All-Grain - Double-Quarter-Pounder Simcoe IPA (That's 1/2lb for the math challenged)

**Coastarine** · 04-26-2010, 10:11 PM

Recipe Type: All Grain
Yeast: US-05
Yeast Starter: nope
Additional Yeast or Yeast Starter: nope
Batch Size (Gallons): 5
Original Gravity: 1.062
Final Gravity: 1.013
IBU: 68
Boiling Time (Minutes): 60
Color: 8.1 SRM
Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): 14@66
Additional Fermentation: nope
Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): 7@room temp
Tasting Notes: See below.

I've brewed this several times now and it is ready to be officially shared here. The flavor, color, aroma, mouthfeel, and bitterness are pretty much perfect for me. It has been received by most with rave reviews. While more hops would indeed be fun, I like using half a pound because I buy them by the pound from nikobrew or hopsdirect, and this leaves no orphaned pellets.

10lb US 2-row
2lb Light Munich
10oz C20

Mash at 151*F for 60min

All hops are simcoe 11.9%AA:
1oz@35min
1oz@15min
1oz@10min
1.5oz@5min
1.5oz@0min

2oz dry hop in secondary* at room temp (65-75ish) for 7days.

*I don't actually use a secondary, but rack to the keg, dry hop in keg using a mesh bag, pull the hops after a week, then chill the keg.

I bottled and sent some samples to two HBT members, and they were kind enough to sit down and do a silent tasting with notes:

Quote:

Aroma-

Curtis : Aroma is very hop forward and notes dominated by pineapple, tangerine, and maybe a slight mint finish. Very slight malt sweetness.

Carson : Nicely balanced candy like nose. Grassy notes are prominent but have a nice flowery character. Malt cuts through lightly with a bit of caramel.

Appearance-

Curtis : Slight haze but expected, color is great for the style. Head is above average and exhibits moderate lacing and retention.

Carson : Color is spot on for the style, nice and clear. Head is nice as well, medium to large bubbles with medium retention.

Flavor-

Curtis : Malt is there but very subtle. Hops cut through with a nice bitterness. I taste lime, lemon, orange peel, green apple in this beer from the hop character. Finish is perfectly balanced for the style.

Carson : Hop's up front but quickly stand aside to let a wonderful balance of caramel and flowery character. After taste is grassy with a light caramel character and some fruit. Wow.

Mouthfeel-

Curtis : Body is spot on for the style and the carbonation is great. Carbonation accentuates bitterness perfectly.

Carson : Body is well balanced. A tart papery ester comes through in the beginning but quickly fades. There is a light creaminess taht works well with the pleasant fruit esters.

Overall Impression-

Curtis : Your best IPA i've ever tasted without a doubt. This is just my personal opinion but I would bring up the complexity of the malt on the beer as I like a really malty IPA but that right there is my only suggestion.

Carson : What a great IPA, the only critique I can think of is the overly tart character in the front. The hop character is spot on and vibrant but also lets through a prominent malt character in the after taste with lots of caramel. Do a double IPA!

I just brewed this again and tried a slight experiment: I used only 1lb of munich (adding a lb of 2-row) and pulled the 1oz@15 to make 3 oz dry hops. I bumped the 35min addition to 40 to compensate the IBUs. I'll see if this improves it or not in a few weeks.

**29thfloor** · 05-01-2012, 05:40 PM

I know this is an old thread but any updates on the changes you made?

I'm doing something similar tomorrow and I'm still trying to work out my hop additions. I have 5oz of Simcoe pellets and 3 oz of Simcoe whole leaf hops to work with.

I was thinking of doing 1-2 oz at 60min so I'm wondering what kind of difference it will make to hold off until 35-40 min to start adding hops.

KeyWestBrewing · 05-10-2012, 09:29 PM

From what ive read on the forum. Not as much bitterness from the hops if you add them at 35-40. Might not matter though if the IBU's still fit the style or range your looking for. Or you can always mix em all together and continuously hop.