Double IPA Pliny the Elder Clone

keezerj said:

This beer ruined all other ipas for me. They all taste like pale ales to me now.

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Agree for the most part, though Zombie Dust and Double Jack are still IIPA material in my book! Gotta make some ZD next.

Anyone else have hop oils floating on top of their PtE clones? Man that tastes great!

Man. Just can't say enough about this beer. I did it a bit different but same hops etc. damn good. I have a sixer of bells The Oracle and like mine better!

I'm curious when considering the boil time and amount of hop matter--what is the average totalbeer volume left over when time to bottle/keg?

Oh ****! Mine has an alcohol odor and taste that I am pretty sure is fusel. I know it was not a hot fermentation but maybe my yeast starter was the cause and the yeast were stressed.
Sadly, it'll likely have to be pitched. This is a somewhat expensive beer but I will get to brewing it again in a few months because I have to prove it to myself.

I just added my 2nd round of dry hops in my 2nd batch today and had to take a sample.

mmmmmm, tasty!

Mofoa said:

I'm curious when considering the boil time and amount of hop matter--what is the average totalbeer volume left over when time to bottle/keg?

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I got about 9.5 gallons and was shooting for 11. I used all pellet hops. It hit 9.5 ABV (shooting for 8.9 or better) so I could have added a bit of water and gotten it to 10 gallons easily. My guess is most people come up around a gallon short...

Beer-lord said:

Oh ****! Mine has an alcohol odor and taste that I am pretty sure is fusel. I know it was not a hot fermentation but maybe my yeast starter was the cause and the yeast were stressed.
Sadly, it'll likely have to be pitched. This is a somewhat expensive beer but I will get to brewing it again in a few months because I have to prove it to myself.

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That is sad! It is not a cheap beer to make! I would suggest letting it sit a month, but I am doubt that will help much. Sorry to hear it dude!

Mofoa said:

I'm curious when considering the boil time and amount of hop matter--what is the average totalbeer volume left over when time to bottle/keg?

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I came out of the boil with 6 gallons or so, and just about exactly 5 after dry hopping, but I had a ton of stuff settle out in primary and used 6 oz total dry hopping.

By the way, today was my first taste and Oh My God is it good. I have never tries the real thing, so I have no basis for comparison, but I don't care, it is a great DIPA recipe!

Beautiful color, good head retention and carbonation. I am one happy camper!

jb1677 said:

Cracked open my fermenter after 10 days to measure and dryhop - finished at 1.011 and tastes GREAT! 3oz of dryhops went in (and all sank, not sure if that's good or bad??? Does it really matter?)

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Nah, doesn't matter. Were they pellet or leaf hops? Usually the pellets sink until the bloat up with beer then they'll float, and usually both will drop out if you cold crash.

That first taste is when you know. If it's great now, you've made a great beer. Don't put too much stock into it if you taste it too soon after dryhopping or the dryhops make it taste a bit green at first...they'll blend perfectly in a very short period of time.

Well said about being green. My first bottle was good but tasted a bit veggie. But a week later and it was awesome. It's the first beer of mine I actually want to have everyday.

I remember taking a taste of the first beer I ever heavily dry hopped out of the bottling bucket and thinking 'OMG what the hell have I just done'

Incredibly green and vegetative

3 weeks later it was pure tropical, citrus and pine.

3 weeks after kegged mine is starting to loose its hop presence. I wonder if someone has ever threw more hops in halfway through the keg to reenergize it

keezerj: Yep, been there, done that. It works, just be careful of O2. Last thing you want is to oxidize! That is another reason I like to keg, I can add hops or other things to change the beer over time. One time I had a vanilla porter that had very little vanilla flavor, so I puts some beans in vodka, let them soak for a while, and then popped it into the keg. Greatly improved the beer. Same thing with hops...if I have a plain tasting beer and want to add a little more hoppy goodness, in goes a sack of hops and it improves the beer almost immediately. Just watch the oxygen...if you can, hit it hard with CO2 before, and after closing the keg. Cheers!

Oh, and drink faster. Grin!

I know this is an old thread...what is the reason for the 90 minute boil?

never mind, I just read the article posted on about the second page of this thread.

Silly question probably but is there much noticeable difference in flavour and aroma by adding a second lot of dry hopping rather than just adding the lot in one hit when fermentation is complete?

I guess the short answer is Yes. The addition of the total 3/4 oz last dry hop addition does seem like why? But recipes are designed as such for a reason and if Vinni says to do it, then do it. After all he is the creator and this beer is supposed to be the bomb. I just kegged mine Tuesday, so another half a week or so, I'll be able to see.
I also listened to a Jamil podcast regarding hop additions and I remember him saying that in some cases one pellet more or one pellet less can make a difference, that seems extreme, but they know more than I.

My last posts shows a posting time of 4:08 pm?????????? What the H. it's 10:10 am in Wisconsin, is this board routed through China?

This is still my fave beer I've brewed. Got third in a competition. 2 weeks ago.

Brewed this with 8oz Caramel 30 since I didn't have crystal 45. I got all the grain and hops for free from Iron Hill Brewery (wonderful perks of the job) and brew day went well. My second all grain batch and first one done alone.

Mashed with 6.3g and sparged with close to that to yield about 7 gallons preboil. Ended with around 6 gallons to ferment and I hit 75% efficiency with an OG of 1.068. Added a bit more corn sugar to the boil, about an oz or two. Thanks for the recipe!

