Black IPA recipe

Looking for any comments/feedback on the following recipe I came up with.

Brewers Malt 2-Row (Briess) (1.8 SRM) 75.0 %
Munich 20L (Briess) (20.0 SRM) 7.1 %
Oats, Flaked (1.0 SRM) 7.1 %
Midnight Wheat (Briess) (550.0 SRM) 5.4 %
Black Barley (Briess) (500.0 SRM) 2.7 %
Caramel Malt - 120L (Briess) (120.0 SRM) 2.7 %

FWH with Warrior
Cascade&Amarillo at 15 min
Cascade&Amarillo at 5 min
Dry hop with Cascade
WLP051

Mash at 152
Target OG 1.068
Target FG 1.015
Target IBU 78

I didn't put the actual amounts in there because I brew 1 gallon batches.

I wanted to give this some complexity of flavor, which is why I chose to use the Munich, C120 and the midnight wheat/Black barley. Or will this just muddy up the flavor?

Thanks for any comments/suggestions.

Why the oats? I wouldn't care for the oiliness or the weight that they would add to the mouthfeel of an IBA. I'd opt for C60 or C40 over C120, but that's personal preference -- C120 has a burnt raisin flavor that I wouldn't want competing with my late hop additions. I like the munich, I like the combo of midnight wheat and roast barley. I like the hop schedule, but I'd make room in the dry hops for some amarillo. They are a wonderful dry hop. I did a IIPA with cascade as the only dry hop and I was disappointed with it (compared to the other fementors which got amarillo, centennial and summit).

the black barley and probably isn't that necessary and might make it too roasted

Hopper5000 said:

the black barley and probably isn't that necessary and might make it too roasted

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Some people like their IBA's with some deliberate level of roastiness. Splitting the dark grains between roast barley and midnight wheat will accomplish that goal. It's less than 3% roast...

I'd go with grain bill percentages like this, using most of the grains you picked...

- 75% 2 Row
- 10% Munich
- 5% Oats
- 5% Dehusked Caraffa
- 2.5% Midnight Wheat
- 2.5% C-60

Also, IMO you can't use too much Amarillo. It's my favorite hop. I'd add it to the dry hop at the least...maybe even adding more at flameout.

Thanks all for the suggestions. I'll change up some things based on your feedback.

With the oats I was shooting for head retention, but I have read others say they think it actually decreases that because they are sort of oily. Maybe flaked wheat instead?

I get that but if your trying to go for "style" it should be very subtle. Like if you close your eyes and drink it you wouldn't necessarily be able to tell its black... just has a hint of roasted flavor. However, I agree is depends on what the brewer is going for. There's just a fine line between a BIPA and a hoppy stout

Hopper5000 said:

There's just a fine line between a BIPA and a hoppy stout

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That is actually the line I am trying to walk with this one!

I freaking love Midnight Wheat for black IPAs. You can find my recipe by Googling "black IPA recipe" and clicking The Brew Guys link near the top, if you'd like a comparison recipe.

shanecb said:

I freaking love Midnight Wheat for black IPAs. You can find my recipe by Googling "black IPA recipe" and clicking The Brew Guys link near the top, if you'd like a comparison recipe.

Click to expand...

I will definitely do that. Thank you!

if you want it to be a little more roasted then your resipe looks pretty good. You could probably even drop the flaked stuff as the wheat will contribute to head retention.

shanecb said:

I freaking love Midnight Wheat for black IPAs. You can find my recipe by Googling "black IPA recipe" and clicking The Brew Guys link near the top, if you'd like a comparison recipe.

Click to expand...

Do you know if Midnight Wheat has any diastatic power and what it's potential yield is? I've been looking all over, including Briess' website and the PDF infosheet for Midnight Wheat, and I cannot find the specific info so I can add it into a calculator.

EDIT: sorry, double post. Not sure how to delete this one.

PhelanKA7 said:

Do you know if Midnight Wheat has any diastatic power and what it's potential yield is? I've been looking all over, including Briess' website and the PDF infosheet for Midnight Wheat, and I cannot find the specific info so I can add it into a calculator.

Click to expand...

It has no diastatic power itself, so will need that from your other grains. I need to find my notes on the grain for the potential yield.

EDIT: I have 1.034 for the potential yield. Truly not sure if I remember where I found this.

meevoo said:

With the oats I was shooting for head retention, but I have read others say they think it actually decreases that because they are sort of oily. Maybe flaked wheat instead?

Click to expand...

You wan't need any flaked adjuncts for head retention -- this is an IPA-type beer! All those alpha acids will create a stiff foam stand that will last and last without any protein-rich malts. Add some flaked wheat if you want to, but a properly hopped IPA/IBA/etc won't need 'em.

