Thoughts on this imperial IPA recipe?

I'm planning my first-ever brew (helped a friend once). I figure I'm going to go all-grain or nothing. Also want to make my own recipe. Also want to brew something that I want to drink and that will be something that I cant easily and affordably buy at the store (ie. BIG + Good)

5gal batch

OG - 1.106 ----------FG ~ 1.027 -----ABV ~ 10-10.5%

GRAIN
Maris Otter - 16lb
Organic Munich 10L - 1.5lb
Aromatic 19L - 1lb
2-row caramel 20L - .5lb
2-row caramel 40L - .25lb
Corn Sugar - 1lb

HOPS -WET
2oz -Simcoe @ 90
1.5oz - Simcoe @ 60
1.5oz - Simcoe @ 30
1.5oz - Simcoe @ 15
1oz - Simcoe @ 5

These will be added dry in 2 stages (Primary Ferment 2-3wks and then secondary until bottle)
HOPS - DRY
2.5oz - Simcoe
2oz - Citra
2oz - Amarillo
2oz - Centennial

Yeast - Danstar Nottingham


---I might tone down the dry hop to fit the fermenter... I might tone down the whole thing to fit my budget. I should be able to get free hops so that shouldnt be an issue (Just hope I can get Simcoe) Am I in way over my head trying to make a beer this big and hoppy for my 1st? I might make a normal IPA for my 1st and save this recipe for later...I dont know yet... and I dont want to touch an extract unless its for a yeast starter... and no kits! just not my style... Thoughts? Suggestions?

Why are you using MO and Belg pale malt? Seems like an odd base malt combination to me... What kind of IBUs are you targeting?

Also, you're going to lose a ton of volume to an 8 oz. dry hop, and it's likely that your beer will just taste like grass. And grapefruit.

Also, 1.106 is waaaaay too high for an IIPA.

I dont know why those grains - I'm new at this Thinking sub all MO for those two or just all 2-row instead...

Shooting for 100 or so IBU's. I overshot it, but meh...only by like 25%

Honestly...not really that sure what I'm doing (obviously). I've just been messing around trying to come up with something and figured I'd ask if I was on the right track or not. I shall keep tweaking it and await more chiming in ---

Strave19 said:

I dont know why those grains - I'm new at this Thinking sub all MO for those two or just all 2-row instead...

Shooting for 100 or so IBU's. I overshot it, but meh...only by like 25%

Honestly...not really that sure what I'm doing (obviously). I've just been messing around trying to come up with something and figured I'd ask if I was on the right track or not. I shall keep tweaking it and await more chiming in ---

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Use US 2-row for the malt. You don't want it to be malty and sweet- you want it to dry out a bit. The corn sugar is fine. I would do something much simpler for the grain bill. First, that high of an OG means the beer will finish SWEET. I don't mean a little sweet. 1.027 or higher is SWEET and would hurt my teeth. Many ale yeast will poop out by 9%, so you won't be able to bottle carb such a high OG beer, also. The aromatic malt will give an intensely malty aroma, so that's ok if you want it but it seems weird to add all those "malty" malts and then use corn sugar to boost fermentables a little and dry it out some.

I like an IIPA in the 1.075 range, with a FG of 1.012-1.017ish. That makes it drinkable. IBUs in the 100+ are fine but make sure you balance with enough late hops in the boil so that it's not only bitter, but hoppy in the flavor and aroma as well.

I like a grain bill of 85% US two-row and a hint (5-8%) of caramel malt, or amber malt or something like that for depth and interest. A pound of corn sugar to boost fermentables and thin the body a bit is a good idea.

Thanks, I'll definitely use 2-row instead, and also drop the OG a bit. Maybe I'll invest in some homebrew software right now to make life easier...

Sounds like you have a really sweet (literally) triple IPA on hand. Weird... but I say go for it. If you like it, you like it, right? I just don't know if I could end up drinking 50 bottles of it, but hey - have fun, at least you're going big like you intended!

