Leftover high AA Hops; Any suggestions of how to use them?

njrockpd said:

I have 3 ounces of leftover hops, which is good, but they are three hops very high in AA so I'm trying to decide how to use them all.

-1 oz. Columbus
Origin: USA
Aroma: Earthy, spicy, pungent, with some citrus overtones. Not overwhelmingly citrus like Cascade.
Alpha Acid: 14% to 16%

-.9 oz. Simcoe
Origin: USA
Aroma: Not that I know what a passionfruit smells like, but apparently Simcoe hops have a passionfruit aroma and flavor. Some sources claimed their aroma is fruity reminiscent of apricots while others stated they have a pronounced pine or woodsy aroma. Seems like there is a complexity here. Maybe the aroma swings from fruity to piney from year to year or maybe where the hops are added to the boil changes the aroma.
Alpha Acid: 12-14%

-1 oz. Sorrachi
Origin: Japan
Aroma/Flavor: Lemony - all sources stated it’s lemon aroma and taste.
Alpha Acid: 10.7 - 12.2%

Like I said I want to use them all so I figure a IPA is the only way to go considering their pungent AA's combined would produce a pretty high IBU. The Columbus seems to be a very popular bittering hop and the earthy spicy characteristics seem to be a good foundation as the other two are very fruity.

The Sorrachi appears to be the most logical hop for aroma due to it's powerful lemon flavor. I read very good and very bad reviews on the Sorrachi and I noticed the people who used it for anything, but aroma seemed to have complains about it overpowering everything else.

That leaves the Simcoe for flavoring and it seems it could bridge the other two nicely.

1 oz Columbus (60 min) + 1 oz Simcoe (30 min) + 1 oz Sorrachi (5 min) = 123 IBU

I'm pretty sure that is way too high with the grain bill I'm going to use. I moved the Hops around a bit, while still keeping trying to keep that style explained above.

Here's what I have so far.

Grains

9.00 lbs Light Malt Extract Syrup
0.50 lbs Torrified Wheat
0.75 lbs Munich Light
0.10 lbs Roasted Barley
1.00 lbs American Crystal 40L
0.50 lbs CaraPils

Hops (83 IBU)

0.50 Columbus 60 mins
0.50 Simcoe 30 mins
0.40 Simcoe 15 mins
1.00 Sorrachi 5 mins
0.50 Columbus 5 mins


Is the 83 IBUs way too high or is the maltiness enough to make it a good drinking IPA? Any advice would be appreciated!

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Vance71975 said:

Here is what i would do, Stick with your grain bill and do this.

.50 oz Columbus @ 30
.50 oz Columbus @ 25
.50 oz Sorrachi @ 20
.50 oz Sorrachi @ 15
.50 oz Simcoe @ 10
.50 oz Simcoe @ 5

That would put you at an estimated 70.6 IBU With an Estimated ABV of 7.81% Estimated SG 1.080 Estimated FG 1.020 According to beersmith, that is a pretty Solid IPA if you ask me!

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njrockpd said:

I've never heard of only doing a 30 minute boil, will that work or are there repercussions for only boiling for that short a time?

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njrockpd said:

I've never heard of only doing a 30 minute boil, will that work or are there repercussions for only boiling for that short a time?

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