OK, per all the helpful comments, I'm going to modify to this:

Brewers Malt 2-Row (Briess) (1.8 SRM) 80.9 %
Munich 20L (Briess) (20.0 SRM) 8.5 %
Midnight Wheat (Briess) (550.0 SRM) 6.4 %
Caramel Malt - 120L (Briess) (120.0 SRM) 4.3 %

FWH with Warrior (59.1 IBU)
Cascade&Amarillo at 15 min (17.1 IBU)
Cascade&Amarillo at 5 min (9.1 IBU)
Cascade&Amarillo at flameout
Dry hop with Cascade&Amarillo
WLP051

Mash at 152
Target OG 1.068
Target FG 1.015
Target IBU 80

I'm going to stick with the C120, as I'm hoping that will give it some complexity of flavor. If it doesn't work, I'll just rename it a black hoppy dubbel!

Looks like a winner. Good luck and happy brewing!

Best BIPA or IBA I have ever had or made has the following grain bill:

89.3% 12.50 lbs. Pale Malt(2-row)
5.4% 0.75 lbs. Carafa III (de-husked)
3.6% 0.50 lbs. Crystal 80L
1.8% 0.25 lbs. Chocolate Malt

Little to no astringency, nice roast flavor, and jet black. I agree with the comment on not using C120, my somewhat limited experiece with C120 tells me it is not right for an IBA, too much fig/raisin character.

meevoo said:

OK, per all the helpful comments, I'm going to modify to this:

Brewers Malt 2-Row (Briess) (1.8 SRM) 80.9 %
Munich 20L (Briess) (20.0 SRM) 8.5 %
Midnight Wheat (Briess) (550.0 SRM) 6.4 %
Caramel Malt - 120L (Briess) (120.0 SRM) 4.3 %

FWH with Warrior (59.1 IBU)
Cascade&Amarillo at 15 min (17.1 IBU)
Cascade&Amarillo at 5 min (9.1 IBU)
Cascade&Amarillo at flameout
Dry hop with Cascade&Amarillo
WLP051

Mash at 152
Target OG 1.068
Target FG 1.015
Target IBU 80

I'm going to stick with the C120, as I'm hoping that will give it some complexity of flavor. If it doesn't work, I'll just rename it a black hoppy dubbel!

Click to expand...

I include Munich in just about every APA and IPA I make. I like its contribution. Sounds like a nice recipe!

any ideas for a partial grain version of this recipe? i've been thinking of this style as my next brew. Hop additions for a 5 gallon batch? Thanks for any help, i'm new at converting recipes to my setup.

Caleb1980 said:

any ideas for a partial grain version of this recipe? i've been thinking of this style as my next brew. Hop additions for a 5 gallon batch? Thanks for any help, i'm new at converting recipes to my setup.

Click to expand...

By partial grain, do you mean partial mash or extract? I will convert the recipe in BeerSmith and post the recipe here after you reply.

Here it is as extract with DME, converted to 5 gal. sorry that the amounts are so weird. I brew 1 gallon batches, so converting it makes the weights fractional. Makes the yeast amount weird, too.

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 3.67 gal
Post Boil Volume: 3.38 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.00 gal
Bottling Volume: 4.60 gal
Estimated OG: 1.066 SG
Estimated Color: 38.5 SRM
Estimated IBU: 79.1 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 72.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 0.0 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes


14.4 oz Midnight Wheat (Briess) (550.0 SRM) 10.2 %
9.6 oz Caramel Malt - 120L (Briess) (120.0 SRM) 6.8 %
1.52 oz Warrior [15.80 %] - First Wort 60.0 min 53.0 IBUs
6 lbs 14.7 oz Light Dry Extract (8.0 SRM) 78.0 %
7.2 oz DME Sparkling Amber (Briess) (10.5 SRM) 5.1 %
1.26 oz Amarillo Gold [8.70 %] - Boil 15.0 min 12.1 IBUs
1.26 oz Cascade [5.50 %] - Boil 15.0 min 7.6 IBUs
1.01 oz Amarillo Gold [8.70 %] - Boil 5.0 min 3.9 IBUs
1.01 oz Cascade [5.50 %] - Boil 5.0 min 2.5 IBUs
0.53 oz Amarillo Gold [8.70 %] - Aroma Steep 5.0 0.0 IBUs
0.53 oz Cascade [5.50 %] - Aroma Steep 5.0 min 0.0 IBUs
3.0 pkg California Ale (White Labs #WLP001)
0.53 oz Amarillo Gold [8.70 %] - Dry Hop 4.0 Days 0.0 IBUs
0.53 oz Cascade [5.50 %] - Dry Hop 4.0 Days 0.0 IBUs

If you end up making this soon, please post back how you think it turned out!

I'm a ways out on this one. All my fermentors are full and will be for about 3 weeks.

Thanks! I may just make this over the weekend. I'll be sure to give updates as I go.