Grapefruit IPA?

Want to try doing this, however I'm not sure which IPA recipe would work well as a base and how much grapefruit to rack onto in the secondary? Also Would it be ok to dry hop in the secondary as well even with the fruit going in?? I just think this might amp up the grapefruit and tartness that some from some variety of hops and make for a great summer IPA.

Grapefruit IPA? Great idea. Can't wait to hear how it turns out. Did you come up with this or has it been discussed here before?

I would use a recipe that has amarillo hops featured, since they tend to have a grapefruit aroma already.

TxBigHops said:

Grapefruit IPA? Great idea. Can't wait to hear how it turns out. Did you come up with this or has it been discussed here before?

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As far as I know I came up with it, never heard of anyone doing this and since so many IPA's are decribed as grapefruit I thought why can you just add grapefruit or what ever to an IPA? Will be brewing this some time in July since I have my first baby coming next week, I might be tied up for awhile and I don't have a primary open till June 27th. Will keep everyone updated through this page with my recipe decision and processes and results with pics! Now all I need are some thoughts on recipes and amount of grapefruit to use.

Our local craftbrewery has a grapefruit IPA, although I think they achieve their taste through Hops alone. I'll probe the brewers this week when i get my growlers refilled.

BTW it's Sunking Brewery in Indy.

dry hopping with a lot of Cascade will give you that grapefruit flavor.

I wouldn't use any Grapefruit juice. I would try to accomplish this the old fashioned way. With hops.

I get comments on how my all centennial ipa tastes like grapefruit, it's not hard to do.


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agreed many IPA's taste and smell of grapefruit however I'd like to see what a batch with actual grapefruit added would be like any help?

march on then soldier! and report back.

extra_medium said:

march on then soldier! and report back.

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Thanks for the support, after a little reading I'm leaning on doing a recipe with only grapefruit peel and these two hops. Sorachi Ace and Centenial (sp?)Anyone have suggestions on what amounts for the boil schedule and dry hopping??

If you are hell bent on adding actual grapefruit, I'd start off with about an oz of zest added to the secondary and go from there. To add to the flavor, like others are saying, I would use hops that produce a citrus/grapefruit flavor. Cascasde, Centennial, and Columbus all tend to fall into that category.

Hey I saw go for it. Isn't this part of the fun of homebrewing? I recently made a Belgian Wheat with zested orange peel and a couple of cups of OJ. It turned out great.

I know lemon and orange zest taste a lot like their respective fruits but from experience, grapefruit zest not so much. I would think that regular grapefruit(not ruby red) might give a better tasting zest. Also from experience, grapefruit peel is POWERFUL!

I have a tendency to eat citrus fruit in its entirety(not the seeds). I love lemon and lime peel, orange in moderation but grapefruit, wow, this stuff burns the mouth! If you have never tried it, your should!

One option is dehydrated grapefruit.

Either way, good luck and post the results, I am looking forward to trying this!

So here's a all grain recipe I need converted to extract if someone wouldn't mind. I'm thinking I'm going to add 1 oz of grapefruit zest at flameout and possibly a bit more during the dry hopping. I will also be adding a 1/2 oz of sorachi Ace at flame out and an oz in the dry hop. Thoughts suggestions?

All Grain Recipe - 1.064/1.012 (5.5 Gal)
Grain Bill (75% Efficiency assumed)

10 lbs. - 2 Row Pale Malt
2 lb. - Vienna Malt
1/2 lb. - Caramel/Crystal Malt (15L)
1/2 lb. - CaraPils

Hop Schedule (47 IBU)

1/2 oz. - Centennial (60 min.)
1/2 oz. - Centennial (45 min.)
1/2 oz. - Centennial (30 min.)
1/2 oz. - Centennial (15 min.)
1/2 oz. - Centennial (flameout)
1 oz. - Centennial (Dry Hop)
*optional*
If you like a bit more hop, use 1/2 oz of Centennial as a First Wort Hop addition

Yeast

Wyeast American Ale II Yeast (#1272) - 1800 ml starter

Mash/Sparge/Boil

Mash at 153° for 60 min.
Sparge as usual
Cool and ferment at 65° to 68°

Notes

Let this one clear nicely, drink fresh.

quick question: How would you sanitize the zest, or is it even an issue?

