My First "What do you think" recipe - Amarillo Chinook IPA

First time really going out on my own developing a recipe.

Looking for an IPA that is a bit on the dry side, but something not completely West-coast. I also don't want a total orange/citrus bomb. Looking around, Flower Power seems to use a combo of Centennial, Amarillo, Cascade and Chinook.

My thinking is mix a little citrus and pine together. Dry it out a bit with sugar, but keep it malty with some Melanoiden.

I'm thinking of upping the IBU's just a bit to about 85.

I'd appreciate your input. I am looking to put together a fairly crisp/dry IPA, but without over the top bitterness. Looking for some interesting hop flavor and aroma.

Thank you.



Type: All Grain
Batch Size: 5.50 gal
Boil Size: 7.24 gal
Boil Time: 60 min
End of Boil Vol: 6.24 gal
Final Bottling Vol: 5.25 gal
Fermentation: Ale, Two Stage
Est Mash Efficiency: 69.2 %

Yeast - US-05


Ingredients Amt Name Type # %/IBU
7 lbs 12.0 oz Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 1 45.6 %
7 lbs 12.0 oz Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM) Grain 2 45.6 %
12.0 oz Melanoiden Malt (20.0 SRM) Grain 3 4.4 %
12.0 oz Sugar, Table (Sucrose) (1.0 SRM) Sugar 4 4.4 %

1.00 oz Magnum [12.10 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 5 34.1 IBUs

0.75 oz Amarillo Gold [8.00 %] - Boil 15.0 min Hop 7 8.4 IBUs
0.50 oz Chinook [13.00 %] - Boil 15.0 min Hop 8 9.1 IBUs

1.00 tsp Yeast Nutrient (Boil 10.0 mins) Other 9 -

1.00 oz Amarillo Gold [8.00 %] - Boil 5.0 min Hop 10 4.5 IBUs
1.00 oz Chinook [13.40 %] - Boil 5.0 min Hop 11 7.5 IBUs

0.75 oz Amarillo Gold [8.00 %] - Steep/Whirlpool 20.0 min Hop 12 5.1 IBUs
0.75 oz Chinook [13.40 %] - Steep/Whirlpool 20.0 min Hop 13 8.6 IBUs

1.50 oz Chinook [13.40 %] - Dry Hop 0.0 Days Hop 14 0.0 IBUs
1.00 oz Amarillo Gold [8.00 %] - Dry Hop 0.0 Days Hop 15 0.0 IBUs

Gravity, Alcohol Content and Color
Est Original Gravity: 1.075 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.014 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 8.1 %
Bitterness: 77.4 IBUs
Est Color: 6.8 SRM Measured Original Gravity: 1.075 SG

First reaction is big hoppy beer. 15.5 lbs. of pale malts really seems to be a lot for 5.25 gallons of beer. But if you like big IPAs go for it. Lots of hops too. Lots of additions. You sure have aroma covered. What's your mash temp? I'd suggest 60 minutes minimum at 152 degrees F. Make your mash really fermentable. Doubt if you need the sugar. I think you have it covered with all that malt. I'd rather you include some Crystal 10 or 20. Other than that, have fun. Hope you have a nice big mash tun for 16.25 lbs. of grain. Hold onto the spent grain and make some good granola.

I think this sounds really good, so I am posting to keep tabs on how it goes!

Amarillo Gold= Amarillo..or is it

Thanks for the replies. Yes, Amarillo Gold is Amarillo.

I plan to mash at 150 for 75. My mash temp tends to drift down about 2 degrees.

I will probably reduce the grain bill a bit to keep the ABV under 8.

MEPNew2Brew said:

I will probably reduce the grain bill a bit to keep the ABV under 8.

Click to expand...

Nooooooooooo!



But seriously, I have a really silly new brewer question about formulation: Why did you decide to go 50/50 on 2 Row and MO?

I've recently found out I quite prefer the MO as a base malt, so other than 2 Row being cheaper, is there a particular reason driving the decision?

I went with the 50/50 2 row/MO grain bill just to mix things up a bit and because I wasn't using any crystal, I thought MO would add some interest. Looking to do an IPA with a bit of a different grain bill.

Sounds like a good recipe. I would double your whirlpool hops and add another ounce to your dry hop. This is basically a double IPA so you want big aroma and flavor to go with the big IBUs. I usually go for a bigger malt punch to balance out the bitterness on a big IPA so I'm not sure you want to dry it out a lot. But if you know that's what you like, go for it.

Drop the melanoiden. Not really an ipa malt. I also like to add carapils.

You can never go wrong with Amarillo, one of my most favorite hops ever. You could literally mash a turd, and boil it with Amarillo and have a great beer!

tgmartin000 said:

Drop the melanoiden. Not really an ipa malt. I also like to add carapils.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the input folks.

TGMartin - I agree that the Melanoidin is not a traditional IPA malt. But, that is part of the reason I am using it. And, I note that a some one recipes for 3 Floyds brews, including Zombie Dust, include Melanoidin

I typically do not add sugar to my IPAs. But, I am interested to see how the sugar/Melanoidin combo works out. Dry, yet with a great malt profile? Who knows. But, I'll try to remember to report back in a few weeks when it is done.

A belatedly report - My wife loved the beer! For me, it was a bit out of balance - not enough bitterness to balance the malt. It finished pretty dry - about 8.5% ABV. Maybe it was the melanoidin; maybe the beer just needed more hops.