Just checked up on the fermenter 14 hours after pitching around 67' and there isn't much going on. I did manage to see a bubble or two in the airlock. I had to swap first bubbler out because it somehow leaked vodka through but this second one has held up. Hopefully the trub will settle and compact a ton so that I don't lose too much to hop absorption.

I used 1 vial of US001 CA Ale and added 2.5tsp of yeast energizer nutrients. Should I have used two vials? I'm used to rehydrating dry yeast and pitching to have activity in a few hours. RDWHAB??

The yeast strain is correct for the recipe, but what is the viability? I always make a starter and use 1/4 tsp yeast nutrient the last 15 minutes of the boil. I got 85% attenuation from my yeast. I racked this beer to secondary 10 days after pitching, there was still some activity in the air lock, but racked any way, I needed a fermenter, plus I still wanted some Co2 generation for the dry hop additions. Back in this thread there is an article about this beer, I would follow the instructions the rest of the way from that, I did and am loving this beer.

I shook up the fermenter a bit to suspend everything in it besides the bed of greens and it is bubbling away a bit. I did lose a bunch of volume to the insane amount of hop trub so there's quite a bit of headroom in my carboy.

It looks like an active fermentation so I'm looking forward to drinking it in a month! 1.068OG so 84% attenuation will put me at 1.011/8%abv, here's hoping the little guys do work! I really have to start making yeast starters.

I do starters all the time, here is a link to Brewersfriend.com they have a lot of useful calculators, I use them all the time. this link is specifically for yeast starters. http://www.brewersfriend.com/yeast-pitch-rate-and-starter-calculator/

It is kicking ass at the moment! Pretty ferocious

DarthMalts said:

It is kicking ass at the moment! Pretty ferocious

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Ya, I couldn't keep the lid on, went to blow off and had to put weight on top of the fermenter

Another silly question regarding adding hops at 0 mins.
Do you guys just add at flame out and then remove them with the break material before going into the fermenter. In other words that addition would only work its stuff during the quick chill phase???

I like to let them steep for 20-30 minutes after flameout before chilling. It would be better if you had a pump to whirlpool while steeping.

el_caro said:

Another silly question regarding adding hops at 0 mins.
Do you guys just add at flame out and then remove them with the break material before going into the fermenter. In other words that addition would only work its stuff during the quick chill phase???

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The more a hop is boiled the more hop flavor and aromatics are lost, thus becoming just bitter. Adding at flame out preserves more of the flavor and aromatics of the hop. Steeping for a few minutes is all that is necessary. With as many hop additions that are added, I will pour the wort through a 5 gallon straining bag, some may frown on this, but it is alot easier than trying to siphon with all the hop sediment, and my beer has suffered no ill effects from this practice.

I read in another thread (wookie jack clone) about a podcast from Firestone walker and how they hot whirlpool for a half hour or more. I figure if it works for them why it try it? Anyway, a few minutes may be all you need...maybe an experiment is in order

Just out of precaution, I moved the beer to a secondary Carboy to clear it up and get it off of all the yeast and trub it sat on for a little over two weeks. Dropped from 1.068 to 1.009 and it tastes pretty ridiculous. Big citrus pine notes with bitter hints of grapefruit. Could use more umph in the nose department but it's cool- it's 6AM and I'm drunk

I woke up and the lid was bulging out, ready to blow! The air lock had blocked up and we almost had an explosion. When I removed the plug, it was a volcano!

[ame]http://youtu.be/UgfubawsrcM[/ame]

I just did a clone of Pliny the Elder and it had so many hops in it................................. it was like sand. I like to drink my beer and not chew it so I tried to strain out all the hops. It didn't work. The strain bag became so heavy with hops that it broke off, now my tap is all gummed up.

Oh, the problems of a homebrewer!

I just was in Whole Foods & requested a few bottles of Pliny since they just got in 1 case the day before.............................. they had already sold out. I got a bottle of Stone's IPA. http://www.ratebeer....le-ale-ipa/422/ Mine's better.

Holy Smokes!

That Pliny is some HOPPY ****! Take what you can buy in the bottle and increase the homebrew 10X.

Wow!

It's good. Very good................................. but WoW! I wasn't ready for that!

P.S. And No! You can't have any! I'm drinking this all to my head. IT'S MINE! My precious............................... OK, 21 can have some, but you gotta drive up here.

Got 29 12oz bottles and 5 22oz bombers at the end. Lost so much to hops, I really need a bigger kettle to start with more wort. Tastes amazing though and finished at 1.009 from 1.068

Hop sacks FTW. Both for boiling and dry.

Yup, hop sacks are where it's at!

I have 2-3 of those meslun bags that I used to hold pumpkins when making a pumpkin ale. I know that boiling them is fine for hop additions but would I soak them in iodine for a minute, rinse and then add hops to dry hop? Just to keep things clean?

I've always: boiled my muslin hop bags for 15 minutes, drained, cooled, sprayed hands with StarSan (diluted of course), filled, tied, and put in the primary fermenter. I've never had a problem.

Boiling for 15 is overkill. I bring water to a boil and shut it off...then put the sack in there for a few minutes.

You guys are way too cautious. Throw 'em in the way they are! I have not had any issues with contamination. When dry hopping the alcohol in the beer helps ward off the nasties. With a double IPA you should be fine.

Tcl1999 said:

You guys are way too cautious. Throw 'em in the way they are! I have not had any issues with contamination. When dry hopping the alcohol in the beer helps ward off the nasties. With a double IPA you should be fine.

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Do you use a sack?