American IPA Dogfish Head 60 Minute Clone (AG) & Extract

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I brewed this up on Sunday. Mashed at about 153...hit that temp give or take a degree over the 60 minute mash. Hit postboil OG of 1.062. Pitched a roughly 2 L starter of WLP005 that had been going for about 24 hours. Fermented at 68.

Had a pretty vigorous fermentation but did not need to have a blowoff tube...lots of bubbling in the airlock though. It's slowed down considerably....so I took a small sample to taste and do a refract reading. today (almost day four of primary)

Two things

1.) The refract read 7.4 Brix, which when corrected with the tool in Beersmith gave me a reading of 1.009. That's 84.7% apparent attenuation. I think AA is what the yeast companies provide. Are their numbers the numbers for a single vial? White Labs says WLP005 tops out at 74%. Did I really get that much attenuation? Its just weird that if I did, I didn't have to install a blowoff. Anyone experience high attenuation with this yeast/.

2.) Tasted the sample and I didn't get much in the way of bitterness. Some was there for sure, but I don't know...didn't quite taste as bitter as an american IPA should be. It was quite sweet still...I'm guessing this might because the beer is still so young and is cleaning up. Anyone else experience this when brewing this one?
 
2.) Tasted the sample and I didn't get much in the way of bitterness. Some was there for sure, but I don't know...didn't quite taste as bitter as an american IPA should be.Anyone else experience this when brewing this one?

Yup, the 2 batches I've made of this so far are definitely more "hoppy" than "bitter." I'm actually brewing it again this weekend, but I'm tweaking the recipe a little bit this time. I'm upping it to a full ounce of Warrior at 60 minutes, and I might sprinkle in another quarter-ounce (leftovers from a previous batch) during the first 30 minutes of the boil. I want to crank the bitterness up to 11. :)
 
I'm definitely getting more hoppy than straight bitterness as well but it's a very pleasant beer overall. I would have upped the bitterness a hair but other than that great brew overall. I actually drank a bit next to a DFH 60 commercial bottle and liked mine better. The hops cleared up and the color is spot on.
 
I'd like to further tweak this recipe to move the colour a bit further down the spectrum, to a nice, rich, copper hue. It looks like 8-10 oz of Crystal 120 will get me there, but what implications will that have on flavour? Is that too much Crystal 120? Should I use more of a lower-Lovibond malt? Or maybe a pinch of something darker? How would you modify this recipe to get a nice, copper colour?
 
kombat said:
I'd like to further tweak this recipe to move the colour a bit further down the spectrum, to a nice, rich, copper hue. It looks like 8-10 oz of Crystal 120 will get me there, but what implications will that have on flavour? Is that too much Crystal 120? Should I use more of a lower-Lovibond malt? Or maybe a pinch of something darker? How would you modify this recipe to get a nice, copper colour?

Maybe an ounce of Carafa or Debittered Black malt.
 
I've been reading this thread for the past two weeks now and it's just getting me more excited to brew the extract version on Sunday. Anyway, sorry if my newbie questions have already been addressed, but I've read through 138 pages so far, and it's taking up a lot of time.

I know that there's no substitute for simcoe, but I can't get any. I'd have to make multiple orders to different online stores to complete the recipe and shipping in Canada really blows. So, does anyone have any recommendations on what they'd use instead. On page 123, Cerevisi suggested Falconers flight. Has anyone used this? Any other suggestions? Not saying that it has to be like simcoe, just something that would compliment amarillo and warrior.

One thing for sure, I would not hesitate to recommend subbing Falconers for Simcoe if you have restricted access to Simcoe as I've been having. I love the added flavor and I may not revert back to the original recipe!

I plan on pitching two packets of US-05 because of the high gravity. Does this sound alright?

I'm going to dry hop in the primary fermenter. If I use lightly packed hop bags, will I get the same result as just tossing the hops directly into the fermenter? For some reason, I just keep imagining that it won't get dispersed as well.

Thanks for any advice that's offered!
 
Directions:

Steep the crystal in a grain bag in 2.5 gallons of water at 150-155 degrees for 20 minutes. Remove the grains, and discard them.

I thought that the rule of thumb was to steep 1lb of specialty grains in 1 gallon of water. I've read threads that suggest that steeping in too much water will result in more tannins being released because of a higher pH level.

Also, would it be okay to steep the grains in a separate pot while you're already boiling your wort? Then add the specialty grain "tea" to the wort once it has finished steeping? Therefore, you would be adding it approx half way through your boil. You'd be able to shave off about 30 mins from the brewing process.
 
