I Want A Good IPA Recipe For Very First Batch

Well Hello Everyone, Im New Here And Yet To Brew My First Batch, I Want To Start With Extract Then Work My Way To Partial And Then All Grain So I Would Want A Recipe With A Sierra Nevada Torpedo Taste Not A Clone But Just The Style With The Aromas And Bitterness..I Plan To Brew A 5 Gallon Batch And Split It Up Into 1 Gallon Glass Jugs For Secondary And Dry Hopping..Any Ideas Would Be Great Plz And Thankss

Hi and welcome. You might take a look at the HBT recipe database and check out the IPAs and see if you find anything to your liking https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f82/ Another option is to go your local homebrew store or check out an online vendor and buy an IPA kit - a great idea for a first brew, in my opinion.

Why are you splitting the batch into five one-gallon secondaries? Also, I may be alone in this, but I find it difficult to read posts where every word is capitalized, plus its more work for you. You might get more responses if you only capitalize the first word of the sentence.

Cheers and good luck with your first batch!

Are you planning to dry hop with 5 different hops? If not I don't get the splitting.

If you want a simple kit check out any of the Austin Hombrew IPA kits. I almost always have one on tap throughout the year. The AHS anniversary IPA is great and so is the budget IPA kit, that I believe uses greenbelt Wyeast that I really like.

If I can offer a single piece of advice, especially if you are brewing an IPA. Let that beer age well beyond what most kit instructions would suggest. Most of my IPAs are given between 3 and 6 months of secondary time.

sheldonsteen said:

Are you planning to dry hop with 5 different hops? If not I don't get the splitting.

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If he's not planning on dryhopping with 5 different types, then maybe he should! This sounds like a great idea.

Add an ounce of a different type of hop to each gallon, and this could be a good learning experience.

eltorrente said:

If he's not planning on dryhopping with 5 different types, then maybe he should! This sounds like a great idea.

Add an ounce of a different type of hop to each gallon, and this could be a good learning experience.

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I agree, it would be a fun experiment!

A few things:

are you planning a 5 gallon boil? or a 2-3 gallon boil and then top up? I used to brew 5 gallon batches, but now I enjoy brewing 2.5 gallon extract batches because I can brew more and really hone my recipes. It has taken me about 8 IPA's before I really nailed a good one (and by good, I mean something that is truly on par with top commercial example). Temps, yeast, sanitation, hop schedules, water profile all play a huge role in a West Coast IPA.

For your first outing I would suggest a kit and possibly something like a pale, amber, or brown? If you go IPA, I would suggest maybe splitting 5 gallons into 2.5 gallon's and try maybe 2 different yeasts or different dry hops. Thats just me....The 1 gallon batches may be a pain when it comes to bottling--just want to save you a little bit of a headache for your first go-round.

DenverUSMC said:

If I can offer a single piece of advice, especially if you are brewing an IPA. Let that beer age well beyond what most kit instructions would suggest. Most of my IPAs are given between 3 and 6 months of secondary time.

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Why?!?

I drink my IPAs FRESH, usually grain to glass in 30days, with huge citrusy pine character. Old/oxidized hops taste like dried stale figs/raisins IMO.

Are you brewing with European hop varieties??

DenverUSMC said:

If you want a simple kit check out any of the Austin Hombrew IPA kits. I almost always have one on tap throughout the year. The AHS anniversary IPA is great and so is the budget IPA kit, that I believe uses greenbelt Wyeast that I really like.

If I can offer a single piece of advice, especially if you are brewing an IPA. Let that beer age well beyond what most kit instructions would suggest. Most of my IPAs are given between 3 and 6 months of secondary time.

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I'm sorry, but this is really bad advice

Johnnyhitch1 said:

Why?!?

I drink my IPAs FRESH, usually grain to glass in 30days, with huge citrusy pine character. Old/oxidized hops taste like dried stale figs/raisins IMO.

Are you brewing with European hop varieties??

