West Coast IPA recipe

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DanOmite

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Location
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I have been working on a west coast IPA recipe and I would like to know what you guys think. I am going for a Green Flash IPA meets Bells Two Hearted Ales (Midwest, I know...) kind of ale. I really enjoy smoothness of the Bells IPA and the nice mouth feel after taking a sip / gulp. However, I would like more of an initial hop kick from my beer, which I think the Green Flash IPA delivers.

Anyways, my hop schedule is based off most of the Bell's clones I have found. The hop selection is based off all the good reviews I have read about Amarillo hops (I also know they are used in a lot of Green Flash brews) and that Columbus hops are like centennial hops, but on steroids (or so I have read online).

Ingredients for a 3 gallon batch:

Malt
• 4.8 lb Extra Light DME
Specialty Grains
• 1.2 lb Vienna Malt
• 0.3 lb Crystal 20L
• 0.3 Cara-Pils / Dextrine
Extra Stuff
• 1 tablespoon Irish Moss
Hops
• 0.4 oz Columbus (60 minutes)
• 0.6 oz Amarillo (60 minutes)
• 0.2 oz Columbus (15 minutes)
• 0.4 oz Amarillo (15 minutes)
• 0.2 oz Columbus (5 minutes)
• 0.4 oz Amarillo (5 minutes)
• 0.2 oz Columbus (1 minutes)
• 0.4 oz Amarillo (1 minutes)
Yeast
• White Labs California Ale v
SOP
• Mash at 150-155F for 30 minutes

According to beer tools this brew hits about 62 IBU (I was aiming for 60-75). I am hoping the extra Columbus hops at the beginning of the boil will had that kick that I want. I want to avoid any lingering grassy aftertastes, because I want this beer to be crisp. I have read that Columbus hops can be very "pungent", so if anyone has any experience with Columbus hops let me know if I am using them correctly.

Any suggestions would be apprectiated.
 
Have you thought about dry hopping this IPA??

I have never dry hopped. I know many of the beers I love are dry hopped, so I would be up for trying it out.

What exactly will it add to the beer and how long do I do it for?

Also, I just checked out my local brew store and they don't have any Columbus hops, so I am thinking about using Simcoe hops instead. I have heard good things about them. I think I will up their dosage a bit to make up for the higher AA% of the Columbus hops.
 
I think that recipe looks great. The hopping should come out really well, I like that you paired the hops like that, they should balance well.
Personally I wouldn't probably like it with simcoe as much but that's me.
If I were to change or add anything I might want to spread the hops a bit closer to the 30 minute mark for flavor. Maybe move the 5 minute addition to 30, or just add some more :)
Anyway looks good! Good luck!
 
The hop profile is going to be all about personal preference, so go with what you like. Personally with an IPA I would like to see a strong bettering addition to begin with and hop burst at the end. The aroma and flavor from hop bursting has worked well for me. I like the simcoe/amarillo combo, if you were looking for a little more variety cenntenial would be a great addition. I would also encourage a dry hop, Two Hearted (as well as the other Bell's IPA's) are dry hopped.
 
The hop profile is going to be all about personal preference, so go with what you like. Personally with an IPA I would like to see a strong bettering addition to begin with and hop burst at the end. The aroma and flavor from hop bursting has worked well for me. I like the simcoe/amarillo combo, if you were looking for a little more variety cenntenial would be a great addition. I would also encourage a dry hop, Two Hearted (as well as the other Bell's IPA's) are dry hopped.

I have never used Columbus or Simcoe. What would be the standout difference between the two? I read that Columbus fits into the "three C's" as in it is similar to Cascade and Centennial, but a bit more "pungent". Conversely, I heard the Simcoe hops have more of a pine thing going on. Is this correct? If so, I think I would want to stick with the Columbus, because it is closer to the Centennials. Hell, I may add some Simcoe in at some point in time. I just don't want the recipe to get that complex, because this is my first serious attempt at a good IPA and I want some kind of base line recipe I can improve on.

Thanks for the advice guys. I do want a nice hop kick at the beginning, so I may add a little more of whatever hops I end up going with. Also, I may add another round at about 30 minutes for some flavor.

When s hould I dry hop and with how much? Does 0.5oz of amarillo sound good?

