English IPA thoughts

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Yooper

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I bought some maris otter and some torrified wheat (about a pound of the wheat) in anticipation of making an English style IPA. Since I've never even tasted that style, I could use some help!

I have plenty of EKG hops, and a variety of other hops in the freezer. What kind of IBUs (my guestimate was 50) and flavor additions are usually in an English IPA?
 
As kind of a general guideline, English IPAs are not nearly as aggressive with the hop flavor and aroma as American IPAs. It's present, it's strong, but not nearly as overwhelming.
 
14A. English IPA

Aroma:
[FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman]A moderate to moderately high hop aroma of floral, earthy or fruity nature is typical, although the intensity of hop character is usually lower than American versions. A slightly grassy dry-hop aroma is acceptable, but not required. A moderate caramel-like or toasty malt presence is common. Low to moderate fruitiness, either from esters or hops, can be present. Some [/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman]versions may have a sulfury note, although this character is not mandatory. [/FONT]
Appearance:


[FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman]Color ranges from golden amber to light copper, but most are pale to medium amber with an orange-ish tint. Should be clear, although unfiltered dry-hopped versions may be a bit hazy. Good head stand with off-white color should persist. [/FONT]
Flavor:


[FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman]Hop flavor is medium to high, with a moderate to assertive hop bitterness. The hop flavor should be similar to the aroma (floral, earthy, fruity, and/or slightly grassy). Malt flavor should be medium-low to medium-high, but should be noticeable, pleasant, and support the hop aspect. The malt should show an English character and be somewhat bready, biscuit-like, toasty, toffee-like and/or caramelly. Despite the substantial hop character typical of these beers, sufficient malt flavor, body and complexity to support the hops will provide the best balance. Very low levels of diacetyl are acceptable, and fruitiness from the fermentation or hops adds to the overall complexity. Finish is medium to dry, and bitterness may linger into the aftertaste but should not be harsh. If high sulfate water is used, a distinctively minerally, dry finish, some sulfur flavor, and a lingering bitterness are usually present. Some clean alcohol flavor can be noted in stronger versions. Oak is inappropriate in this style. [/FONT]
Mouthfeel:


[FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman]Smooth, medium-light to medium-bodied mouthfeel without hop-derived astringency, although moderate to medium-high carbonation can combine to render an overall dry sensation in the presence of malt sweetness. Some smooth alcohol warming can and should be sensed in stronger (but not all) versions. [/FONT]
Overall Impression:


[FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman]A hoppy, moderately strong pale ale that features characteristics consistent with the use of English malt, hops and yeast. Has less hop character and a more pronounced malt flavor than American versions. [/FONT]
History:


[FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman]Brewed to survive the voyage from England to India. The temperature extremes and rolling of the seas resulted in a highly attenuated beer upon arrival. English pale ales were derived from India Pale Ales. [/FONT]
Comments:


[FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman]A pale ale brewed to an increased gravity and hop rate. Modern versions of English IPAs generally pale in comparison (pun intended) to their ancestors. The term "IPA" is loosely applied in commercial English beers today, and has been (incorrectly) used in beers below 4% ABV. Generally will have more finish hops and less fruitiness and/or caramel than English pale ales and bitters. Fresher versions will obviously have a more significant finishing hop character. [/FONT]
Ingredients:


[FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman]Pale ale malt (well-modified and suitable for single-temperature infusion mashing); English hops; English yeast that can give a fruity or sulfury/minerally profile. Refined sugar may be used in some versions. High sulfate and low carbonate water is essential to achieving a pleasant hop bitterness in authentic Burton versions, although not all examples will exhibit the strong sulfate character. [/FONT]
Vital Statistics:


[FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman]OG: 1.050 – 1.075 [/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman]IBUs: 40 – 60 [/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman]FG: 1.010 – 1.018 [/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman]SRM: 8 – 14 [/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman]ABV: 5 – 7.5% [/FONT]


Sounds like you're on the right track. More subdued and more balanced across the board than the American versions.
 
I have always thought that it would be interesting to brew it as they really did when shipping some barrels to India.

I guess you would brew it with few hops, ferment it out, stow it in an oak barrel with a good handfull more of hops, slosh it around a few times over the course of a month or two, and then drink it relatively flat, lol.

