First Imperial IPA

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Francis

Francis

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6.6lbs Briess Sparkling Amber LME
2lbs Briess Pilsen/Light LME
2lbs Cane Sugar
.4 Briess Caramel 60L

1.5 Magnum – 60 min
1.0 Amarillo – 15 mins
1.0 Amarillo – 0 min
1.0 Cascade - DH
1.0 Simcoe – DH

White Labs California Ale (WLP001)


Hello! I found this recipe on the Briess website and plan on brewing this Saturday. I'm still in my rookie season (this is my 4th batch) so I'm looking for some help. First, just wanted to hear your thoughts overall on the recipe - anything you think I should add/change? I was thinking about adding another oz of hops at the 30 min point - maybe Citra? And I think my brew store is out of Magnum - what should I substitute with? I really appreciate your thoughts! Cheers!

Chris
 
You could probably give Nugget or Galena a try for a Magnum substitute. You could definitely do a 30 or 20 minute addition for some additional flavor. Just keep your IBU in mind as the 30 minute addition will still add quite a bit of bitterness. If you need to you knock down your 60 minute just a bit to balance it out. Personally I would also bump up the dry hop, especially since this is an Imperial.
 
Thanks for the tips! Maybe another oz of Cascade or Simcoe for the dry hop? Also, do you recommend using a hop bag? Sorry, 1 more - the recipe called for 14 days in the secondary - would you dry hop that entire time or just 7 days? Again, I really appreciate your help!
 
Assuming a full volume boil (and 5 gal recipe) I would substitute the Pilsen LME for DME, add the sugar and amber LME late in the boil, and only boil for 30 minutes. An extract brew shouldn't need to be boiled any longer for that. The extra time is a waste and less boiling of extract reduces the risk of the elusive, possibly mythical "extract twang."

The combination of shorter boil would be offset by the higher hop utilization given by the later malt additions. You could cut your Magnum addition (or whatever hop you use, assuming about a 13% AA hop) to 1 oz for 30 min, the result would be a moderate increase in bittering than what the recipe indicates.
 
I don't have the gear for a 5g boil (I think my pot is 4g) so was planning on doing a 2-3 gallon boil. Will this change things? So would I add the Pilsen DME / bittering hops at 60 min, then amber LME and sugar at 30 mins.?
 
Francis said:
Thanks for the tips! Maybe another oz of Cascade or Simcoe for the dry hop? Also, do you recommend using a hop bag? Sorry, 1 more - the recipe called for 14 days in the secondary - would you dry hop that entire time or just 7 days? Again, I really appreciate your help!
Click to expand...

Cascade is one of my favorites and would work well for the dry hop, but Simcoe would likely work well also (I have yet to use it). I like to use a hop bag when I am doing large additions but you don't have to. Just be sure to soak the hop sack in sanitizer before putting it in. I usually go 10 days max on the dry hop with 7 days giving me good results. Personally I like to do my IPA's 3 weeks in primary and then add my dry hops to a secondary and rack onto them, then let that go for 7-10 days.
 
No problem, good luck with it! Speaking of IPA...I've got a keg with todays date on it to be tapped! Yum
 
Francis said:
I don't have the gear for a 5g boil (I think my pot is 4g) so was planning on doing a 2-3 gallon boil. Will this change things? So would I add the Pilsen DME / bittering hops at 60 min, then amber LME and sugar at 30 mins.?
Click to expand...

I mean only boil for 30 minutes total. Add the DME at the start of a 30 minute boil and the LME and sugar with 5-10 minutes remaining.

Search the forums for "late addition" and you will find plenty written on the subject. Basically, because extract is essentially wort that has been pre-converted and dehydrated, the work usually done by the mash and subsequent boil is already done. The only reason to boil extract is to dissolve it fully and sanitize it. So only a few minutes is plenty of time, although you do want some wort in the pot for the full boil length to utilize the hops appropriately.

