Opinions on Father's Day random brew...

Hey, all.

It's been about a year since I was able to brew, but I swore to do a batch today.

I'm an extract/grains brewer. I decided to just pick up random stuff at the supply store locally, in hopes that the muse would do the rest today. I have a bunch of oddball hops I ordered from HopsDirect in December, which I vacuum-sealed into small packages. I'm hoping to do an IPA of interest. :cross:

So here's what I'm planning:

8.5lb Extra Light DME
12oz Crystal 40L
2 vials fresh WLP001 (missed my Friday session for a build-up on one vial, oops) (and I have a US05 packet, just in case)

(this should get me a SG of 1.071)

I'm using a 10G kettle, so full boil with 6.5G distilled water (may sub one gallon of spring water to harden it a bit).

Here's what I have for hops (pelleted, in a nylon mesh bag):
1# Super Galena @ 12.0AA
1# Bravo @ 14.0AA
1# Belma @ 9.8AA
1# Cascade @ 7.0AA

I love citrusy hops, and high bitterness. I'm a big fan of DFH 60 and 90, Sixpoint's Resin, Lag's Maximus IPA and Hop Stoopid, Dominion's Double-D... I don't like most of the C's (Centennial can take a leap, and as I'm in Grand Rapids, seems like everything Founders and Bell's does is Centennial lately).

I read up on these hops fairly heavily, and here's what I'm thinking for a schedule:

1.0oz Bravo @ 60min
1.0oz Bravo @ 40min
1.0oz Super Galena @ 30min
1.0oz Super Galena @ 10min
1.0oz Super Galena @ 5min continuously down to 1min
1.0oz Bravo @ 5min continuously down to 1min
1.0oz Bravo @ flameout

So, yeah, it's kind of looking like a Pliny, but I have my bags set up in 3oz and 2oz increments, so it kind of works.

I was thinking of an ounce of Cascade in dry-hop, but I'm not sure if that'll blend well with the more citrusy hops above.

Anyone care to help a dad out? I'm not too stressed about it, should be fun no matter what. Neighbor dads are coming over to shoot the stuff while I brew, so hopefully I don't forget my schedule!

TIA!
Dan

The addition of spring water will help accentuate your hops, so that seems in line with what you're trying to achieve.

Cascade is a very citrusy hop, so it should blend well. Alternatively, you could try something more neutral and fragrant (Saaz, Ahtanum, etc.).

The 40 minute Bravo - That's going to be almost exclusively bittering, so you could probably use less hops and just move that addition to 60 minutes.

The 30 minute Super Galena - Is it for bittering or flavor? If it's for bittering, then moving it to 60 minutes will let you use less for the same effect. If it's for flavor, then you'll probably get better flavor from adding it at 20 minutes or first wort hopping.

But perhaps more important, I calculate > 140 IBU from your hop schedule. It's difficult to push the dissolved alpha acids past 60 IBU. If you're serious about this level of hoppiness, then you might think about extensive use of first wort hopping and dry hopping to get you there.

sptaylor70 said:

The addition of spring water will help accentuate your hops, so that seems in line with what you're trying to achieve.

Cascade is a very citrusy hop, so it should blend well. Alternatively, you could try something more neutral and fragrant (Saaz, Ahtanum, etc.).

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Yah, maybe I'll keep out the flameout Bravo and sub in Cascade. I just never know what to expect from Cascase, it always seems more piney than citrusy to me.

The 40 minute Bravo - That's going to be almost exclusively bittering, so you could probably use less hops and just move that addition to 60 minutes.

The 30 minute Super Galena - Is it for bittering or flavor? If it's for bittering, then moving it to 60 minutes will let you use less for the same effect. If it's for flavor, then you'll probably get better flavor from adding it at 20 minutes or first wort hopping.

Click to expand...

Bravo for the bittering, I was just thinking of spreading the additions around, especially since, yes, the calculated IBUs are pretty dang high (but I know I'm not going to see that in the bottle).

But perhaps more important, I calculate > 140 IBU from your hop schedule. It's difficult to push the dissolved alpha acids past 60 IBU. If you're serious about this level of hoppiness, then you might think about extensive use of first wort hopping and dry hopping to get you there.

Click to expand...

Dry hopping will be a priority for me on this one, even though I'm all pellets. I'll probably move the flameout Bravo to the dry-hop stage with some extra Cascade.

Thanks for the hints!

sptaylor70 said:

The addition of spring water will help accentuate your hops

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Can you explain this? Sounds like a gamble to me. It really depends on what minerals are in the spring water. If you want to accentuate hop bitterness, gypsum is the way to go.

Torque2K has 1 gallon of spring water, 6.5 gallons of distilled. I do not know whether he has gypsum, and he's brewing today. Spring water contains small amounts of calcium, magnesium, and sodium ions, just as water from Burton-on-Trent and Duesseldorf and other noted hoppy beer brewing centers. A small step toward such water chemistry by using a little spring water will help accentuate the hop flavor. I hope to encourage the impulse.

sptaylor70 said:

Torque2K has 1 gallon of spring water, 6.5 gallons of distilled. I do not know whether he has gypsum, and he's brewing today. Spring water contains small amounts of calcium, magnesium, and sodium ions, just as water from Burton-on-Trent and Duesseldorf and other noted hoppy beer brewing centers. A small step toward such water chemistry by using a little spring water will help accentuate the hop flavor. I hope to encourage the impulse.

Click to expand...

Ah, I see. That's what I get for the habit of only skimming long posts.

I would not encourage this, because you don't know what ions are in the water. The spring water could lean more heavily toward chloride than sulfate, which would take you in the wrong direction for an IPA. Also, repeatability using this method would only be possible if using water from the same spring on subsequent batches. I'm no expert on the matter, but I'm guessing ions can vary over time even in water from the same spring.

Chances are he could use some gypsum if used with a light hand, but--to your point--most extract brewers probably don't have gypsum on hand.

One of my rules: if you don't know what ions are in your water (or in this case in your water and DME), don't mess with it.