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I agree with you...I drink my IPAs pretty quick. the longer they are around in the keg the hop aroma and flavor seems to drop which I don't like.

I suggest EdWort's Stone IPA Clone. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f36/stone-ipa-clone-comparison-you-pick-real-one-33213/

10.5# Pale (I used 6.7# Golden Light DME)
1# Munich (partial mash with the Crystal)
1# Crystal 20L

1 oz. Warrior 60 minutes
1 oz. Centennial 15 minutes (I subbed Cascades for Centennial)
1 oz. Centennial 5 minutes

Dry Yeast - Safale US-05

O.G. 1.066
F.G. 1.010

Dry Hop with 1 oz. Centennial.

Primary 1 week - dry hop in primary for 3 days - keg and chill for 2 weeks
Very good!!

If you like centennial...or bells two hearted...then just do NB's Deadringer ale. Can't go wrong with that.

6.5 lbs light DME
.5 crystal 10
.5 crystal 20
1.5 oz Centenial 8.7 60 minute
1 oz hallertau 30 minute

Ferment however you want
Dry hop 1pz Cascade and 1 oz SAAZ.

Northern Brewers sells the Dead Ringer IPA kit which is fairly simple to do.

Aging an IPA will greatly diminish your hop aroma. Drink fresh!

DurtyChemist said:

6.5 lbs light DME
.5 crystal 10
.5 crystal 20
1.5 oz Centenial 8.7 60 minute
1 oz hallertau 30 minute

Ferment however you want
Dry hop 1pz Cascade and 1 oz SAAZ.

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That's not an IPA recipe, as it's got too much light crystal and not enough late hops (but a bit too much bittering for the OG). Sort of a bitter American amber, if I had to pin it down.

Most IPA recipes are among the simplest, with plenty of late hops. We have tons of great ones in the link that Pappers_ gave above.

Here's the IPA I just brewed:

7lbs Light LME
1cup light brown sugar

1/2lb Crystal 20
1/2lb Cara-pils
2lb 2-row pale

1oz Chinook @ 60
1oz Centennial @ 10
1/2oz Centennial @ 5
1/2oz Centennial dry hopped

Safale US-05

knelson13A said:

Here's the IPA I just brewed:

7lbs Light LME
1cup light brown sugar

1/2lb Crystal 20
1/2lb Cara-pils
2lb 2-row pale

1oz Chinook @ 60
1oz Centennial @ 10
1/2oz Centennial @ 5
1/2oz Centennial dry hopped

Safale US-05

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0.5 oz in an IPA?? Next time do 1oz all way and maybe even 2oz for dry hop!! Sure it will turn out great either way though!

ballsy said:

0.5 oz in an IPA?? Next time do 1oz all way and maybe even 2oz for dry hop!! Sure it will turn out great either way though!

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I absolutely agree. Actually, I say AT LEAST two ounces for an IPA!!! But some brewers are on a budget. A good IPA is expensive to make.


I'm gonna back up the recommendations for Dead Ringer. It was the first beer I brewed, and I did so many things wrong that should have ruined the beer. It still tasted great.

Why can't I like posts with the mobile app?? Annoying. ...

knelson13A said:

Here's the IPA I just brewed:

7lbs Light LME
1cup light brown sugar

1/2lb Crystal 20
1/2lb Cara-pils
2lb 2-row pale

1oz Chinook @ 60
1oz Centennial @ 10
1/2oz Centennial @ 5
1/2oz Centennial dry hopped

Safale US-05

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Did you go to Homebrew HQ in Richardson? I live in McKinney and just did a similar recipe but cut the cup of light brown sugar, and used warrior instead of Chinook, and cascade for the centennial and the 1/2 oz of centennial @ 5. Its been sitting in primary for 1 week and plan to dry hop with 1 oz of Citra and .5 oz of Cascade. This is my first non-kit recipe. I plan to dry hop after another week and bottle after 1 week of dry hopping.