Can You Brew It recipe for Green Flash West Coast IPA

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Finally found this beer at Whole Foods in L.A. Wasn't impressed. Could not find a best by or bottled date, but I imagine the beer had been on the shelf a long time. Meanwhile, I dry hopped my clone yesterday after 2 weeks in primary. SG was also 1.015.

Take my word that it is a quality beer. Age will kill a beer like that.

Eric
 
Was it in a 4pack? If it was a 6pack chances are it is at least a few months old.

It was the 4-pack. I'm sure it was age- the store in Manhattan Beach has such a huge selection, it was probably overlooked by most. That intense hops aroma/flavor just doesn't keep. May try it again though- found another source in Northern CA.
 
Just had to add my praise for this recipe. I brew A LOT of IPA's and I just did this one for the first time. The only change I made was I let it sit in primary on American Oak for 15 days.

This is the best IPA I've ever brewed. It's seriously amazing. The hop bursting gives it outrageous aroma. I dry hopped with more than the recipe calls for but I always dry hop the S^%# out of my IPAs. Killer beer.
 
I'm down to my last 4 gallons of a 10+ gallon batch. The entire 10 was dry hopped as per the recipe and then the first 5 gallons served got an additional dry hopping in the serving keg. I find that the second keg with the added conditioning time and no extra dry hops is an extremely smooth, balanced and tasty beer (nothing wrong with the first 5). I like the dry hopping but do find that sometimes it hides the delicate malt flavors.

I don't like to repeat 10 gallon batches in a row otherwise I'd do another 10 of this. Going to try the Little Sumpin Sumpin next!
 
Someone please tell me why 5.5g in the fermenter = 5 gal in the keg??? Where did the other .5 gal go?

Hops have been strained out before it goes into the fermenter (6 gal down to 5.5 after straining)
 
Someone please tell me why 5.5g in the fermenter = 5 gal in the keg??? Where did the other .5 gal go?

Hops have been strained out before it goes into the fermenter (6 gal down to 5.5 after straining)

by-products of fermentation, proteins/break settling out usually leave you with less beer than you thought you'd have. Dry hops also soak up beer as well.
 
Someone please tell me why 5.5g in the fermenter = 5 gal in the keg??? Where did the other .5 gal go?

Hops have been strained out before it goes into the fermenter (6 gal down to 5.5 after straining)

trub & yeast

oh and for this particular recipe... The dry hops will claim a good amount.
 
It was the 4-pack. I'm sure it was age- the store in Manhattan Beach has such a huge selection, it was probably overlooked by most. That intense hops aroma/flavor just doesn't keep. May try it again though- found another source in Northern CA.

Man do I love that store. The beer selection is just awesome.
 
Just went to the Green flash brewery ad had some at their open house on Fridays (I buy stuff from the electronics company on site, and the president took me over for some beers).

If this is close, I'm definitely aiming to brew it next. Great West Coast IPA!
 
Just went to the Green flash brewery ad had some at their open house on Fridays (I buy stuff from the electronics company on site, and the president took me over for some beers).

If this is close, I'm definitely aiming to brew it next. Great West Coast IPA!

I went by the GF Brewery on my way down to San Diego a few weeks ago. Great people. Just happened to be a Friday. Kid in candy store mentality- tasted a few, bought quite a few. Did not disappoint. I'm about to brew my third batch of the IPA. The first two were brewed with the Carastan. LHBS does not carry it, so I'll go with the C 40.
 
i have no idea what the commercial version tastes like. But I brewed this recipe. I measure in grams and was a tad heavy handed a couple grams here or there. I used whole hops for the entire process so i lost wort and effieciency.

Best beer I have ever brewed, hands down at 7.7% it goes down so smooth. Very balanced, doesn't taste bitter at all, Just liquid hops.

OG- 1.068
TG- 1.008
Pitched a 2L starter of WLP001 and WY1068
 
I've had the real thing and it is great. I'm fairly new to brewing and was wondering if there was an extract version of this recipe or can it be converted to an extract. Thanks.
 
After 2 weeks, and a big starter I only hit 1.015 FG. Looks like a few others were there as well. Now to dry hop.

