Last minute tweaks to Ninkasi-ish recipe?

I'm going to do my second attempt at a Ninkasi Total Domination style beer. My first one tasted great, but was a higher FG than I wanted, and I didn't have Amarillo hops so I subbed Citra. A good beer but not very Ninkasi-like. Here's what I'm going to try this time:

11.25 lbs. 2-row
1.5 lbs. light Munich (or split into .75 Vienna, .75 Munich maybe)
.8 Carahell

Hops:

.5 Simcoe 45 minutes
1.0 Simcoe 30 minutes (trying simcoe instead of Summit this time)
.5 Simcoe 20 minutes
2.0 Amarillo, 2.0 Cascade, and .5 Simcoe spread evenly between 10 minutes and 0 minutes

Dry hop with 1-2 oz. Amarillo and Cascade

Yeast:
Trying WLP007 Dry English Ale yeast. I used the London ESB yeast per what I've heard on the web last time, and I just don't see how that will attenuate enough to hit the target FG. With this yeast I should hit about 1.014 with a starting gravity of 1.069 or so.

Any thoughts, changes, critiques are welcome! Cheers.

D

Oh, I'll mash around 152.

Last chance! Ninkasi makes the best IPA in the world! Help a good cause!

Well I brewed pretty much as per above. I hit about 1.065, so my efficiency wasn't quite as good as my other latest brews. But 5 days of fermenting and I'm already down to 1.005! This is quite the hungry yeast. Tastes great in my sample though. I hope it's not too dry, but I think I'd prefer that over my under-attenuated 1.020 ipa.

They do use 1968 yeast in TD. They also use Summit, Amarillo, and Crystal for hops last time I saw.

Any clue on how they can get 1968 to attenuate enough? Even per the upper end specs for that yeast I can't see the recipe getting dry enough compared to what I taste.

please post your results - i'm curious. I agree, Ninkasi TD is one of the best. I stop at a bar anytime I see the white tap handle with the happy N on it.

Will do. It's dry hopping now, should be keggable in a week.

Unfortunately I'm 1000 miles away from the nearest Ninkasi tap these days which is why I need to brew some.

I just brewed a Tricerahops clone. Used Wyeast 1968 London ESB (2 liter starter).

Just bottled it, can't wait to see how it turns out.

What was your OG and FG?

GuitarGumption said:

Any clue on how they can get 1968 to attenuate enough? Even per the upper end specs for that yeast I can't see the recipe getting dry enough compared to what I taste.

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I regularly get my ESB's down to 1.012 with this yeast. Never tested a TD but I would think that it is close to that. Just pitch a really healthy and active 2L starter or on to a yeast cake. Once it starts to die down to that last few points you can swirl gently every day and have gotten and a extra 2 points that way.

1968 generally works better than expected so don't worry. I brewed a successful Tricerahops clone that was pretty spot on. A stir plate helps dramatically, but intermittent shaking the yeast starter can also work.

As others have said, pitch enough healthy yeast, gradually increase the temperature from lower to upper 60s, and be patient. Instead of racking directly after fermentation, leave it for 3 weeks in the primary before dryhopping.

Hm, on my first TD attempt I did use that yeast, and thought I had a good starter. I did 2 pints of water and 1/2 cup DME per White Labs' website recommendation. Let it go for 40 hours or so. This is what I've been doing usually and it normally works great.

I left that one in primary I think close to 3.5 weeks, and did shake occasionally because I wanted to let it attenuate more, but it never got below 1.018. Starting gravity was 1.071.

This latest try, using the dry british ale yeast I'm down to 1.005 without a sweat! Does seem a little dry on paper, but latest tester tastes really good, and much closer than last time.

I'd mash around 150 if I was you to help the attenuation.

That is a standard 1L starter. I'd go for double that yeast. Look at Mr Malty's calc.

Well I just started carbonating and got my first taste. It's great! My best IPA so far for sure. I don't have a TD nearby to compare, but it seems fairly similar as far as bitterness, hop flavor and aroma amount. Next time I'll get ahold of some Crystal hops to really do it right.

I think I will stick to the WLP007 yeast, and mash a little higher next time just so it doesn't dry out quite so much and see how that changes the character. I really liked how this yeast worked fast and left the beer very clear and clean tasting. It already tastes good with about 1 week ferment, 1 week dry hop, and now in keg.

GuitarGumption said:

Hm, on my first TD attempt I did use that yeast, and thought I had a good starter. I did 2 pints of water and 1/2 cup DME per White Labs' website recommendation. Let it go for 40 hours or so. This is what I've been doing usually and it normally works great.

I left that one in primary I think close to 3.5 weeks, and did shake occasionally because I wanted to let it attenuate more, but it never got below 1.018. Starting gravity was 1.071.

This latest try, using the dry british ale yeast I'm down to 1.005 without a sweat! Does seem a little dry on paper, but latest tester tastes really good, and much closer than last time.

Click to expand...

I just had a partial mash IIPA drop from 1.072 to 1.011 with Wyeast 1968. Do you remember your mash temp, mash time, and mash ratio for your first attempt? Did you use any % of simple sugars to help dry the beer out further?

This thread is a little old but as others have mentioned, a mash temp of around 150 helps get the FG down. I consistently get 80%+ attenuation out of the 1968 yeast at a mash temp of 150.