Standard IPA / IIPA grain bill

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FreshZ

FreshZ

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What is your standard IPA grain bill?
How bout your standard IIPA grain bill?
Any SMaSH IPA suggestions?

I've got tons of hops and a few recipes in the queue, but after those, I'm gonna make a couple IPA's and IIPA's. What say you on the grain bill for each?
 
I don't know about "standard," but I've used this base a couple times with quite tasty results:

10lbs 2-row
2lbs Vienna
1lb Crystal 40 (or 60)

For 5 gallons, gets to about 1.070 figuring 75% efficiency.
 
They're usually mostly 2-row pale malt of some kind (80-90%) mixed with a small portion (5% or so) of carapils and/or wheat malt and/or oats and/or rye and/or vienna and/or pilsener malt and/or sugar and/or munich and/or crystal malt and/or honey malt.

There's no huge distinction between the typical IPA vs. IIPA grain bills aside from quantity.
 
I have to disagree. There seems to be one big distinction in grain bills: how much malt/sweetness there is. Compare beers with recipes that have been circulated like Pliny the Elder and G'Knight. Pliny is dry without "malty" grains or a lot sweet crystal malts, while G'Knight has a high amount of medium colored crystal, along with Munich. Pliny uses simple sugars to dry it out even further, G'Knight doesn't. And the taste is quite evident.

Of course, I do agree that the hops are the main focus of an IPA, but the grain bill sets the tone.
 
jeburgdo said:
I don't know about "standard," but I've used this base a couple times with quite tasty results:

10lbs 2-row
2lbs Vienna
1lb Crystal 40 (or 60)

For 5 gallons, gets to about 1.070 figuring 75% efficiency.
Click to expand...
I use almost the same grain bill but .5lb C60. I dont like them too sweet.
 
jeburgdo said:
I have to disagree. There seems to be one big distinction in grain bills: how much malt/sweetness there is.
Click to expand...

You can make a dry IIPA with very, very low malt sweetness. There are many commercial examples of this, and those examples are usually top rated whereas the sweeter examples are fall by the wayside.

jeburgdo said:
Compare beers with recipes that have been circulated like Pliny the Elder and G'Knight. Pliny is dry without "malty" grains or a lot sweet crystal malts, while G'Knight has a high amount of medium colored crystal, along with Munich. Pliny uses simple sugars to dry it out even further, G'Knight doesn't. And the taste is quite evident.
Click to expand...

Not sure what you meant by this. Pliny is a dry Double IIPA, GKnight is more of a sweet Imperial Red. Green Flash WCIPA uses 15% cara malts, and it is quite dry. And many breweries use 4-12% Munich to create dry IPAs.
 
jeburgdo said:
I don't know about "standard," but I've used this base a couple times with quite tasty results:

10lbs 2-row
2lbs Vienna
1lb Crystal 40 (or 60)

For 5 gallons, gets to about 1.070 figuring 75% efficiency.
Click to expand...

This is perfect. If I were to use Munich, it replaces the Vienna? What is the difference? Color? Fermentables?
 
The difference is flavor. Munich is more malty. For IPAs, I find the sweet spot to be about 4-8%. As a comparison, Vienna is said to provide more body, but less flavor. Color depends on the maltster and the grade of the product. The supplier should be able to tell you the Lovibond.
 
If you like caramel malts, then use them. Personally I don't really fancy them all that much, so I try to stick with some kind of "interesting" base malt (pearl, marris, etc) and then add some character by either using a longer boil or some other malt like vienna or amber or whatever. Sometimes - and this is rare - I'll throw in a few oz. of a high crystal malt (like 120) for colour and a touch of differentiation. Just dont' be shy with your hops.

Just made a cascade SMaSH on Saturday with the following, and it's smelling AMAZING down in the dark depths of the basement:
10# pearl
2oz cascade - 60
1oz cascade - 10
1oz cascade - 0
1oz cascade - dry for 5

toss in a packet of notty, mashed at 154, and away we go!

