Want to make a Dark IPA

Hi there

I am still only at the stage of making my beers from kits, so I accept that it may be that the answer to my question is "you can't" but I figure that if I don't ask that will definitely be the answer

My wife recently tasted and was very impressed by a Dark IPA and so I would like to try and make some for her. However, none of the manufacturers of kits that I have access to make one.

So, is it possible to simply adapt a kit. For example, could I use a 'normal' IPA kit and just add some unhopped dark malt to it? Or is this likely to produce some sort of unholy abomination? If so, is there some other way that I might get to the desired result?

Any suggestions gratefully received ...

Norther Brewer has a Black IPA extract kit and a Cream Stout IPA extract kit (think that's the name; supposed to be a tamer version of the Black IPA)

There are several company's that make black IPA kits. I brewer the northern brewer IPA and it's an outstanding kit. If you are just wanting an amber ipa you could always steep some Carmel 60 or 120 L

Don't know if Northern Brewer has an outlet here in New Zealand, but that gives me something more to look for ... thanks!

Dogroom said:

Hi there

I am still only at the stage of making my beers from kits, so I accept that it may be that the answer to my question is "you can't" but I figure that if I don't ask that will definitely be the answer

My wife recently tasted and was very impressed by a Dark IPA and so I would like to try and make some for her. However, none of the manufacturers of kits that I have access to make one.

So, is it possible to simply adapt a kit. For example, could I use a 'normal' IPA kit and just add some unhopped dark malt to it? Or is this likely to produce some sort of unholy abomination? If so, is there some other way that I might get to the desired result?

Any suggestions gratefully received ...

Click to expand...

I only brew extract with specialty grains and only used a beer in a box kit the very first time. Since then I've been testing out and tweaking my own recipes. I like to find a beer that I'm a fan of, research what's in it from the brewery that produces it, see if I can find a clone recipe for that beer so I can see what the person who made it put in, then make my own adaptation. It's fun and I feel a little more like a legit brewer, not just making beers from a box (not that there's anything wrong with that). I'm on my third test run of a recipe for an American pale ale and am going to try my hand at an oatmeal stout I designed. The beer calculus recipe builder on hopville.com is awesome I use it all the time. You plug in the type of beer you want, all the ingredients, and it does the rest.