I thought that the rule of thumb was to steep 1lb of specialty grains in 1 gallon of water. I've read threads that suggest that steeping in too much water will result in more tannins being released because of a higher pH level.

Also, would it be okay to steep the grains in a separate pot while you're already boiling your wort? Then add the specialty grain "tea" to the wort once it has finished steeping? Therefore, you would be adding it approx half way through your boil. You'd be able to shave off about 30 mins from the brewing process.

You can steep the grains in 5 gallons if you want- it doesn't matter. If you want to do it separately in a smaller volume, that's fine too. pH issues are not a concern at all with steeping grains.
 
Its a great store to order from! I order everything that i cant get at my local store from that site.
 
The issue is that Brew-Dog is from Canucktopia. I don't know where in Canada you are, but if you're near a border, order to a UPS store and pick it up there :)

I've ordered a bunch of Simcoe from Farmhouse and a local group buy... so hopefully I'm set for a year or so. :)
 
You can steep the grains in 5 gallons if you want- it doesn't matter. If you want to do it separately in a smaller volume, that's fine too. pH issues are not a concern at all with steeping grains.

Good to know! There are so many conflicting ideas floating around that it can be difficult to figure out what's right sometimes.

Have you ever used anything in place of simcoe for this recipe?
 
The issue is that Brew-Dog is from Canucktopia. I don't know where in Canada you are, but if you're near a border, order to a UPS store and pick it up there :)

I've ordered a bunch of Simcoe from Farmhouse and a local group buy... so hopefully I'm set for a year or so. :)

I'm actually in Ottawa as well! I don't suppose you'd care to part with 2 oz of simcoe? I'll pay you top dollar! Or I could trade. I've got an oz of citra or I could order another kind of hop you're interested in.
 
In regards to the Thomas Fawcett amber malt. Could a guy toast his own malt using 2 row? or is Thomas Fawcett something special? Im thinking this will be my first IPA if I can toast my own.
Thanks :)
 
The TF Amber malt is what gives this beer its speicific malt profile, it's exactly what DFH uses and you can taste it in the finished clone product when you use it. Other ambers - homemade and other maltsters - might come close but it just won't be quite the same
 
I'm gonna take a swing at the AG version of this. I have some extract version that I made with a buddy, but I have some TF Amber Malt and I know I have every hop, except maybe Warrior, but I'm pretty sure I have some warrior.
 
Ended up making 9 gallons of 1.065. I didn't get the boiloff I was expecting while brewing in the new pot, outside. 1/2 gallon of slightly weaker beer A-OK great to me! :D
 
I am going to try the extract version of this, this weekend. Couple of questions...

I noticed that the recipe says to rack into secondary then dry hop, is there anything wrong with dry hopping in primary then going straight to bottle after that?

Secondly I was able to get my hands on some Warrior and Simcoe hops but Amarillo was unavailable so I subbed with cascade, I know from reading the thread that the Simcoe and Amarillo combo is what makes this beer, so how much is that change going to affect the finished product, is it going to be way off or just not quite there?
 
My personal opinion, yes you can dry hop in primary but...

It may be much harder to get clearer beer. You will have tons of trub and tons of hops in that.

I always do

Primary -> Dry Hop in Carboy secondary -> transfer to bottling bucket -> bottle.

If you are going to do it in primary, then I would use cheesecloth or a mesh bag over a siphon rod, to filter as much stuff out as possible into a bottling bucket.

Now I have heard amarillo is pretty good, so I'm sure you could use that as a aroma hop, i'm not familiar with simcoe.
 
I have been dryhopping the last 50 or more batches in the primary. It works great!

10 days in the fermenter, until clear, add dryhops for 5 days or so, then package the beer. I rarely rack to a carboy anymore.

I don't use a strainer or hops bags or cheesecloth or anything- that seems like it would oxidize the beer- but it could probably be that hops bags might work well for someone who isn't proficient with racking.
 
I have been dryhopping the last 50 or more batches in the primary. It works great!

10 days in the fermenter, until clear, add dryhops for 5 days or so, then package the beer. I rarely rack to a carboy anymore.

I don't use a strainer or hops bags or cheesecloth or anything- that seems like it would oxidize the beer- but it could probably be that hops bags might work well for someone who isn't proficient with racking.