Thought I'd mention that I am drinking an Avery Maharaja right now. It is spectacular. I have not had one of these in over a year. I read up on its ingredients and it is mostly hopped with Simcoe and Columbus. So, I am thinking I can’t go wrong either way.
 
I suggested the Cenntenial due to your mention of the lack of Columbis at your LHBS. Also if you like Two Hearted, you like Cenntenial. The Simcoe will give you some piny flavor though I have noted some tropical fruit like qualities as well. The Cenntenial is a very well rounded hop IMO, providing a balance between floral and citric. The Amarillo is probably the most distinct grapefruit flavored hop you can find. That combination is right up my alley.

While adding a bit more Cenntenial to make up for the AA% won't match the Columbus I would still like to think you would be happy with the results.
 
You should dry hop after primary fermentation is over with. I always transfer to secondary to dry hop. You can dry hop anywhere from 3-7 days at normal temp. Since you have never dry hopped before .5 oz would be ok for your first time...but usually an IPA would get more (all about preference).
 
I'm not sure I should suggest this, because it may or not matter, but I would drop the carapils. The DME might contain carapils/dextrines already and adding more might give the beer more body than you'd like, or, at the very least, not allow the amount of hops you have to shine as much as they could. Crystal malt will provide you the mouthfeel by YMMV. Good luck!
 
I got my hands on some Columbus hops. So, I am going to go with original recipe.

I was thinking about adding a hops at 30 mins as Budzu suggested. The hop schedule will look like this:

Hops
• 0.4 oz Columbus (60 minutes)
• 0.6 oz Amarillo (60 minutes)
• 0.2 oz Columbus (30 minutes)
• 0.4 oz Amarillo (30 minutes)
• 0.2 oz Columbus (15 minutes)
• 0.4 oz Amarillo (15 minutes)
• 0.2 oz Columbus (5 minutes)
• 0.4 oz Amarillo (5 minutes)
• 0.2 oz Columbus (1 minutes)
• 0.4 oz Amarillo (1 minutes)

If I understand correctly, the 30-minute addition will just add some hop flavor. Do you think I am adding too many at 30 minutes? I love my hops, but I want other people who are not hopheads to be able to enjoy this beer also.

I think I am going to leave the malts alone. They are based off many IPA recipes I have seen, so I don't want mess with the malts. I have never used Dextrine, so it will be a learning experience for me.

Thanks for all the help guys!

I will be sure to let everyone know how it turns out.
 
I only ask why bitter with amarillo? since a majority of its flavor will be lost in the boil why not keep it and add more (but overall less) columbus? I am only asking cause I am curious, not because I am judging your recipe.

As far as the Simcoe goes with the other posts, I have only used it in one brew, and that was my maharaja clone, and after tasting it, and knowing the glories of Amarillo, I couldn't think of two hops that I would love to have in a beer together.

Remember that dry hopping is not going to add any noticeable bitterness. As far as not finding columbus at your LHBS, I recommend if you can swing it, getting a lb from hopdirect of other vendor. I have made columbus my primary bittering hop and I also picked up a lb of amarillo as a nice aroma/flavor hop. It was unfortunate but I was unable to get a lb of simcoe...oh well, just have to wait till late summer.
 
Dan, if you need some hops I can help you out. Just looking at you recipe, you should definitely dry-hop this bad boy, maybe a .5/oz of each hop, or use a 3rd hop like the Simcoe or even Centennial. Or go crazy with a Citra Palisade combo. MMMMMM!
 
Cool! Some of my reasoning of using 30 min additions is that you get to decrease your 60 min addition somewhat. So just take into account how much IBU you will get from 30 min and adjust your 60 min accordingly. This will smooth out your bitterness a bit and give a really juicy nice hop flavor :)
 
The beer is done!

I ended up adding a little more Columbus hops at the beginning of the boil and a hop addition 30 mins. Also, I dry hopped with 0.6oz of Amarillo for 5 days. I filled 8 bombers worth to save for later. I'd like to see how the brew ages.

The rest I force crabbed and let mellow for a few days. I am very happy with how it turned out. The aroma is excellent and the hop flavor is strong, but enjoyable. The beer has a nice mouth feel and finishes clean. I think the bitterness is perfect.

All in all, there is not much I would change. I can't wait to see how it ages. Should be delicious.

I don't have a camera, but I might snag my girlfriends and take a picture. The color turned out nice.
 
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