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer. Nature's choicest products provide its prized flavor. Only the finest of hops and grains are used. Selected as America's Best in 1893.

Yuri_Rage

Recipes 

To simplify greatly:

The more sugar you dissolve in your brew water, the less room you have for other "stuff" to dissolve (i.e., hop oils).

It seems counter-intuitive at first, but think about it for a minute. It'll make sense.

If you want better hop utilization with the same ingredients, increase the boil volume.

__________________
YouTube Channel .......... Shirts, posters, and other SWAG

efreem01

Recipes 

If i put the boost in with the last 10 minutes, i guess i'd have an IBU of 62.1. If i increase the boil volume to 3 gallons, i'd have 69.1 IBU. This is according to beersmith.

I'm not an expert on bitterness, but with a potential SG drop from 1.095 to 1.02, would having more bitterness balance out the alcohol bite?

Btw, i plan on aging this batch for at least 5 months in the bottle before drinking it. I just bought another primary and i'm following it up with a blueberry ale for SWMBO.

__________________
Primary : Nada
Secondary Edwort's Apfelwein, AHS Titannia Wheat On Deck: LHBS IPA [Recipe Unknown], Corona Clone (Lawnmower Beer)
Bottled: Spicy Orange Pale Ale, Stone Cold Brown Ale Kegged: Spicy Pumpkin Ale
"When I read about the evils of drinking, I gave up reading"

david_42

Recipes 

More bitterness would be better at that ABV. Another possibility is to take half of the bittering hops and pre-boil it in your top-off water. You can use beersmith to calculate the numbers for both boils & then the final IBU with be the average of the two.

Keep it cool (<50F) while aging, hop aroma is the first thing to go. I learned this the hard way on some very expensive brews. The bitterness & malt is still there after a year at 65F, but almost no nose.

__________________
Remember one unassailable statistic, as explained by the late, great George Carlin: "Just think of how stupid the average person is, and then realize half of them are even stupider!"

Bobby_M

Recipes 

I'd just follow the directions but add the boosting sugar with 10 minutes remaining. Simple.

__________________
BrewHardware.com
Sightglass, Refractometer, Ball Valve, Weldless bulkhead, Thermometer, Decals, Stainless Steel Fittings, Compression Fittings, Camlock Quick Disconnects, Scale, RIMS tube, Plate Chiller, Chugger Pump, Super Clear Silicone Tubing, and more!

Personal Website, All Grain Primer, Keg Polishing, etc... | Youtube Channel

efreem01

Recipes 

OK, after adding the 1% alcohol boost i figure a 12% increase in alcohol. So to compensate for the increased alcohol, i went with a 3 gallon boil. According to beersmith, the beer went from 62.1 IBU to 71.

By the way, i'm fermenting this in a 6.5 gallon carboy with nottingham yeast and 1tsp of yeast nutrient. It has been in the fermenter for 24 hours and i have foam coming through my blow off tube! I have foam!

I knew this would be a violent fermentation, but wow. See picture below.

__________________
Primary : Nada
Secondary Edwort's Apfelwein, AHS Titannia Wheat On Deck: LHBS IPA [Recipe Unknown], Corona Clone (Lawnmower Beer)
Bottled: Spicy Orange Pale Ale, Stone Cold Brown Ale Kegged: Spicy Pumpkin Ale
"When I read about the evils of drinking, I gave up reading"

efreem01

Recipes 

__________________
Primary : Nada
Secondary Edwort's Apfelwein, AHS Titannia Wheat On Deck: LHBS IPA [Recipe Unknown], Corona Clone (Lawnmower Beer)
Bottled: Spicy Orange Pale Ale, Stone Cold Brown Ale Kegged: Spicy Pumpkin Ale
"When I read about the evils of drinking, I gave up reading"

efreem01

Recipes 

I'm racking my Double IPA to secondary today. I took a gravity reading with my hydrometer and wow! The beer went from an SG of 1.102 down to 1.014 in just 6 days! I guess using the nottingham dry yeast was a great idea. I had about 16 oz of blow off through my 1/8" tube, which has a fine graham cracker crust looking layer of pelleted hop material.

When i tasted the hydrometer sample, it had a very harsh alcohol taste but i'm guessing that should mellow some with aging. Also the sample was cloudy so i think i stirred up some sediment. The beer wasn't too bitter at 71 IBU, and has an excellent hop aroma.

Anyone who wants the recipe, just PM me. Now i just have to come up with a name for this thing.

__________________
Primary : Nada
Secondary Edwort's Apfelwein, AHS Titannia Wheat On Deck: LHBS IPA [Recipe Unknown], Corona Clone (Lawnmower Beer)
Bottled: Spicy Orange Pale Ale, Stone Cold Brown Ale Kegged: Spicy Pumpkin Ale
"When I read about the evils of drinking, I gave up reading"