If you boil 2.75 gallons of water, shooting for a post-boil of 2.5 gallons, your hop utilization would be a little lower than in a full-volume boil. So I'd then do 1.5 oz of Magnum (or a 13% AA substitute) for 30 minutes and keep the Amarillo at 1 oz at 15 and 0 minutes.
 
mojo_wire said:
I mean only boil for 30 minutes total. Add the DME at the start of a 30 minute boil and the LME and sugar with 5-10 minutes remaining.

Search the forums for "late addition" and you will find plenty written on the subject. Basically, because extract is essentially wort that has been pre-converted and dehydrated, the work usually done by the mash and subsequent boil is already done. The only reason to boil extract is to dissolve it fully and sanitize it. So only a few minutes is plenty of time, although you do want some wort in the pot for the full boil length to utilize the hops appropriately.

If you boil 2.75 gallons of water, shooting for a post-boil of 2.5 gallons, your hop utilization would be a little lower than in a full-volume boil. So I'd then do 1.5 oz of Magnum (or a 13% AA substitute) for 30 minutes and keep the Amarillo at 1 oz at 15 and 0 minutes.
Click to expand...

Gotcha! Appreciate your help!
 
i wouldnt change anything. If you're out of Magnum, Summit is a good sub.

if i were you, i'd put in the amber malt @ 60, bring back to a boil, add bittering, do your 15 min hop addition, add the rest of the lme before you do the 0 minute hops.

2 ounces is a good amount for a dry hop. See where you're at with a 2 ounce dry hop and if you want more, do it the next time around. You'll never know the differnences if you dont test them.

Also, you will definately want to make a starter for the yeast.
 
Also, you will definately want to make a starter for the yeast.[/QUOTE]

I've never done the yeast starter. The recipe called for 2 vials of the WLP001.
 
I brewed this about a week ago. It was a big beer! OG was just under 1090. I made a starter out of WLP001 and it took off like crazy. Probably going to leave it in the primary for at least 3 weeks, maybe 4, then rack it and dry hop in a secondary. My HBS didn't have the simcoe so I subbed in galena so we'll see how it turns out. My guess is this beer will take a long time to carbonate.
Francis, how did yours turn out?
 
just wanted to update. i had a bottle tonight of this beer after 3 weeks in the bottle at 70 degrees. it was straight flat. it tasted very good. the hops are well balanced with all the malt that's in there. its going to take forever to carb though. at 1.090 i can't be very surprised.
 
Sorry, I just saw your posts. Mine turned out pretty good and it did take about 3 weeks to carb up. Not quite what I was hoping for but I had a couple brew day "issues" that probably caused the off taste. You're right though, it's a big beer - you're feeling it after one! I'm planning on doing another IIPA here soon - want to find a recipe that's lighter in color and really citrusy. Wish I could find a Myrcenary Clone - that beer is so fn good!
 
Francis said:
Sorry, I just saw your posts. Mine turned out pretty good and it did take about 3 weeks to carb up. Not quite what I was hoping for but I had a couple brew day "issues" that probably caused the off taste. You're right though, it's a big beer - you're feeling it after one! I'm planning on doing another IIPA here soon - want to find a recipe that's lighter in color and really citrusy. Wish I could find a Myrcenary Clone - that beer is so fn good!
Click to expand...

It's all good man thanks for the reply! I'm really surprised to hear your batch only took 3 weeks to carb up. Did you use corn sugar or dme? We used dme because our HBS was out of corn sugar... So now it's going take even longer to carb up. I'm leaving town for a couple weeks in another week or so. Hopefully when I get back it'll be at least a little carbed up.
This beer is quite dark though. Almost like arrogant bastard dark. I did like the balance of the malt and the hops. I agree that it could be way lighter in color and MORE HOPS!! Next time I'm going to do all light dme and a bigger late hop addition. Probably bump up the dry hop as well.
Good luck finding the Myrcenary clone. I've never had it. If you find it let me know!
 

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