I've had trouble getting my FG down on this one too. Last one was 1.019. I wonder if the longer boil time has anything to do with it. I can get down to 1.012 using the same yeast on a 60 min boil.

May need to go 3 weeks in fermenter.
 
It tasted great, especially since I used newly bought, unopened hops for the dry hopping part. Just now getting up to carb. More malty than my usual, mostly 2 row IPAs and a tad sweet. I'll reply in a couple months when I try it again (this was my fifth) and go 3 weeks in the carboy.
 
Question on the dry hop piece... Skip the secondary and dry hop on the keg, Dry hop after 2 weeks in the primary or rack to a secondary and dry hop?

Also, what temps are you guys letting this ferment at with the WLP001? How big of a yeast starter?
 
I brewed this last night, we hit the Starting Gravity head on at 1.069. I am extremely happy with my brew day, all the process improvements (ball valve on hot liquor tank, ball valve on the marsh pump, using the pump to avoid most lifting and better whirl pool technique/timing before running through the cfc chiller) went without a hitch! We hit our mash temps at 152, mash out at 168\169 and sparge at 168. The color on the wort looked great also!

No one responded before but I am wondering how it would be just to dry hop in the keg (only ) to save a racking to secondary step?
 
No one responded before but I am wondering how it would be just to dry hop in the keg (only ) to save a racking to secondary step?


Sure, no reason not to. But if you really want clearer beer, it is nice to leave the dryhop behind.

I have dryhopped in a keg with a mesh bag, just takes a while longer to clear up. I got over a month of really good hop aroma from a batch of Ranger IPA that I dryhopped in the keg. Only problem was, it didn't really clear until the very end if that's something you care about.
 
Good point ElProducto! although one thing I noticed after moving to kegging is that my beers cleared up alot already, I suppose due to the temps of serving. I may just rack to a secondary, I am going to leave this in the primary at least 10 days and go from there.
 
This was a nice IPA - enjoyed it and killed the keg a few weeks ago. However, having said that, I have actually brewed other IPA's using the same grain bill/ingredients they had in this recipe but with the dry hops that this recipe called for throughout the boil. I personally like the other IPA recipes a bit better because of the additional hops during the boil but that's just me and my tastebuds.
 
elproducto said:
I was 10 days Primary, 1 week of dry-hop in primary (I don't secondary), crash cooled, and into the keg.

I like this idea, as you can tell I am trying to avoid the racking!
 
bmickey said:
I brewed this last night, we hit the Starting Gravity head on at 1.069. I am extremely happy with my brew day, all the process improvements (ball valve on hot liquor tank, ball valve on the marsh pump, using the pump to avoid most lifting and better whirl pool technique/timing before running through the cfc chiller) went without a hitch! We hit our mash temps at 152, mash out at 168\169 and sparge at 168. The color on the wort looked great also!

No one responded before but I am wondering how it would be just to dry hop in the keg (only ) to save a racking to secondary step?

No reason you can't dry hop in primary.
 
So I'm drinking my first pints of this while watching my Vancouver Canucks kick some ass. What an amazing IPA. Big but leaves you wanting more. The aroma is a bit smaller than I'd like, but I love a big blast of hop aroma, espeically in an IPA this big.

I think I'll dry hop some more in the keg.
 
Ok another update. Best IPA I have brewed to date. The hop flavors and aromas have come into their own, and it is just so damn drinkable you can't believe you are drinking a 7+% beer. My friends are raving over this, and the keg is disappearing quickly.

Don't wait, brew it right now!
 
I just kegg'ed this last night and of course I took a sample! Wow I can't wait for this to carbonate, it is very.good!

I had it in the primary for about 1 month total, the last 10 dry hopping.

I did not crash cool, but it has been in my basement where it is about 65 degrees for a couple weeks.
 
Many thanks for this recipe. I brewed this about 7 weeks ago. I fermented in a sanke and accidentally left the picnic tap I use to take samples open and left for vacation. Came back to find the pressure had pushed all the beer out into the keezer I ferment in. I was about to mop it all up when I took a taste. Delicious. So I siphoned into a glass carboy, dry hopped and the result is really something wonderful.

