My Imperial IPA revisited

Like I have said in some other topics, I will be moving to England temporarily coming up in the fall of this year. I will not be taking my brewing equipment with me and I am not going to be buying more over there since my living there will only be temp.

So I am planning a lot of brews for this summer to try out some of my own recipes and I figure this will be a good chance for me to brew some beers that take a while to age because I will be in England and the beer will be here in the US, I will not be tempted to open them early and they will get to age properly.

This brings me back to my Imperial IPA recipe which I have been working on developing. I posted on these forums for advice awhile back.

jager recommended that I lower the FG of my IIPA to between 1.010 to 1.015 or else it will not be drinkable.

However, while achieving the gravity that I want, I am having problems getting my FG that low. I have tried defferent malt combos but without dropping the OG signifiantly, I am unable to hit the FG range taht jager recommended.

Any recommendations?

I realize that the yeast I use is going to have a lot to do with this but I don't think beersmith calculates the effect the yeast will have. Upon recommendation, I will be using White Labs California Ale Yeast.

Here is the original topic:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=26828


Thanks in advance.

OK, so I haven't done a double-IPA myself, but I have failed at some big IPAs and learned a few things in the process. Those podcasts by Jamil were really helpful, too -- highly recommended.

A few suggestions -- drop the maltodextrin and add a pound of corn sugar to dry out the beer, and make sure you use a neutral, high attenuating yeast like WLP001, Wyeast 1056 or Safale US05. Also, you are going to need a BIG and healthy yeast culture to ferment down to a reasonable FG. That will require a big, big starter, or pitch on to a yeast cake from the primary of a smaller (< 1.050) beer.

I have actually seen several recipes on the internet for Imperial IPA's that used corn sugar. I have never used corn sugar for anything but priming so I didn't know what to think about that.

The Malto-Dextrin is long gone, I took it out shortly after posting that first post.

I am basically back to square one now, as I am completly scraped the recipe from before and have started over. I will try adding corn sugar to beersmith and see what happens.


Well scratch that, Beersmith doesn't have corn suger, at least it is not in mine, could be in an add on I guess. How much do you think I should use?

What I have so far (likely to change)

Has my OG at 1.101 at 75% eff.
FG is 1.025

I believe that Beersmith does take in to account the yeast variety. Try switching between WLP001 and WLP002. You should see a different FG.
I think Beersmith also has corn sugar, it is listed as dextrose, but I am not sure if it affects the FG correctly. You should be able to add corn sugar with little to no affect on the FG.
Jamil recommends the use of corn sugar in an IIPA to help dry it out.
Are you doing an AG recipe or an extract. If AG you can do a long mash at ~148F to get a very fermentable wort that will end out dry. I don't think Beersmith takes the mash temp into account when estimating FG. Also remember that the FG calculations are just estimates. Lots of variables such as pitching rate and fermentation temps can affect the FG.

Craig

I'm new to AG Brewing, but I'd make a point to mash at particularly low temperatures, perhaps 151 or 150. Make sure your sugars are very very fermentable.
Ben

I will be brewing All Grain. I have only one under my belt so I am still learning. I did try defferent yeasts. The California Ale yeast brings the FG down to 1.022. I do not see dextrose in Beersmith, it may be in an addon that I have not added yet.

You say I should do a long mash at 148 degrees, how long? I usually mash for 1 hour, should it mash for two hours or an hour and a half?

Also, if I do mash as stated above, do I still need to add corn sugar? If so, how much would you suggest.

Thanks for all the advice.

I made an IIPA that went from 1.089 to 1.022, and it's delicious. I've gotten nothing but rave reviews about it, so don't think you have to get it as low as 1.010 for it to be "drinkable." Everyone has different tastes. BTW I pitched it onto a yeast cake from the last batch.

Ok, based on the advice I got, I have decided to go with the current grain bill I have for my IIPA. Most of the recipes I have seen on the internet are very simple on the malt end and are mainly just a base grain with a few exceptions. I realize that the purpose of a IIPA for it to be all about the Hops but I still wanted my IIPA to have a little grain character to it.

