Apollo & Simcoe IPA

I was reading up on Apollo hop characteristics and thought it would make a great IPA along with a good dose of Simcoe and some rye spiciness for summertime. I used WLP0008 before reading about the tart character that it tends to leave on the beer. It probably would have been a better idea to use a classic clean yeast like WLP001, but this will make for an interesting IPA. Ingredient characteristics point towards a floral/citric prominent beer with mild malt spiciness and a dose of tart yeast character.

Recipe Type: All Grain
Yeast: WLP0008 East Coast Ale
Yeast Starter: Yes - 750 mL
Batch Size (Gallons): 5.5
Original Gravity: 1.060
Final Gravity - Estimated: 1.014
IBU: 97.72
Boil Time: 75
SRM: 8.6
Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): 14 days @ 70 F
Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): 14 days @ 74 F

Grist:
12.8# Pale Ale Malt [83.66%]
1# Munich 20L [6.54%]
1.5# Flaked Rye [9.8%]

Hops:
1.0 oz Simcoe (pellet / 12.12% aa) - FWH
0.5 oz Apollo (pellet / 18.0% aa) - 30 min
0.5 oz Simcoe (pellet / 12.12% aa) - 30 min
1.0 oz Apollo (pellet / 18.0% aa) - 15 min
0.5 oz Simcoe (pellet / 12.12% aa) - 0 min
0.5 oz Apollo (pellet / 18.0% aa) - 0 min
1.0 oz Simcoe (pellet / dry hop / 14 days)
1.0 oz Apollo (pellet / dry hop / 7 days)


Right now, its' only been in the primary for 8 days and smelling delicious. I will post back with results when its on tap around August 21st.

Since my freezer contains pretty much the exact amounts of Apollo and Simcoe in your recipe, I can say one thing without equivocation: Eight days is definitely far enough into the process to post a hydrometer sample tasting.

WLP008 sucks in an American IPA (in my opinion). It accentuates malt character and mutes hop character. I would've went with 15% rye malt and no flaked rye. Add some sugar to the grist. Ferment in the mid to late 60s for the duration. Bittered with a small amount of Apollo, followed by a small midway addition, then blasted late with both hops. Apollo and Simcoe dominant IPAs benefit from a fruity or tropical hop at whirlpool to give more of a complex character to the primary notes of dank pine. If want more dankness, don't go too heavy on the Simcoe and/or too light on Apollo. I would also consider more hops late and some sugar in the recipe. As is, you're at the lower end with only 6 oz. total hops - hard to get something dank with only 6 oz.

Haha, alright I'll take one soon and post back.

Btw, just a note but the yeasts' medium flocculation has had the carboy cloudy as hell even at day 6, but dropping out & clearing up now. Just a note on the yeast performance.

@bob

Yeah, I am skeptical that it will put out a solid IPA but whatever it does will be interesting I think. I have never worked with WLP0008, so the tart character I was referring to was from its descriptors online.

Why rye malt > flaked rye though? I am going for a nice touch of rye spice on the palate. I am under the impression that flaked rye has more of this than its' malted form.

Eh, flaked rye is like flaked oats or wheat. Primarily used for body/head retention. Flaked rye does have SOME flavor, but you need to use 25% of it to equate to what a lesser amount of what rye malt would offer. And still, it's quite different. You could've used 14% rye malt and 6% flaked rye.

flaked- nice head and body, will add fermentables but cannot convert itself. Will contribute somewhat to the flavor but not as much as malt.
malted- more fermentables, more flavors, can convert other starches, and the protein content is lower with typically shorter chain proteins, but the actual amount of protein is highly dependent on how well modified the malt

Gravity reading yesterday was 1.014 and was tasting like mixed citrus fruit ipa, bitterness on the mellow end with a finishing drying tart character. It worked for what it is and should be pretty damn good once it sees some dry hops, clears up, and carbs. I'll post back once its on tap.

Did it have any of the 420-ish dankness Bob assures me is characteristic of Apollo, or mostly just fruitiness?

I just got juicy fruits but I am also dry hopping with an ounce of each, so that may or may not change the aroma up.

This one is on tap now as Direwolf IPA and is pretty damn good. Big aroma of tropical mango juicy hops. I am my biggest critic & I have to say, this rivals the best IPAs that I've ever had. It's only 6.2% abv, which combined with the hop profile and the light tart fruit character from the yeast makes this stuff amazingly drinkable. Bitterness is present but tamed and mostly shows up at the back end of this. Mouthfeel is light-medium and rounded out by the flaked rye (I'm guessing?). The rye flavor doesn't show through at all really. Overall, its a great American IPA & I highly recommend it. Simcoe & Apollo are a killer combo! I'll post up a picture later tonight.

i used wlp008 in a session IPA with all simcoe - didn't get any tart notes and didn't dry the beer out too much which I wanted since it was ~1.040 OG - the hops still shined through just fine

Can you describe the flavor/aroma Apollo provides? I'm sure this is a very good IPA!

Not in front of a pint now, but I have been getting a lot of resinous citric fruit & mango character from the combo of hops. After tasting a SMaSH Simcoe I did, I am feeling like Apollo contributed the resinous citric fruit qualities. I'll post back later when I'm picking apart the beer.