Critique my "kick in the mouth" IPA recipe

I'm trying for a really damn strong (both hop and ABV-wise) IPA. I think I've got something that resembles that:

Batch size: 5 gallons
Boil Volume: 2.5 gallons

6 lbs. dry amber malt extract
3 lbs. CaraPils

1 oz. pellet Chinook boiled for 60 minutes
.25 oz. leaf Perle boiled for 50 minutes
.25 oz. leaf Perle boiled for 30 minutes
.5 oz. leaf Perle boiled for 10 minutes
1 oz. leaf Centennial boiled for 10 minutes

TastyBrew says:
OG: 1.074
FG: 1.019
IBU: 72
SRM: 10
ABV: 7.1%

Some sort of American Ale yeast...I used US-05 for my amber ale and it turned out great, so probably that. With an OG like that, it'll need a starter.

Probably primary ferment for a week and a half or two weeks, and then in the secondary for two or three weeks to let all those hops mellow out.

How's that sound? I think the FG is a bit high...

use the hydrometer to tell you when to put her in the secondary and to bottle, not the calendar. also try dry hopping for some extra kick in the mouth. just put some hops in with the secondary and let it sit for about a week. i just had a pale ale like hat and it was awesome! put about an oz, oz and a half in there.

30% Cara-pils seems like overkill. Shouldn't it be down in the 5-10% range? Also maybe move the Centennial to the 5 min mark to preserve as much aroma as possible.

My take is - yeah, drop some of the Cara-Pils but maybe add some Crystal 40L (?) and I would use 3# of the amber and 3# xtra lite DME. I would also try just boiling the xtra lite DME for the full 60 min. and add the amber at about 20 min. left and return to boil. I would also move the Centennial to 5 min. and also add an oz of Centennial to the secondary. From what I've researched most folks don't make a starter with dry yeasts. Just rehydrate and you should be fine. Just my opinion. In fact , I think I might put this into my rotation

Sweet, thanks for the feedback guys. I moved the Centennial to 5 minutes, and played with the extract to bring the amount of CaraPils down, and managed to keep the final stats nearly identical to the original recipe. I also have an ounce of extra Centennial, so I'll probably dry-hop with that. Here's what it is now:

5 lbs. dry amber malt extract
2.5 lbs. dry light malt extract
1 lb. CaraPils

1 oz. pellet Chinook boiled for 60 minutes
.25 oz. leaf Perle boiled for 50 minutes
.25 oz. leaf Perle boiled for 30 minutes
.5 oz. leaf Perle boiled for 10 minutes
1 oz. leaf Centennial boiled for 5 minutes
1 oz. leaf Centennial to dry-hop

TastyBrew says:
OG: 1.074
FG: 1.019
IBU: 71 (dry-hopping will affect this number, yes?)
SRM: 9
ABV: 7.1%

I may be incorrect but 1oz of Chinook at 60 may not balance with that high gravity of a beer. Although if you are looking for more malt character to come though, then it is probably fine. For my own IPA recipes I start with 2oz @ 60 min, but then again I am kind of a hop head.

EDIT - I didn't realize how high an alpha acid content those hops had. 1oz may be enough.

SkinnyShamrock said:

IBU: 71 (dry-hopping will affect this number, yes?)

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I don't believe dry hopping raises IBU's. It adds to the hop nose of the brew but no bitterness is extracted without boiling.

Recipe looks good to me, and IBU will not be raised from dry hop addition.

Tenchiro said:

EDIT - I didn't realize how high an alpha acid content those hops had. 1oz may be enough.

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You may have a point though. He's trying to make a "kick in the mouth" IPA. 71 IBU's is solid but I'm not sure if that qualifies as a kick in the mouth. My current IPA is 77 IBU's and, although plenty bitter, more of a slap in the mouth than a kick. I'm also a hop head so take my opinion for what it's worth.

HOOTER said:

You may have a point though. He's trying to make a "kick in the mouth" IPA. 71 IBU's is solid but I'm not sure if that qualifies as a kick in the mouth. My current IPA is 77 IBU's and, although plenty bitter, more of a slap in the mouth than a kick. I'm also a hop head so take my opinion for what it's worth.

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True, I bet 2oz would balance well with the malt. Also a 3 gallon boil volume would aid with hop utilization as well. Couple that with a late extract addition, say 1# at 60min and the rest at 15min and you will again raise your utilization. Also a 90min boil time would give you even more bitterness and would truly be a 'Kick In The Mouth' IPA and might even get you up around 100 IBU's.

what about some simcoe somewhere in there?

Well, for 103 IBUs, here's the schedule:

1 oz. of pellet Chinook for 90 minutes
.25 oz. of leaf Perle for 80 minutes
.25 oz. of leaf Perle for 60 minutes
1 oz. of leaf Centennial for 60 minutes
.5 oz. of leaf Perle for 20 minutes
1 oz. of Centennial for 5 minutes

Holy hops.

I disagree with your new hops schedule. 74 IBUs is plenty, and increasing it to 100 isn't likely to change the way the bitterness is perceived. What will change (dramatically) is the hop flavor. Adding a large amount of hops prior to the 20 minute point will result in great utilization with little retained flavor. If you want a "kick in the mouth," you need bitterness AND flavor. Stick with a 60 minute boil, be satisfied with ~75 IBUs, and try to cram as many hops as you can into the last 20 minutes of the boil.

Yuri_Rage said:

Stick with a 60 minute boil, be satisfied with ~75 IBUs, and try to cram as many hops as you can into the last 20 minutes of the boil.

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This does make sense. Hop flavor/aroma is every bit as important as bitterness (if not more). This may not end up being a "kick in the mouth" IPA, but just a real good regular IPA, which is not a bad thing.

I am going stick with my original 60 minute boil and the ~70 IBUs, the 100 IBU one was more of an exercise in manipulating a recipe.

On the other hand, I have had DHF 90-minute, and it's glorious. Troegs Nugget Nectar is 90ish, too, and it's awesome.