So here is my current recipe below, thoughts and suggestions would be appreciated. I have never dry hopped with more than one hop at a time so I may be going overboard here if that is possible with this style.

OG: 1.101
FG: 1.022


15 lbs Maris Otter
1 lb Carafoam
1 lb Munich Malt
1 lb Victory Malt
1 oz Summit (60 min)
1 oz Chinook (30 min)
1 oz Liberty (20 min)
1 oz Williamette (15 min)
1 oz Mt. Hood (10 min)
1 oz Cascade (5 min)
1 oz Cascade (aroma hop steep)
4 oz Amarillo (Dry Hop 5 days)
4 oz Cascade (Dry Hop 5 days)
4 oz Crystal (Dry Hop 5 days)
4 oz Sterling (Dry Hop 5 days)
Irish Moss
White Labs California Ale Yeast

if you use whole leaf you are going to lose a ton of beer with 16oz of dry hops in there, even with pellets you will lose a lot. I have dry hopped with 4oz of leaf hops and got a ton of character (centennial and cascade 50/50)

Yeah, I have been reading up on the IIPA style. I was just about to come on here an say I was taking some of my dry hops out. I think I will go with your recommendation Colorado and do 2 oz each of Cascade and Centennial as I think that nice citrisiness will be nice. I am going to leave everything else as is unless someone has a suggestion otherwise.

Looks fine to me.

I'd give it a shot and keep brewing it over and over till you got it where you want it.




As for the final gravity thing,


Look at Pliny the Elder, one of the highest rated double IPA's, its not a coincidence that its final gravity is 1.010.

Looking at your OG it seems pretty high for a IIPA.....

Most I've seen, even clones are around 1.080 to 1.090 and finish anywhere between 1.15 to 1.010..so finishing at 1.020 when you started that high is about right.

Just make sure you have a nice big yeast starter and oxygenate if you have the means to...

Forrest said:

So here is my current recipe below, thoughts and suggestions would be appreciated. I have never dry hopped with more than one hop at a time so I may be going overboard here if that is possible with this style.

OG: 1.101
FG: 1.022


15 lbs Maris Otter
1 lb Carafoam
1 lb Munich Malt
1 lb Victory Malt

Click to expand...

That's a pretty high starting gravity. I'd cut a couple pounds of Maris Otter out and try to hit about 1.090. Unless, of course, you want to go for a triple IPA!

Hmm, wonder if anybody has ever made a triple IPA? Anyway< have dropped the OG down to 1.090. The FG estimageis still high though still at 1.020. Still like someone said earlier this is just an estimate. I noticed that Pliny the Elder has a much lower OG that is around 1.075. I will just have to do like recommended and mash for longer at a lower temperture and hope for the best then modify the recipe accordingly.

Thanks for help.

Forrest said:

Hmm, wonder if anybody has ever made a triple IPA? Anyway< have dropped the OG down to 1.090. The FG estimageis still high though still at 1.020. Still like someone said earlier this is just an estimate. I noticed that Pliny the Elder has a much lower OG that is around 1.075. I will just have to do like recommended and mash for longer at a lower temperture and hope for the best then modify the recipe accordingly.

Thanks for help.

Click to expand...

Good luck and let us know how it turns out.

Forrest said:

Hmm, wonder if anybody has ever made a triple IPA? Anyway< have dropped the OG down to 1.090. The FG estimageis still high though still at 1.020. Still like someone said earlier this is just an estimate. I noticed that Pliny the Elder has a much lower OG that is around 1.075. I will just have to do like recommended and mash for longer at a lower temperture and hope for the best then modify the recipe accordingly.

Thanks for help.

Click to expand...

Actually, Pliny the Younger is considered a triple IPA. I've never had either, although I've heard nothing but rave reviews of both.

Well, I might as well go for a Triple then.

I will take a look at Pliny the Younger recipe and use it a guide and adjust my recipe accordingly.

Thanks.