5.2 gallons, OG 1.050, FG 1.013, 4.85%ABV (72% efficiency), 44IBU

Should be damn good, if not delicious. Beauty of a SMaSH is that you can't really screw it up. Just use hops that you like, and lots of 'em! The purpose of this one was to see just how different pearl malt is compared to plain old two-row. Since I already know what a cascade 2-row beer tastes like, this should be both satisfying and educational.
 
paulster2626 said:
If you like caramel malts, then use them. Personally I don't really fancy them all that much, so I try to stick with some kind of "interesting" base malt (pearl, marris, etc) and then add some character by either using a longer boil or some other malt like vienna or amber or whatever. Sometimes - and this is rare - I'll throw in a few oz. of a high crystal malt (like 120) for colour and a touch of differentiation. Just dont' be shy with your hops.

Just made a cascade SMaSH on Saturday with the following, and it's smelling AMAZING down in the dark depths of the basement:
10# pearl
2oz cascade - 60
1oz cascade - 10
1oz cascade - 0
1oz cascade - dry for 5

toss in a packet of notty, mashed at 154, and away we go!

5.2 gallons, OG 1.050, FG 1.013, 4.85%ABV (72% efficiency), 44IBU

Should be damn good, if not delicious. Beauty of a SMaSH is that you can't really screw it up. Just use hops that you like, and lots of 'em! The purpose of this one was to see just how different pearl malt is compared to plain old two-row. Since I already know what a cascade 2-row beer tastes like, this should be both satisfying and educational.
Click to expand...

Thought IPAs were higher in ABV and IBU...or at least the ones I drink.
 
Session IPAs are great.

Don't live your life by BJCP guidelines :)... Rebel
 
I either use 2-row and a pinch of Crystal for color or a Pale Ale malt with darker SRM...or a combination of them. I keep the SRM of the finished product in mind when making my recipes (if I'm trying to emulate another beer or re-make a recipe with different ingredients).

50/50 2-row and pale has worked out well for me in the past...or some semi-equal proportion. If I'm out of pale, I just use Crystal for color.

I don't mash incredibly low because I like a hint of malt to balance with the hops rather than a hop bomb. As mentioned, don't get shy with the mid-late-dry hop additions. I dry hop twice nowadays, once in fermenter, once in keg.
 
TrubHead said:
Thought IPAs were higher in ABV and IBU...or at least the ones I drink.
Click to expand...

Most of the time, sure. But if you're messing around with a SMaSH then it's not really that important - at least to me. What matters to me is a good balance of malt, hops, and abv. I'm not entering this in a contest - it's an educational thing more than anything else - bonus is that it will taste delicious.

Plus, having a hop-forward ale to consume in larger quantities without getting bombed isn't necessarily a bad thing.
 
To answer the question about carapilis. It is also known as dextrine malt and as the name would imply it has high dextrines and is added for body and head retention. I'm not sure how it is produced. Someone here might.
 
bobbrews said:
Session IPAs are great.

Don't live your life by BJCP guidelines :)... Rebel
Click to expand...

Not familiar with BJCP guidelines, though can read what is labeled as IPA in local beer stores.

Here's a T-bone steak to go with that IPA. :D

Hot-Dog-Month.jpg
 
Brewitt said:
To answer the question about carapilis. It is also known as dextrine malt and as the name would imply it has high dextrines and is added for body and head retention. I'm not sure how it is produced. Someone here might.
Click to expand...

Yes that's also what I read. It's not added for sweetness.
 
bobbrews said:
If you're not familiar with BJCP guidelines and how they define IPAs, then how do you define them simply by looking at the label?
Click to expand...

I wonder if he likes this popular "IPA":
20061016-Keith%20Bottle.jpg


^^As long as "IPA" remains on this bottle, I am free to call anything whatever I want. I am also 100% certain that my faux-PA resembles an IPA much more than this swill.
 
Or the reverse... in the instances where you're given a hoppy beer by a brewery like Sixpoint, Troegs, or Lagunitas, which feel, look, taste and smell everything like what an IPA should be, but they are not. Dale's Pale Ale is labeled a Pale Ale, but Oskar Blues flat out said it was an IPA. But Dale's IPA didn't sound as good. You can't always go by the bottle or can.
 
bobbrews said:
If you're not familiar with BJCP guidelines and how they define IPAs, then how do you define them simply by looking at the label?
Click to expand...

