Trying to Build an IPA Recipe. Need Feedback

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BigHead33

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I have been brewing for a couple years. I have recently switched to all grain and I have been brewing mainly kits and copied recipes. I would like to start focusing mainly on brewing IPA's because I love them so much. I'd like to start attempting to formulate my own recipe of an American IPA with a good amount of hop influence to it. This is what I've come up with so far, anybody feel free to give any advice/opinion. Thanks

10 Gallon Batch
Grains to be purchased from Midwest

21 lbs Briess Pale Malt 3.2-3.6 L
2.5 lbs Briess Caramel 20 L
.5 lb Briess Munich Malt 10 L
4oz Simcow 11.9% 90 minutes
2oz Chinook 11.5% 15 minutes
2.5oz Cascade Dry Hop
White Labs California Ale
 
Grains look good. I'd break up your late additions a bit. Do like and maybe add some depending on the flavor profile you want.

1 ounce at 15
.5 at 10
.5 at 5

Most of your flavor is going to come from the end of the boil and aroma from flame out and dry hops.

minimum 2 ounces in the dry hop.
Use a nice clean finishing yeast so your hops can really shine :)
This is just my general practice with IPA's
 
If it was me, I'd use the Chinook for the bittering at 90min and save the Simcoe for 5 minutes or less in the boil. Just my 2 cents. Simcoe, for me, is a much better flavoring/aroma hop than to waste on using it for bittering.
 
IMO, you need more hops later in the boil. I just did a 5 gallon batch with about 5.5 oz's...
 
Agreed Simcoe is too delicous (and expensive) to use for bittering. I keep some Warrior or Apollo around to use for bittering.

I like to use a clean high alpha for bittering..then load up on 20 mins and under and dry hop
 
I'd change it up a bit, but it's a good start.

I'd use a neutral hop for bittering, and increase the flavor and aroma hops. I'd also cut some of the crystal malt and increase the Munich malt for malt "backbone" without extra sweetness.

I'd do something more like this:

21 lbs Briess Pale Malt 3.2-3.6 L
1.5 lbs Briess Caramel 20 L
3.5 lb Briess Munich Malt 10 L
1-2 oz bittering hops (magnum, galena, etc, a neutral hop) to get to 45 IBUs with this addition
2 oz simcoe 20 minutes
2 oz chinook 10 minutes
2 oz cascade 5 minutes
1 oz simcoe flame out
1 oz cascade flame out
1 oz chinook flame out

Dry hop with any of those three, 4 oz total, for 5-7 days.
 
I'll also echo...

Cut back the crystal, way way too much. Take the 2 row back, and up the munich for some more malt body.

I'd bitter with something neutral, but if you like Chinook, it's a good one to do so with.

Add at 60 minutes, and then add at 15 and on down for the late additions. Add a bunch at flame out, and dry hop it to death.
 
If you like a somewhat sweeter IPA (and some people do) I don't think you are over the top on crystal. If you don't though, you should cut it back. Munich needs more. I would totally drink Yooper's listed recipe.

Also, don't know where you are at as far as researching recipe building but I like Ray Daniel's Designing Great Beers. It's what got me started. And there is that new IPA book out there. I haven't read it but would assume it talks about formulating IPA recipes. Just something to think about.
 
Thanks for the input guys. If I go with only 1 to 2 oz for 90 mins will that give me enough bittering quality? I'm looking to create a nice hoppy IPA
 
Yeah Yooper's recipe sounds pretty damn good. I dont like a sweet IPA so I will cut back on the caramel. I have already read the new IPA book. It doesnt go much into the designing of an IPA recipe, but has some guidelines. I'll have to get the other book you mentioned. Thanks
 
I'd like to second the vote on yoopers post.

Also sounds like your pretty committed to brewing. I'd definitely recommend picking up some brewing software like beersmith, brewtoad, promash or strangebrew. They usually have free trials and run you about 20-30 bucks for the full version. Beersmith has been invaluable to me for creating recipes because when you choose your style of beer it gives you guidlines based on gravity, bitterness, sweetness and abv. And while you dont have to follow these generally accepted guidelines its really helps when you want to know if your in the ballpark for the style of beer you want. Also it gives you a really helpful visual of the effects changes in your recipe have on your brew.
 
Very true, I have been using beersmith for a while. I pretty much use it only for the guidelines feature. I have found it's volumes and calculations dont always jive with my recipe or kit. Besides, I have never determined my brewhouse efficiency so I cant plug that into the software.

Using Yoopers advice I changed up my recipe and plugged it in. It looks pretty damn good. I decided to go with 2oz of warrior for 90mins to make sure I get good bitterness (I have no idea what my hop utilization rate is either) Maybe next brew i'll try some first wort hopping.

I am going to mash at 152 degrees. I am concerned about my sparge process though. (I do not mash out) I heat my sparge water to 170, but by the time in drains down it cools a little. I have noticed my mash temp does not usually go up much during sparging. Is this bad? what should my mash temp (or grain bed temp) be during sparging?

