IPA and hops

Hello from Croatia

I have one question for you mates. Recently I made American IPA with Amarillo, Simcoe and Cascade since I didn't have Citra on my hand.

Recipe was

25L (6.6 gal) batch

5,62 kg Pilsner (2 Row) Bel (3,9 EBC) 85,4 %
0,26 kg Munich Malt (17,7 EBC) 4,0 %
0,26 kg Wheat Malt, Ger (3,9 EBC) 4,0 %
0,30 kg Biscuit Malt (45,3 EBC) 4,6 %
0,13 kg Cara 120 (120,0 EBC) 2,0 %

35,00 g (1.23 oz) Magnum [11,00 %] - Boil 60,0 min 40,0 IBUs (

15,00 g (0.5 oz) Amarillo [10,00 %] - Boil 15,0 min 7,7 IBUs
15,00 g (0.5 oz) Simcoe [12,00 %] - Boil 15,0 min 10 9,3 IBUs
15,00 g (0.5 oz) Cascade [5,00 %] - Boil 15,0 min 3,9 IBUs
0,50 Items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15,0 mins) Fining

15,00 g (0.5 oz) Amarillo [10,00 %] - Aroma Steep 20,0 min
15,00 g (0.5 oz) Simcoe [12,00 %] - Aroma Steep 20,0 min
15,00 g (0.5 oz) Cascade [5,00 %] - Aroma Steep 20,0 min

15,00 g (0.5 oz) Amarillo [10,00 %] - Dry Hop 7,0 Days
15,00 g (0.5 oz) Simcoe [12,00 %] - Dry Hop 7,0 Days
15,00 g (0.5 oz) Cascade [5,00 %] - Dry Hop 7,0 Days
1,0 pkg Safale American (DCL/Fermentis #US-05)

Measured Original Gravity: 1,060 SG
Measured Final Gravity: 1,012 SG
Actual Alcohol by Vol: 6,6 %
Bitterness: 60,9 IBUs
Est Color: 13,6 EBC

I have used galatine in my keg to clear it and somehow i think I stripped a lot of hop flavor. And I think that Simcoe overwhelmed other hops.

So I'm wondering what is the best ratio of simcoe-amarillo to get more fruity character. Maybe 2:1 for amarillo? Besides those hops now I have also nelson sauvin. What is your recommendation for hops schedule with those hops? I like a lot Brewdog Punk IPA so that is my reference for hop aroma.

Thank you all

No one?

The recipe seems decent enough. I would have liked more hops in the whirlpool and dryhop. You used 5.73 oz. total hops. For 1.060 OG, I would have used more like 8 oz. total hops. I would not blame gelatin on the lack of hop character.

For fruity, you'll want more Amarillo (and the tropical fruity Citra if you can get it). Simcoe has some fruit to it, but it's mainly musky pinecone. Cascade is pure grapefruit; citrusy, not so much fruity. Nelson Sauvin is full of tropical fruit, cat pee, and gooseberries... a little bit of that goes a long way.

Thank you very much for you answer! Next time I'll put more hops and more amarillo Cheers

A 50/50 mix of simcoe and amarillo is fantastic. However, I typically use about twice as much hops as your recipe calls for.

I agree on the amounts! I like to see close to 16oz of hops total in an IPA but we like to overdo things here in the states!

I have found that dry hopping should be at least 2 oz of hops per 5 gallon batch for great aroma!

My grandfather's family came here from Croatia in 1926 so I am 25% Croatian blood!

And citra , with a citra dry hop, came out great . I know citra is tight sometimes but I think you should try that ratio. Your recipe looks great by the way.

I'll try simcoe/amarillo combo. What is your suggestion for hop schedule? Thank you

Svarrogh said:

I'll try simcoe/amarillo combo. What is your suggestion for hop schedule? Thank you

Click to expand...

Your hop schedule looks good but I would bump each hop quantity up from 15g to 25g!

Those hops are perfect for "fruity character"...you just don't have enough! 8oz is a minimum total hops to use in a big IPA!