Maybe drop the Crystal, It doesnt make sense to add corn sugar to dry it out and add crystal to sweeten it back up. MO is fine for a base malt and the big dry hop charge will be fine...I dont think it will taste like grass unless you leave it in too long but it will soak up some wort so plan for it.

I've been giving it some thought, and maybe the recipe that I have is more of a DH 120min IPA type recipe - almost a barleywine (which I did not really intend). I'll lose most of the crystal, maybe keep 1/4 or 1/2lb to keep some body and sweetness to it. I think I'll drop the OG a bit too to dry it out. Depending on if I end up paying for all of these hops or not I may drop them a bit but not too much - I still want a BIG, super-hoppy, Kick-in-the-Sack- IPA. I'll buy some brewing software and that should help me dial things in. Thanks for all the feedback - I'll post a more finalized recipe before I brew.

Thanks again all

Let us know how it goes! Those Dogfish Head guys are also a little nuts, so the comparison might be apt.

A pound of aromatic is a little out of place for an IIPA, I would eliminate that entirely.

14# MO
1# munich
.50 C20
.25 C40
2 # dextrose

This is perfectly adequate, Mash at 147-149 for 90 minutes and DO NOT ADD YOUR SUGAR TO THE BOIL.

Let the primary fermentation start to finish up, then add your sugar, dissolved in water 1 pound at a time a few days between each addition. You should have no problem with this beer, attenuating if you follow these directions. I would certainly rehydrate two packets of nottingham and ferment between 65-69 degrees......I bet you can get it to finish below 1.020 if you add the sugar late.

Using this protocol I had a 1.095 IIPA end at 1.010.

I am also a huge fan of subbing honey, pound for pound, for dextrose in IPA's......there is something about floral hops and honey that are amazing together...underrated.

permo said:

A pound of aromatic is a little out of place for an IIPA, I would eliminate that entirely.

14# MO
1# munich
.50 C20
.25 C40
2 # dextrose

This is perfectly adequate, Mash at 147-149 for 90 minutes and DO NOT ADD YOUR SUGAR TO THE BOIL.

Let the primary fermentation start to finish up, then add your sugar, dissolved in water 1 pound at a time a few days between each addition. You should have no problem with this beer, attenuating if you follow these directions. I would certainly rehydrate two packets of nottingham and ferment between 65-69 degrees......I bet you can get it to finish below 1.020 if you add the sugar late.

Using this protocol I had a 1.095 IIPA end at 1.010.

I am also a huge fan of subbing honey, pound for pound, for dextrose in IPA's......there is something about floral hops and honey that are amazing together...underrated.

Click to expand...

Wow…. this is some of the best advice I have ever heard on HBT. If the yeast has dextrose in the wort to start it will skip the growth phase and go right to eating. I wouldn’t wait till the end of fermentation but defiantly after the growth phase.

permo said:

A pound of aromatic is a little out of place for an IIPA, I would eliminate that entirely.

14# MO
1# munich
.50 C20
.25 C40
2 # dextrose

This is perfectly adequate, Mash at 147-149 for 90 minutes and DO NOT ADD YOUR SUGAR TO THE BOIL.

Let the primary fermentation start to finish up, then add your sugar, dissolved in water 1 pound at a time a few days between each addition. You should have no problem with this beer, attenuating if you follow these directions. I would certainly rehydrate two packets of nottingham and ferment between 65-69 degrees......I bet you can get it to finish below 1.020 if you add the sugar late.

Using this protocol I had a 1.095 IIPA end at 1.010.

I am also a huge fan of subbing honey, pound for pound, for dextrose in IPA's......there is something about floral hops and honey that are amazing together...underrated.

Click to expand...

Would you also add the honey after primary dies down, or to the last 10-15 minutes of the boil??

You add the honey to the primary fermenter, the same way as the sugar. Personally I just dissolve the honey in hot water, cool it down and dump it in.

permo said:

You add the honey to the primary fermenter, the same way as the sugar. Personally I just dissolve the honey in hot water, cool it down and dump it in.