Why would that oxidize the beer? I sanitize it, wrap it around my siphon, then shove that into the carboy 2/3 of the way, and then slowly lower it, as it drains.
 
Why would that oxidize the beer? I sanitize it, wrap it around my siphon, then shove that into the carboy 2/3 of the way, and then slowly lower it, as it drains.

I haven't had good luck with it, and instead the bag clogs up the siphon.

I'm really proficient with racking, though, as an old winemaker and I can rack even a fruit wine with tons of floating pieces of fruit without a problem so I don't need to use something to strain the beer or wine.
 
Glad you've had good luck with dry-hopping in the primary, Yooper. I'm pretty lazy and will likely do the same. I'll use a hop bag, though. I'm pretty good at fishing that sucker out of the carboys.

Both my carboys are bubbling like mad after pitching US-05 in both... and no sign of infection, despite the fact that I dropped my whole gorilla forearm into the chilled wort to remove my stupid bazooka screen.
 
Brewed this mean mama on Sunday and it's bubbling like crazy and had to attache a blow-off tube. It already smells amazing. I had to toss a wet t-shirt around it to keep the temp down. My gf says I take better care of my beer than her.

Thanks for the awesome recipe Yopper. Can't wait to bottle it!

PS. I just finished reading every single page of this thread (over a two week period). What am I going to read now when I'm supposed to be working?
 
There are a few good threads about other beers... GO! I hear lots of people talk about Apfelwein ;)

After 6 days, my AG batch has calmed right down. I'll keep an eye on it to see how well it clarifies. I'm hoping it'll be done soon, since I'm dying for another good IPA in-house. I have a Cascade Willamette IPA, but that thing is vanishing fast.
 
I'm going to do this as my second AG as a 2.5 gallon. However, I have two 3 gallon pots. I was planning on doing this in a BIAB technique split between the two pots. Does anyone see any problem with taking the 5 gallon recipe posted, halving it, and then just doing it as a BIAB between the two pots?
 
I've had this one in the fermenter for nine days now. Just stole a little sample. It is awesome! I'm almost reluctant to dry hop because it already tastes amazing. SG= 1.012, I'm sitting at about 7.6% ABV but I wouldn't have even noticed it's that strong because the flavour is so nice.
 
The Simcoe adds so much to this thing, as an IPA... it's amaze-balls.

Mine's been going for 12 days, and is still ugly as sin, thanks to US-05. I'll give it until next Monday and then this sucker gets dry-hopped (and potentially racked to secondary)
 
Picked up ingredients for this. To make it closer to the original, I may tweak it just a bit. For example, I think the DFH has an og of 1060 and is 6%, so I'll go with 11 lbs of base malt. Pretty sure I recall 6 malts, base being MO, and 6 hops in the original, but I'll certainly trust you guys that 6 oz of amber malt and the hop schedule will get me close. I think DFH finishes a bit on the heavy side and a little malty for an IPA... probably closer to 1015, so I may use a little carapils or even a little crystal so it doesn't finish too low. Again, so it doesn't attenuate too much I might ferment with some Denny's 50 rather than Cali Ale. I could see 97% base malt and Cali Ale yeast getting this thing to the 1005 range.

Did anyone try keg hopping rather than dry hopping this. I love keg hopping my West Coast IPAs, but I'm thinking dry hopping will give me more of a sticky hop character that's more to the DFH style.

Sorry for messing with the OPs recipe too much, I certainly trust that it's spot on. Just have a hard time not making a beer my own. Must be the homebrewer in me.:mug:
 
Also, am I reading the hop schedule right. One ounce of finishing hops (35 minute mark on) and an ounce and a half of dry hops?

Seems way low?
 
Holy crap... I racked this to secondary without taking a OG reading (stupid) and it was 1.018 when I racked and it was roasty as all hell. Not sure what happened to this brew, but it's not nearly as tasty as my extract version. Here's hoping that dry-hopping and carbonating/conditioning will do it some good. I know that amber malt can be pretty roasty at first, but given a month or so it mellows out.
 
Holy crap... I racked this to secondary without taking a OG reading (stupid) and it was 1.018 when I racked and it was roasty as all hell. Not sure what happened to this brew, but it's not nearly as tasty as my extract version. Here's hoping that dry-hopping and carbonating/conditioning will do it some good. I know that amber malt can be pretty roasty at first, but given a month or so it mellows out.

"Roasty"? Did you only use 6 ounces of amber malt? The only way I can see it tasting roasty is if brown malt was used instead of amber malt.
 
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