Ok, next time I'll go with 8oz minimum

What do you think about this? Never used NS before so i'm wondering is the ratio 1:1:1 good for those hops.

1oz Amarillo [10,00 %] - Boil 5min
1oz Simcoe [12,00 %] - Boil 5min
1oz Nelson Sauvin[11,00 %] - Boil 5min

1oz Amarillo [10,00 %] - Aroma Steep 20,0 min
1oz Simcoe [12,00 %] - Aroma Steep 20,0 min
1oz Nelson Sauvin [11,00 %] - Aroma Steep 20,0 min

1oz Amarillo [10,00 %] - Dry Hop 7,0 Days
1oz Simcoe [12,00 %] - Dry Hop 7,0 Days
1oz Nelson Sauvin [11,00 %] - Dry Hop 7,0 Days

1,0 pkg Safale American (DCL/Fermentis #US-05)

Svarrogh said:

Ok, next time I'll go with 8oz minimum

What do you think about this? Never used NS before so i'm wondering is the ratio 1:1:1 good for those hops.

1oz Amarillo [10,00 %] - Boil 5min
1oz Simcoe [12,00 %] - Boil 5min
1oz Nelson Sauvin[11,00 %] - Boil 5min

1oz Amarillo [10,00 %] - Aroma Steep 20,0 min
1oz Simcoe [12,00 %] - Aroma Steep 20,0 min
1oz Nelson Sauvin [11,00 %] - Aroma Steep 20,0 min

1oz Amarillo [10,00 %] - Dry Hop 7,0 Days
1oz Simcoe [12,00 %] - Dry Hop 7,0 Days
1oz Nelson Sauvin [11,00 %] - Dry Hop 7,0 Days

1,0 pkg Safale American (DCL/Fermentis #US-05)

Click to expand...

That should give you huge hop flavor and aroma. What about bitterness (IBU)? Generally your total IBU's in an IPA would need to be around 1:1 for your starting gravity (for 1.060 OG you would want around 60 IBU's).

I am about to brew a red IPA using Simcoe, Amarillo and Cascade in equal parts. I have not personally tried Nelson Sauvin but I hear it is good.

Forgot to add, I'll use 60min magnum addition to get 60 IBU. The rest is for aroma and flavor. So, your next brew will be like mine I did just with lot more hops? 1oz of each? Thanks mate

Svarrogh said:

Forgot to add, I'll use 60min magnum addition to get 60 IBU. The rest is for aroma and flavor. So, your next brew will be like mine I did just with lot more hops? 1oz of each? Thanks mate

Click to expand...

Pretty much!

I find that a 60 min bittering addition for 80% of the IBU's and then 2oz at 10 min, 2oz aroma whirlpool as you cool the wort and then 2oz dry hop for 5 gallons comes out nice! You really can't go wrong with a combination of Amarillo and Simcoe, this is a very tasty combination.

Thanks alot I have to brew this again ASAP! Thank you for your answers and help

One idea I have heard may help preserve some of the aroma flavor is to actually put a hop bag with a couple more ounces of hops in your keg to help it preserve that hoppy flavor as you drink the beer!

Also, just my personal observation: If you cold crash/gelatin your beer after primary fermentation and once it settles mostly clear, then dry hop...the beer seems to absorb more aroma from the hops without them binding to yeast in suspension which then settle and take your aroma with them! I'm going to do this on the Citra/Cascade hopped Pale Ale I have in fermenters right now to see how much of a difference it makes.

- J

Yeah. I did a research about gelatine and clear beer and how they effect on hop aroma. The best thing as you said is to put dry hops on clear beer. So I'll do cold crash until beer is clear and then put my dry hops into keg at low temperature. This time i wont use any gelatine finings. Lowering the temperature will slow extracting hop flavor and aroma but I hope I'll get much smoother aroma. I'll wait for at least 2 weeks. I know that BrewDog do that with they beers. I'll try and let you know!