First IPA

Hi !

The brewing community increased by one as I finished my first batch and it's in the fermantor bucket already.
I made an IPA from scratch, named it:
Straycats IPA 1.0 (no animals were harmed during the brewing).

I used:
1lb. Vienna Malt
0.5 lb Cara-Crystal 120L
- steeped for 20 min. in 5 qts water till reached 70C than added:

6.6 lb. Brewferm Light Malt extract
Hops:
Amarillo (10% AA) 1oz. 60 min.
Citra (15% AA) 0.5 oz. 15 min.
Cascade (6.8% AA) 0.5 oz. 15 min.
Citra (15% AA) 0.5 oz. 3 min.
Cascade (6.8% AA) 0.5 oz. 3 min.

Yeast: Safale US 0.5 11 gr.

OG: 1.052
I didn't plan a secondary, will leave in primary for ~3 weeks than bottle for 4-5 weeks.
Hard waiting time follows....

Will you be dry hopping that IPA? You can do that right in the primary when the fermentation is over and the yeast starts to flocculate out. I'd probably do that for the last week before you bottle.

I find waiting is easier if I have another brew to do. I plan for a couple days as I check recipes against what grains I have on hand, make a trip to the LHBS to pick up what I'm missing, replan the recipe based on what the LHBS actually had on hand plus what I had and then set a time to brew. If the ingredients are right for it and I have the time in my schedule to do so, I may have 3 fermenters going at once.

That was all the Amarillo I had. I'll keep in mind for the next time. Thank's!

unionrdr said:

You're welcome. I'm having trouble finding any Amarillo,citra,or Simcoe at all in these parts. So when I ordered my supplies,I got some ahtanum & Sterling for my next batch of my sunset gold apa.

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I use amarillo and simcoe in my IPA and I too have hard a very very hard time finding any.

Daybis said:

I use amarillo and simcoe in my IPA and I too have hard a very very hard time finding any.

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Freshops has simcoe and amarillo. I just bought some more, as they limit the amarillo to 8 ounces per order. I have two pounds of simcoe, and a pound of amarillo on hand as that is my favorite combo for IPAs.

Welcome, nice to see new brewers trying to make their own beers.

Vienna malt needs to be mashed, as it has no sugars and needs the starches to be converted. Steeping it in 5 quarts of water for 20 minutes might get a little conversion, but not much (if any). If you find your beer does not clear, your use of the Vienna malt will most probably be the reason (extraction of starches). This will not affect the flavor.

+1 to dry hopping with an ounce of hops (I would use Citra if you have it).

Calder said:

Welcome, nice to see new brewers trying to make their own beers.

Vienna malt needs to be mashed, as it has no sugars and needs the starches to be converted. Steeping it in 5 quarts of water for 20 minutes might get a little conversion, but not much (if any). If you find your beer does not clear, your use of the Vienna malt will most probably be the reason (extraction of starches). This will not affect the flavor.

+1 to dry hopping with an ounce of hops (I would use Citra if you have it).

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I added 1 tsp. of Irish Moss at 15 min. maybe will help with the clearing. Do you suggest leave out Vienna Malt in the future?

Daybis said:

I use amarillo and simcoe in my IPA and I too have hard a very very hard time finding any.

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There is a lot of Amarillo at BS here in Budapest

galagonya said:

I added 1 tsp. of Irish Moss at 15 min. maybe will help with the clearing. Do you suggest leave out Vienna Malt in the future?

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Heck no! I LOVE Vienna malt. Next time just leave it in the steep for longer- 45 minutes- as it can self convert.

A good way to do it would be to heat up 1.5 quarts of water per pound of grain to 165 degrees and add the bag of grains. Stir well, cover it up and let sit for 45 minutes. (In European language, that's 1.4 liters per .45 KG of grain, at 74C.) When you add the grain, the temperature should drop to the desired mash temperature of 150-156F (65-69C). Just stir well to make sure the grains are thoroughly wetted.

After 45 minutes, you can lift up the grain bag and pour 170F (77C) water over it, up to your boil volume.

That's all there is to it- super easy and Vienna malt is awesome in IPAs.

Yooper said:

Freshops has simcoe and amarillo. I just bought some more, as they limit the amarillo to 8 ounces per order. I have two pounds of simcoe, and a pound of amarillo on hand as that is my favorite combo for IPAs.

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i second ^this^ on both fronts. simcoe+amarillo=IPA heaven!! brewing an IPA with those two guys today! and freshhops.com is a great site for hops. you have to order 12 oz, but they have everything the big guys run out of, simcoe, amarillo, citra, etc. good prices and fast shipping too. i just got an order to stock up on some of my faves.

Yooper said:

Heck no! I LOVE Vienna malt. Next time just leave it in the steep for longer- 45 minutes- as it can self convert.
That's all there is to it- super easy and Vienna malt is awesome in IPAs.

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One of my favourits is Victory Hop Devil IPA that's why I used Vienna Malt.
SURE I'll do your way next time. Thank's a lot !!