High ABV Imperial IPA Mash Temp???

1 Gal Test Batch

3lb- 2Row
2lb- Maris otter
.50lb- crystal 20

What temp you look to hold at? 45min? 60min? 75min?

My thoughts were 150 degrees for 60 min but wasn't to sure how the lower temp would effect my extraction? Should I go even lower 145 degrees for 90min?

Gonna use the WLP099 to ferment out.

Im thinking 148 is the magic #, anything else will lessen your efficiency. Most of your extraction will take place in 45 minutes, but I wait 60. Not sure 75 mins will gain you anything.

Do you do a starch conversion test?
Do you own a refractometer?

I would suggest sparging while you are still getting sugar then boil off until you have your target OG.

148 degrees for 60 sounds good. I own a refractometer so that's not an issue. What temp would you sparge at? 155? Am I looking to stop extraction at this point? Should I go higher? Sorry for all the questions just haven't done an all grain dealing with such a high OG.

I did a high OG DIPA recently and got 75% efficiency with a 153 degree mash for 60 minutes and 165 degree batch sparge. That's my standard temp/time approach for high OG beers.

An IIPA would be best mashed at 147-149 and then sparged as usual, to get the grain bed up to 168.

You don't want a "thick" IIPA. I'd mash for 75 minutes, or until conversion as shown by iodine testing, to ensure conversion.

By the way, you didn't ask, but your recipe is flawed. A 1/2 pound of crystal in a one gallon batch is WAY too much crystal. 1/2 pound is probably enough for a 5 gallon batch, but I use zero.

Yooper said:

An IIPA would be best mashed at 147-149 and then sparged as usual, to get the grain bed up to 168.

You don't want a "thick" IIPA. I'd mash for 75 minutes, or until conversion as shown by iodine testing, to ensure conversion.

By the way, you didn't ask, but your recipe is flawed. A 1/2 pound of crystal in a one gallon batch is WAY too much crystal. 1/2 pound is probably enough for a 5 gallon batch, but I use zero.

Click to expand...

The .50lb of crystal is only 9% of the bill. Crystal can be up to 20% according to beer smith.

Im gonna go with 148 degrees for 60 min rest or until conversion is shown to have slowed up.

I will let you all know how this comes out.

HopHound914 said:

The .50lb of crystal is only 9% of the bill. Crystal can be up to 20% according to beer smith.

Im gonna go with 148 degrees for 60 min rest or until conversion is shown to have slowed up.

I will let you all know how this comes out.

Click to expand...

Well, in an IIPA 9% is WAY too much. It's seems sort of counterintuitive to me to add crystal in such a large amount, then mash low so that it'll attenuate well. But it's your beer.

Don't mash "until conversion slows up". Mash until it's converted, unless you just want starch in your beer!

The recent DIPA I made I mashed at 149 for 90 mins and it fermented down to right where I wanted it (1.080 down to 1.010). Was 90 mins probably overkill, maybe, but I had other things to do during the mash so I let it sit.

For my imperial IPAs, I shoot for 151-152 for 60 min, but I like them to have a little bit of body and residual sweetness to balance out the hop riot. Depends on your taste.

For uber-fermentable Belgians and American pale ale worts, I aim for 147 and mash for 75 minutes. I've gone as low as 145, but I had to mash for 90 minutes and efficiency suffered a few points.

For any wort, I batch sparge at 165. By that point (theoretically) you've gotten all the conversion you're going to get. You're increasing the temperature to solubilize the sugars better and to loosen up the grain bed.

Yooper said:

Well, in an IIPA 9% is WAY too much. It's seems sort of counterintuitive to me to add crystal in such a large amount, then mash low so that it'll attenuate well. But it's your beer.

Don't mash "until conversion slows up". Mash until it's converted, unless you just want starch in your beer!

Click to expand...

Understandable here. So it wouldnt be quite to style. If I were to get rid of the crystal what would you add instead. Loosing the crystal will bring my srm way down. I want to be around 10-12srm.

How about to reduce the crystal to .25 lbs instead making about 4% of the grist?

Thank you all for you help. It is much appreciated!!!

HopHound914 said:

Understandable here. So it wouldnt be quite to style. If I were to get rid of the crystal what would you add instead. Loosing the crystal will bring my srm way down. I want to be around 10-12srm.

How about to reduce the crystal to .25 lbs instead making about 4% of the grist?

Click to expand...

Why so dark? If you want a dark color, but not dark flavor, you could add a tiny bit of carafa II (like .5 ounce) or black barley or something to make it darker.

Cutting the crystal to .25 lbs of crystal would give you a better recipe for an IIPA. The combination of the maris otter and crystal will give you a fairly sweet IIPA that sometimes can be pleasant, as long as it's hopped enough. My IIPAs tend to be all two-row, a bit of crystal, and sometimes corn sugar to lighten up the body a bit.

The beer will be plenty hopped. Have not figured out the schedule I am going with yet but gonna be a combination of Simcoe, Columbus, Cascade, Centennial, and warrior. this all open to change though.