Thanks for all the help guys
 
BigHead33 said:
Very true, I have been using beersmith for a while. I pretty much use it only for the guidelines feature. I have found it's volumes and calculations dont always jive with my recipe or kit. Besides, I have never determined my brewhouse efficiency so I cant plug that into the software.

Using Yoopers advice I changed up my recipe and plugged it in. It looks pretty damn good. I decided to go with 2oz of warrior for 90mins to make sure I get good bitterness (I have no idea what my hop utilization rate is either) Maybe next brew i'll try some first wort hopping.

I am going to mash at 152 degrees. I am concerned about my sparge process though. (I do not mash out) I heat my sparge water to 170, but by the time in drains down it cools a little. I have noticed my mash temp does not usually go up much during sparging. Is this bad? what should my mash temp (or grain bed temp) be during sparging?

Thanks for all the help guys
Click to expand...

In regards to the BS set up, watch the videos and put in the equipment stuff. Took me literally maybe 2 brew dates of getting info and measuring, to get it dialed in. Now I can shoot in 77% effficiency, and have my profile in there and I can dial it in and out and all over.

It's not too hard really, takes a little time to get all the info and and it's there forever.

The warrior sounds fine. Go for 100 percent on utilization, you'll be close anyways for most of it anyways.

As for the mash, you'll be fine anyways... Try heating your water to 175-180 instead. Simple fix. You won't be extracting any tannins anyways. The water will cool once it hits the grain bed and you stir anyways. That would help you gain some efficiency in the mashing process and make it more predictable. You want to try and raise the grain bed to close to 170.
 
BigHead33 said:
Thanks for the help. What videos are you talking about with regards to beer smith?
Click to expand...

The ones in the help section. I was a bit overwhelmed with the program at first, and I consider myself pretty savvy with the computer and figuring stuff out. Look for the help section on the main page of the website, not in the program.

Once I figured out how to properly "guess" and set up my system as accurate as possible, I was on the right track.

Get a CPVC stick and measure off water in your kettle on it with a marker. You can use it in your kettle during the mash run off, in the boil, and after you cool to check your volumes accurately. Once you know your volumes and boil off times, you can really dial it in almost to a .25 gallon most of the time.

Makes the program a breeze from that point on, I thought. I make a recipe, print it, go mill my grains and get my hop additions in cups with times on them, and I go to town.
 
Thanks I will try it. Boil off is another thing that I find doesn't jive with what beer smith predicts. I seem to boil off way more volume than it predicts. I use a blichmann burner with a 20 gal boilermaker.
 
BigHead33 said:
Thanks I will try it. Boil off is another thing that I find doesn't jive with what beer smith predicts. I seem to boil off way more volume than it predicts. I use a blichmann burner with a 20 gal boilermaker.
Click to expand...

That's easy to adjust. Instead of using a "%" of boil off, just put in the volume. I boil off about 1.75 gallons per hour in the winter, less in the summer (when it's more humid- we have a dry winter air here).
 
BigHead33 said:
Thanks I will try it. Boil off is another thing that I find doesn't jive with what beer smith predicts. I seem to boil off way more volume than it predicts. I use a blichmann burner with a 20 gal boilermaker.
Click to expand...


Simple to adjust for, do it with plain water, of if you care, your next brew.

Get the CPVC stick I mentioned, fill your kettle with a known gallon, like a milk jug of water. Mark it at each gallon.

If you want to boil it from there for an hour, do so, and check it. That's your boil off rate for 60 minutes.

If you try it with a brew, check it at the start and the end after you cool, and there's the boil off rate.

From there, enter it in BS, and you are set until you change your pot or burner pretty much. More so the pot.
 
Great advice, thank you. I also notice beer smith tells me to mash at what seems to be a low temp. It's telling me 148 for this recipe. I have been having trouble with very light bodied beer with zero head retention. Very low fg's and high abv's. I'm guessing my mash temps have been too low. What do you think?
 
BigHead33 said:
Great advice, thank you. I also notice beer smith tells me to mash at what seems to be a low temp. It's telling me 148 for this recipe. I have been having trouble with very light bodied beer with zero head retention. Very low fg's and high abv's. I'm guessing my mash temps have been too low. What do you think?
Click to expand...

You can pick what you want to mash at.. It's probably set for a light body anyways.. You can pick how and what you mash at, and it'll adjust accordingly.

If it's light, go to a medium body, it'll suggest a temp, but you can do whatever you want.. Just edit it.
 
Hey guys I just wanted to write back and thank you all for your help in my IPA recipe. I kegged it yesterday and drank the gravity test sample. It is amazing. The aroma is probably the best part. It is has a delicious tropical fruit like aroma to it. Same with the flavor but balanced with a nice amount of maltiness and bitterness. From what i can taste now the only thing I think I would change would be adding a little more bittering hops. With your help I have also made improvements with beer smith. Thanks again
 

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