Is this too weird??? The Pacific Belgian IPA

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cmybeer

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So long story short I have this Belgian Abbey II yeast that I don't really want/need because I don't really want a traditional Belgian beer or one of the higher gravity beers that Wyeast suggests for the yeast. I really want a hoppy IPA and I've wanted to try some New Zealand hops so I came up with this idea. It may be stupid, I have no idea, many of these things I have not used before so tell me I'm either an idiot, a genius or somewhere in between.


The Pacific Belgian IPA

Batch Size (fermenter): 5.00 gal
Boil Time: 60 min Equipment: Our Garage Stuff

Ingredients
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
10 lbs 4.0 oz Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 1 85.4 %
8.0 oz Special B Malt (180.0 SRM) Grain 2 4.2 %
4.0 oz Caramel Malt - 120L 6-Row (Briess) (120.0 SRM) Grain 3 2.1 %
1 lbs Corn Sugar (Dextrose) (0.0 SRM) Sugar 4 8.3 %
1.00 oz Green Bullet [13.50 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 5 47.6 IBUs
0.50 oz Pacific Jade [13.00 %] - Boil 10.0 min Hop 6 8.3 IBUs
0.50 oz Pacifica [5.50 %] - Boil 10.0 min Hop 7 3.5 IBUs
0.50 oz Pacific Jade [13.00 %] - Boil 5.0 min Hop 8 4.6 IBUs
0.50 oz Pacifica [5.50 %] - Boil 5.0 min Hop 9 1.9 IBUs
1.0 pkg Belgian Abbey II (Wyeast Labs #1762) [124.21 ml] Yeast 10 -
1.00 oz Pacific Jade [13.00 %] - Dry Hop 3.0 Days Hop 11 0.0 IBUs
1.00 oz Pacifica [5.50 %] - Dry Hop 3.0 Days Hop 12 0.0 IBUs

Beer Profile

Est Original Gravity: 1.065 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.010 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 7.2 %
Bitterness: 66.0 IBUs
Bitterness Ratio: 1.023
 
I do have a little bit of method to my madness; at least I think I do. I like the idea of the Green Bullet for two reasons: a) because it sounds cool and b) because it says it has raisiny aromas that I thought would mesh well with the raisin esters from the Belgian Abbey. The Pacific Jade sounded interesting as well with the citrus flavor/aroma with a hint of black pepper. The Pacifica I'm not so sure about, it sounds good with the orange marmalade and citrus as a finishing hop but also sounds like it might be too much. If anything I'm debating that one. Again, anything from anyone who has used these would be great!
 
I would personally up the .50oz additions to a solid ounce, but I like really hoppy beers. As far as how it will turn out, I'd be happy to take a bottle or two and give you my honest opinion :)
 
I recently brewed an all Pacifica beer with T-58 Belgian yeast. I haven't tasted it yet, but it smelled nice and orangey.

I used 4oz of Pacifica in a 5.5gal batch
 
I have no opinion on your recipe but I tried a pale ale brewed with Belgian yeast and it was very tasty. The beer was by Devil's Backbone called Belgian Congo Pale Ale I think.
 
those abbey yeasts can handle a lot of BUs... looks good, for me i'd be inclined to push this towards 80 BUs though. that yeast will still dominate at 66 imo... just picked up that exact yeast for an abbey weizen which will be way overly hopped.
 
I really like that rochefort Abbey II yeast and especially like a good IPA with a belgian yeast. That will probably end up very good! You can never go wrong with some flameout additions as well, but otherwise the recipe looks solid.
 
Raging ***** by flying dog is a Belgian IPA that is one of my favorites. I don't know the hops used, but I like the interplay of the yeast and hops better than most IPA's frontal assault.
 
So I guess the overwhelming response is that this is not too weird...Good to know! I was avoiding flameouts because I planned on the 2 oz of dry hops which I thought were roughly the same thing. I may change the hop schedule up a bit to kick up the IBUs a tad but otherwise I think I might just go with it. I have the stir plate spinning now so maybe tomorrow as a brew day when it is a lovely 96* outside....
 
I think it will turn out pretty good, the closest beer I've had to it is "Chainbreaker" which is a kinda like a Belgian wit-IPA hybrid from Descurtes. It is really good though. You won't get any aroma from the Green Bullet @ 60 mins though. If you want some aroma, add an ounce of it to your dry hops.

A hop addition at 20 mins would add more hop flavor which I think will be lacking with your current hop schedule, it will also kick the IBUs up more.
 
Hops' flavor begins at 35ish and peaks at 20ish.

hop_utilization.jpg
 
I like the look of it. Everybody goes nuts over Nelson Sauvin, but New Zealand has a lot of great hop varieties. If I were to make any changes, I would switch out the c120 (which will pretty much just echo the flavors of the special B) for some caramunich (a little bit more malty, sweet caramel flavor) but that's just personal preference.
 
Well, I went to the Northern Brewer and I thought their website said Pacifica but either I was mistaken or they were out so I picked up the new zealand hallertau just to stick with the theme. I'm going to be horrible to myself today and brew, while smoking a chicken on a 95* day.... This should be interesting.
 
Brewing is complete! Chicken is done! I'm way too hot and forgot to add the corn sugar but I guess I'll just wait until tomorrow and dump it in when fermentation starts.
Initial tasting: Pretty good. More to come
 
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