Not familiar with BJCP guidelines nor am I interested. Does it make me less of a fan of American crafted IPAs...don't think so. Here's a description from one source if you care.

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/style/116
 
I think I get your deal now. You're Quite naive.

Moving on with the thread...
 
Well,

I was just looking for a basic recipe that I could try out different hops and different hop schedules. I think this does it.

1 last question. For an IIPA, would I simply up the 2 row, or should I add additional specialty grains as well.
 
I like to mix things up with my recipes but I have used this base a few times for IPAs with good results:

6# 2-Row
6# Marris Otter
.5# Carapils
.5# Crystal 20L

70% efficiency comes out to around 1.065 SG.
 
FreshZ said:
Well,

I was just looking for a basic recipe that I could try out different hops and different hop schedules. I think this does it.

1 last question. For an IIPA, would I simply up the 2 row, or should I add additional specialty grains as well.
Click to expand...

Keep your proportions similar, IMO. Watch the SRM and make sure you're not lightening too much by changing the ratio. I've played around with sugar and adjuncts but am not fond of the dryness/hot alcohol it can produce. Keep it at a minimum if at all. Consider extract if you find yourself needing a boost. Can be added late in the boil to adjust gravity.
 
Don't forget there is nothing wrong with trying what sounds good to you regardless of its typicality. I mean, there are certain things that should be followed like using a base malt for conversion of sugars, but hey.... Throw some s**t together in a pot, add some hops (maybe some herbs).... Pitch your yeast and see what happens. It might just taste good!
 
ShackNasty said:
Don't forget there is nothing wrong with trying what sounds good to you regardless of its typicality. I mean, there are certain things that should be followed like using a base malt for conversion of sugars, but hey.... Throw some s**t together in a pot, add some hops (maybe some herbs).... Pitch your yeast and see what happens. It might just taste good!
Click to expand...

That's why I wasn't too specific in my recommendations. I use whatever I have on hand. I like Pale Ale malt, but sometimes I only have 2-row. Sometimes I have both but don't want a darker IPA/PA with the PA malt being 3L. Essentially any base malt should make a nice PA/IPA as they're generally dry and the hops take the front-seat.
 
paulster2626 said:
Most of the time, sure. But if you're messing around with a SMaSH then it's not really that important - at least to me. What matters to me is a good balance of malt, hops, and abv. I'm not entering this in a contest - it's an educational thing more than anything else - bonus is that it will taste delicious.

Plus, having a hop-forward ale to consume in larger quantities without getting bombed isn't necessarily a bad thing.
Click to expand...

And just took a reading and sample. It's effin delish!!!

Fermented a little more than expected so my "hot dog ale" is actually around 5.25%. Gonna dry hop early and rush this one it's so good. Another win for the paulster and his pearl malt.
 
paulster2626 said:
And just took a reading and sample. It's effin delish!!!

Fermented a little more than expected so my "hot dog ale" is actually around 5.25%. Gonna dry hop early and rush this one it's so good. Another win for the paulster and his pearl malt.
Click to expand...

And finally, bottled it last night after a good 5-day cold crash.

Filled up a couple 2L and carbed 'em with a carb cap, and man oh man, it's good. I could sell this. Great hop aroma, quite a lot of initial bitterness which subsides with further sips, and very smooth and satisfying. If someone was looking for an example of an American IPA, this is what I'd give them. It'll be interesting to see the difference in taste compared to the bottle-conditioned ones in a few weeks.

Glad I didn't stick with the de-facto BJCP guidelines! Moral of the story: NEVER be afraid to do your own thing, even when it's just a simple SMaSH!
 
My IPA's are heavy on late (hop) additions and dry hopping. My goal is to always focus on big aroma and flavor. I support this with balanced bitterness and malt character. I shoot for a terminal gravity of 1.012 - 1.015.

I am also a big fan of Pale Malt. I find it gives a good degree of sweetness while remaining clean. I also rely heavily on Munich (10L). I round my grist out with a small amount of medium crystal and wheat or flaked oats.

Usually goes something like this:

70% Pale Malt
20% Munich 10L
5% Caramunich (60L)
5% wheat or flaked oats.

I recently scored an overall score of 44 with my most recent IPA and it used 28% Munich.
 

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