This is a very complex and delicious IPA. Thanks for the recipe. Cheers:mug:
 
Many thanks for this recipe. I brewed this about 7 weeks ago. I fermented in a sanke and accidentally left the picnic tap I use to take samples open and left for vacation. Came back to find the pressure had pushed all the beer out into the keezer I ferment in. I was about to mop it all up when I took a taste. Delicious. So I siphoned into a glass carboy, dry hopped and the result is really something wonderful.

This is a very complex and delicious IPA. Thanks for the recipe. Cheers:mug:


That is crazy. You drank beer off the keezer floor!:rockin:
 
I've got a few questions on this brew:

  1. How long are you all dry hopping? I typically dry hop 7 days, but am curious what you're doing as I didn't see it in the recipe
  2. How many weeks from brew day does it hit it's optimum awesomeness? I want to brew this for a competition and want it to be perfect for judging day.
  3. Lastly, has anyone turned this into a Black IPA by adding some debittered malt?

Thanks for everyone's responses so far, and as always, you're the man Eric!
 
My opinion on DH is that it only takes a few days for the goodness to come out and the balance of the time is a mellowing & melding of the aroma. So 7 days for me is more than sufficient. As to competition, I'd work it backwards 8 weeks or so from that date, but I don't bottle much anymore so your process may dictate longer/shorter times. I recall it being pretty good at 6 weeks and gone by 10.
 
I've got a few questions on this brew:

  1. How long are you all dry hopping? I typically dry hop 7 days, but am curious what you're doing as I didn't see it in the recipe
  2. How many weeks from brew day does it hit it's optimum awesomeness? I want to brew this for a competition and want it to be perfect for judging day.
  3. Lastly, has anyone turned this into a Black IPA by adding some debittered malt?

Thanks for everyone's responses so far, and as always, you're the man Eric!

1. I have not brewed this beer specifically, but I have brewed about 15 IPAs and double IPAs. You can't go wrong with 1-2 weeks dry hopping.

2. I would guess 6-8 weeks.

3. I haven't done that but you could always dry adding Sinamar extract after fermentation to get the color you want and the effect will basically be the same.

Eric
 
I brewed this last Sunday, and it's fermenting away now. I pitched 2 vials of WLP001 without a starter (I know, I should have made one). Just wondering if everyone fermented all the way up to 72 degrees? I just got a fridge and temp controller so I can dial it in. I pitched at 68 and I've ramped it up to 70 so far, but 72 sounds a bit warmer than what most people seem to recommend in general.

Anyway can't wait to taste this one!
 
What I usually do is go about a week at 68 or until primary fermentation is about over. Then I will let the temp rise to finish off any needed gravity points and encourage the yeast to clean up any off favors. I usually let it sit for another week at this temp. I personally would not want the temp to go above 72 during the most active fermentation.

I tried Green Flash West Coast IPA and their Hop Head Red last night. I will be brewing them both, soon.
 
Brewed this in Jan 2012.

I had efficiency and attenuation issues that were almost certainly due to learning my new system.

Some Notes
OG: 1.064
FG: 1.017
ABV: 6.14%

Aroma and taste was damn close to the original. The aroma being the attribute that came closest to the original.

I treated the water a bit for sulfates.
I would have done differently had I known the outcome:
8g gypsum, 4g epsom, 4g kosher salt. Campden. Also 5.2pH in mash

Yeast was 2 Vials of WLP 007 at about 64-65 (will try closer to 68f next time)

This beer was OK but was missing "something."

In a recent competition, BJCP judges gave it a 37 overall... One judge noting an absence of hops, the other noting an absence of malt (??!!).

I'll probably try this again in fall with better procedures in place, but thought I would share.
 
Hey all, just brewed a variation of this last night. Turned it into a Black IPA by adding 6oz Black Patent, 8oz Chocolate, 8oz Pale Chocolate. Also, instead of all 2-row, I used 6# MO, 4# pale malt, 3# pilsner malt.

I had some efficiency issues as well (this was the first time I used my grain mill). I'll update once I get through fermentation and have a carbed beer in my hands. The wort smelled awesome!
 
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