Other than cascade, I love simcoe for grapefruit aroma/flavor.

I think most people soak zest in vodka if they're adding to the secondary. I'd make sure to wash it thoroughly before zesting, too.

an ounce of dry-hop sounds a bit timid - but that may just be me. I'd start with 2 ounces for a week of the Cascade or Amarillo to really get that grapefruit - which should compliment the actual grapefruit -

I thought Chinook was grapefruit, personally. I get general citrus from Cascade, no grapefruit really... but, I have been wrong before!

I don't really get grapefruit from Cascade. Amarillo gives it off, big-time. The Port 4th Anniversary Ale is a huge grapefruit bomb--great beer if you can get your hands on it.

i just tried Citra hops for the first time in an IPA and it's so grapefruity that I kind of dont like it. I used an oz of Chinook for the boil, and then a cascade/citra mix (1/2 oz each) at 10 min and at flameout. Dry hopped with an oz. each. Like I said, this came out very high on the grapefruit taste. Used basically the same recipe you used above without the cara pils and I used Maris Otter & Saf 04.

ToddO said:

i just tried Citra hops for the first time in an IPA and it's so grapefruity that I kind of dont like it. I used an oz of Chinook for the boil, and then a cascade/citra mix (1/2 oz each) at 10 min and at flameout. Dry hopped with an oz. each. Like I said, this came out very high on the grapefruit taste. Used basically the same recipe you used above without the cara pils and I used Maris Otter & Saf 04.

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A lot of people don't like Chinook... it's pretty harsh at times.

You could contact Widmer Brothers. They have a grapefruit IPA that is amazing. The bartender at the Gasthaus told me they use grapefruit zest in it.

thanks for all the hlep, this is giving me some good ideas and should help me really hone this recipe. Will post my progress as well as my final recipe and pics here soon.

I have noticed that as my lupuline threshold goes up and up, grapefruit seems less and less bitter too.

Grapefruit might actually add IBU's.

cheezydemon3 said:

Grapefruit might actually add IBU's.

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The owner of my LHBS brews what he calls a "summer time orange beer" that uses no hops. All the bitterness comes from the orange zest. He says it's great but I've never tried it.

update? how did it turn out?

haven't brewed it yet, had my first baby and that's kinda eatting alot of my time. Hopefully in the next 3 weeks I can get around to making it and then I'll post somethign up.

Tilldeath said:

haven't brewed it yet, had my first baby and that's kinda eatting alot of my time. Hopefully in the next 3 weeks I can get around to making it and then I'll post somethign up.

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Good Luck with it. I am completely stoked over my batch, which is almost gone I used a SN Pale Ale clone, amped up the fermentables, doubled the bittering hops and dry hopped with Cascade and the zest from 1/2 a grapefruit. I soaked the zest in Vodka to kill off any nasties. The result is a bit of a hop bomb, with the bitter hitting first then leading to the grapefruit. The finish is a bit aromatic and earthy. Dry, crisp, 5.7% ABV; just enough to have a zing but not so high that you can't enjoy more than one or two.

Yeah, I would just do it with hops - but I love to hear that someone is experimenting - that's one way to advance your brewing skills - and advance brewing science. Rock on - and be sure to let us know how it works out.

Interestingly, this past weekend I sampled a Rye heavy IPA made exclusively with Simcoe hops (only 2 weeks in the bottle, I couldn't wait to try it!). When I shut my eyes and set forth to savor the hop aroma, I found it to be indistinguishable from a glass of pink grapefruit juice. Completely indistinguishable. It's my first time using simcoe, so I don't know whether it's the simcoe itself, or the interplay of the simcoe and rye/wheat, but I thought you'd like to know.

Did a grapefruit IPA a number of months ago. I added I believe 4oz. unsweetened juice into my secondary.

You stole my idea!

I'll be following this to see how it turns out.

I made an amarillo APA that had a strong citrus/grapefruit flavor and aroma.

Great minds drink alike

bja said:

The owner of my LHBS brews what he calls a "summer time orange beer" that uses no hops. All the bitterness comes from the orange zest. He says it's great but I've never tried it.

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I can see that. From my experience, any citrus zest has more bitterness than flavor, so it could be a substitute for hops for sure.

Summit hops.