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Interesting, do you feel adding honey (glucose and fructose) to the end of the boil has the same effects as adding dextrose?

stubbornman said:

Interesting, do you feel adding honey (glucose and fructose) to the end of the boil has the same effects as adding dextrose?

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Although I never add sugar to my boil, I feel that it would have the same effect. I always add my simple sugars after the propogation phase has completed and fermentation starts to slow, if only a little.

Once great thing about adding honey to the primary, is that you don't lose it's aroma and flavor.

permo said:

Although I never add sugar to my boil, I feel that it would have the same effect. I always add my simple sugars after the propogation phase has completed and fermentation starts to slow, if only a little.

Once great thing about adding honey to the primary, is that you don't lose it's aroma and flavor.

Click to expand...

Interesting, do you heat the honey to pasteurize it before adding it to the fermenter?

King of Cascade said:

Interesting, do you heat the honey to pasteurize it before adding it to the fermenter?

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no boiling, i get the water just hot enough to dissolve the honey.

Great topic. I'm brewing an IIPA today and will try the corn sugar addition in the primary once fermentation slows a little. I figure I can add 0.75# corn sugar to maybe 2 to 2.5 cups hot water and drop in the primary. Should I stir a little? I think it's still safe to introduce a bit of O2 since there will be active fermentation still going on. What do you think?

B

jgourd said:

Great topic. I'm brewing an IIPA today and will try the corn sugar addition in the primary once fermentation slows a little. I figure I can add 0.75# corn sugar to maybe 2 to 2.5 cups hot water and drop in the primary. Should I stir a little? I think it's still safe to introduce a bit of O2 since there will be active fermentation still going on. What do you think?

Click to expand...

No need to stir, the yeast will find it.

So here is a final version of what I'm going to brew... its toned down and simplified a lot from the original, but I think its going to be a delicious Extra IPA. Any final thoughts?

Amount Item Type % or IBU
12 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 85.71 %
1 lbs Munich Malt - 27L (27.0 SRM) Grain 7.14 %
8.0 oz Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain 3.57 %
8.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM) Grain 3.57 %

Hops are basically equal parts Amarillo, Cascade, and Centennial
-FWH-60min
-40-min
-20-min
-10-min
-Dry
-----Each addition using .5oz of each resulting in ~82IBU and hopefully some good aroma and flavor (Might add a 5min addition...)


1 Pkgs S-05 Yeast-Ale



Beer Profile

Est Original Gravity: 1.076 SG
Measured Original Gravity: 0.000 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.016 SG Measured Final Gravity: 0.000 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 7.84 % Actual Alcohol by Vol: 0.00 %
Bitterness: 82.1 IBU
Est Color: 10.2 SRM

I'm thinking it will finish quite a bit drier with this yeast, probably more like 1.012 or 1.010 putting it at ~8.5%abv which is fine by me. Planning on mashing @ 152 and doing a couple of batch sparges @ ~170. Hopefully it will make for a crisp, slightly sweet and flavorful hoppy brew (If I dont screw it up too bad ). Feedback welcome, hopefully I can get it brewed thursday night! :rockin:

Strave19 said:

I'm thinking it will finish quite a bit drier with this yeast, probably more like 1.012 or 1.010 putting it at ~8.5%abv which is fine by me. Planning on mashing @ 152 and doing a couple of batch sparges @ ~170.

Click to expand...

My sense is that you would want to mash lower (say 148-149F for 90 minutes) if you hope to go from OG 1.076 down to FG 1.010-1.012, since that would require about 85% attentuation. For me, S-05 in a brew mashed at 152F usually attenuates in the range of 75%.

My original plan was to mash a bit lower to dry it out, but after reading a few threads on here that suggest US-05 will ferment just about any simple sugars you throw at it and get >80% att. without too much effort got me thinking... I would rather have it a bit sweet than too dry I think. Maybe?