There has to be a book on it somewhere.

It might have gotten fairly hot too, maybe that is how more IBU's came from "dry" hopping it.(or so the story goes)
 
Note that in the guidelines, oaking is considered inapppropriate. Remember, those barrels were heavily lined with brewer's pitch (I think that's the right term), so that the beer wasn't actually in contact with the oak.
 
I couldn't open the BSM file.
50 IBU's is a good target for a beer with an OG 1.050-1.060.
I find EKG to be earthy as well as somewhat buttery, but not in a Diactyl like way.
Challenger hops are also a nice addition to English style IPA IMHO.
 
The hopping looks good but I'd add some Crystal or mash higher than 154F...

I don't know if I have any "extra" crystal around, just the crystal for the recipes I already have planned. Maybe I can find some, and add that, and I should probably mash higher anyway- I tend to have over attenuation problems. I am also considering using Windsor dry yeast- they gave us a pack on the NHBC, and that would give me some residual fruitiness and not go as dry as my other ales tend to.

Thanks for the help! :rockin:
 
I still think you want it to be somewhat dry. Did they give you some Notty, too? Remember, a major part of the IPA's original design was to have a low FG, so as to reduce the chance of spoilage (fewer residual sugars for bacteria or Brett to latch onto).
 
I still think you want it to be somewhat dry. Did they give you some Notty, too? Remember, a major part of the IPA's original design was to have a low FG, so as to reduce the chance of spoilage (fewer residual sugars for bacteria or Brett to latch onto).

No, they gave us Windsor and Munich yeast. The Munich yeast is designed for wheat beers, according to the package.

On hand, I have pacific ale yeast, 1056, WLP001, Nottingham, Windsor, kolsch, and various lager yeasts.
 
I find EKG more floral than earthy (earthy to me is Fuggles). I love EKG so I use a ton of it in my English IPA (Jack the rIPA in my recipe dropdown is an English IPA and a definite crowd-pleaser - a note on the hop schedule, I just use Galena to bitter it now and no addition at 40 minutes).

Notty FTW! You want some of the esters it generates, English beers need that bit of yeasty goodness and you also want it to attenuate fairly well.
 
I find EKG more floral than earthy (earthy to me is Fuggles). I love EKG so I use a ton of it in my English IPA (Jack the rIPA in my recipe dropdown is an English IPA and a definite crowd-pleaser - a note on the hop schedule, I just use Galena to bitter it now and no addition at 40 minutes).

Notty FTW! You want some of the esters it generates, English beers need that bit of yeasty goodness and you also want it to attenuate fairly well.

I did basically this recipe except with some crystal (70-80 i think) instead of the carastan(?). Turned out wonderfully and keeps getting better!
 
mash high, especially if you use nottingham...it will want to dry it out.

EKG+fuggle works great, either/or for bittering/aroma.

an all EKG would taste fantastic as well.
 
I use fuggles for english IPAs, and goldings for english bitters.
Doing any combination of them is not wrong, just something I've set my own opinon on.
With bitters it's goldings, goldings, goldings, with IPAs it's challenger or NB for bittering and fuggles/willamette for finishing.
As far as yeast, nottingham gives a fairly dry flavour, so I use it for IPAs, stouts and porters if I'm using a sachet yeast. It's a nice yeast that doesn't mind the sub 16*C temps I get at night, unlike SO-4.
For bitters I lean towards SO-4 for sachet yeast. I've bought some wyeast london ale as my next beer is going to be a dark english ale, I hope to save some and try it on my next bitter or IPA.
edit: My next english IPAis going to use coopers yeast (not the extract kit stuff, but yeast from their bottled beers). I've cultured a fair bit of it for making australian pale ales and I like the flavours it gives as well as the strong ferment even in low temps (unlike SO-4) and the esters. If it doesn't work out, then I'll live and learn and hopefully I can reculture the Wyeast or more SO-4 and buy a heater pad/belt.
 
I made two IpA's about a month ago, I used regular 2 row and victory with .5# c-10. One batch I used all Cascade and the Other I used all EKG's, the one with the Ekg's IMO turned out way better. I didn't think it was too earthy at all - very fragrant and smooth.
 
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