Looking for feedback on IIPA Recipe

Hey guys,
I'm looking for feedback on an IIPA recipe for a brew session on Saturday. Here it is

Alphaville IIPA

A ProMash Recipe Report

BJCP Style and Style Guidelines
-------------------------------

14-C India Pale Ale, Imperial IPA

Min OG: 1.075 Max OG: 1.108
Min IBU: 60 Max IBU: 100
Min Clr: 8 Max Clr: 15 Color in SRM, Lovibond

Recipe Specifics
----------------

Batch Size (Gal): 5.00 Wort Size (Gal): 5.00
Total Grain (Lbs): 14.31
Anticipated OG: 1.077 Plato: 18.59
Anticipated SRM: 8.7
Anticipated IBU: 194.2
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75 %
Wort Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Pre-Boil Amounts
----------------

Evaporation Rate: 15.00 Percent Per Hour
Pre-Boil Wort Size: 5.88 Gal
Pre-Boil Gravity: 1.065 SG 15.95 Plato

Formulas Used
-------------

Brewhouse Efficiency and Predicted Gravity based on Method #1, Potential Used.
Final Gravity Calculation Based on Points.
Hard Value of Sucrose applied. Value for recipe: 46.2100 ppppg
Yield Type used in Gravity Prediction: Fine Grind Dry Basis.

Color Formula Used: Morey
Hop IBU Formula Used: Rager


Grain/Extract/Sugar

% Amount Name Origin Potential SRM
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
87.3 12.50 lbs. Pale Malt(2-row) America 1.036 2
7.0 1.00 lbs. Crystal 40L America 1.034 40
3.5 0.50 lbs. Cara-Pils Dextrine Malt 1.033 2
0.9 0.13 lbs. Munich Malt(2-row) America 1.035 6
0.9 0.13 lbs. Wheat Malt America 1.038 2
0.4 0.06 lbs. Honey Malt Canada 1.030 18

Potential represented as SG per pound per gallon.


Hops

Amount Name Form Alpha IBU Boil Time
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.00 oz. Warrior Whole 15.60 61.6 60 min.
0.50 oz. Simcoe Whole 12.00 23.7 60 min.
0.50 oz. Chinook Whole 13.00 25.7 60 min.
1.00 oz. Centennial Whole 10.50 37.2 45 min.
1.00 oz. Columbus Whole 15.00 30.2 30 min.
2.00 oz. Amarillo Gold Whole 10.00 15.8 10 min.
1.00 oz. Amarillo Gold Whole 10.00 0.0 0 min.
0.50 oz. Simcoe Whole 12.00 0.0 0 min.
3.00 oz. Amarillo Gold Whole 10.00 0.0 Dry Hop
2.00 oz. Simcoe Whole 12.00 0.0 Dry Hop


Yeast
-----

White Labs WLP001 California Ale


Mash Schedule
-------------

Mash Type: Single Step

Grain Lbs: 14.31
Water Qts: 17.89 - Before Additional Infusions
Water Gal: 4.47 - Before Additional Infusions

Qts Water Per Lbs Grain: 1.25 - Before Additional Infusions

Saccharification Rest Temp : 152 Time: 60
Mash-out Rest Temp : 165 Time: 10
Sparge Temp : 160 Time: 15

Thanks All

Those are some huge IBUs! Looks pretty good though. One thing that strikes me is that dextrine malt. That beer should have a big mouthfeel without it. $0.02

Let us know how it goes.

Yea, I'm a hop head cleaning out the freezer.

One thing that strikes me is that dextrine malt. That beer should have a big mouthfeel without it. $0.02

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Wasn't sure with all those hops.

I say leave the dextrine. With almost 200IBUs (!!!), I think you'll need all the help you can get on the malt/body side of the equation. My IIPA was OG 1.089 and 90 IBUs. I thought you generally wanted to keep the OG and IBU pretty close to the same number. I guess anything goes though. :rockin:

Malty flavor is one thing, but a high FG is different - which is what dextrine malt will give you. Too much body will make that beer undrinkable. If maltiness is desired, then a grain like Munich should be used.

The limit of how many IBU's you can get in there is about 100 anyway. Those numbers are just theoretical. I'd still go with the hops anyways.

I'd nix the cara-pils also. I'd increase the munich. I'd back the base malt off by a pound and make the munich a solid 1 lb. The tiny amount of wheat malt and honey malt isn't going to do much either.

IMHO, with all those hops, I'd increase the OG if I were you. 75 is high, but not high enough. You're at the very bottom of the IIPA range according to BJCP. Head on up to 1.085 or 1.09, or more.

Another thing: if you really wanna make this beer kick ass, toss some oak cubes into the secondary. That's what I just did (along with dryhopping) on my IIPA that's in secondary.

IMHO, with all those hops, I'd increase the OG if I were you. 75 is high, but not high enough. You're at the very bottom of the IIPA range according to BJCP. Head on up to 1.085 or 1.09, or more.

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Russian River uses a pound of corn sugar in the Pliny clone. That would put my OG up to 1.086. what do you think?

Another thing: if you really wanna make this beer kick ass, toss some oak cubes into the secondary. That's what I just did (along with dryhopping) on my IIPA that's in secondary.

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I definitely like the idea of oak cubes and just happen to have some lying around.

Brewtopia said:

Russian River uses a pound of corn sugar in the Pliny clone. That would put my OG up to 1.086. what do you think?

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I really like that idea. It gives it a kick without adding body to the final beer, making it very drinkable.

Brewtopia said:

Russian River uses a pound of corn sugar in the Pliny clone. That would put my OG up to 1.086. what do you think?

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Wouldn't know. I avoid corn sugar like the plague, except for priming. I'm just very very sensitive about that sourish cidery character that you get from sugar. I know that corn sugar isn't refined sugar, and that generally, corn sugar is an accepted adjunct for the purposes of upping the alcohol without affecting color or body...and I'll probably get alot of flaming for "desecrating corn sugar's good name"...but I just don't like it in my beer except for priming. Got any DME you could use instead?

But, hey, if you've used corn sugar before, and it turned out okay, then, yeah, go for it. Just a personal pref for me.

I definitely like the idea of oak cubes and just happen to have some lying around.

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Very nice! I made my IIPA a few weeks back, and just before I racked it to secondary, I saw that the wine/beer shop where I part-time had just gotten a shipment of Dogfish Head's Burton Baton, an awesome oaked imperial IPA. So I says, oh hell yeah!

Evan! said:

Got any DME you could use instead?

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DME will add body, which he does not want to do at this point. He could just add more malt if that was the case.

I think I'll toss the corn sugar in. I brewed that Pliny clone last year and it came out great! And I'm definitely going with the oak.

feeling that .60 to.75 lb of the crystal would be good for 5 gal

I'm planning on some corn sugar when I get around to brewing "Double Murder". IIPAs want to be pretty dry, as dry as you can get them, and 10% or so corn sugar isn't going to give off flavors. Too high a FG, you might as well be making a barleywine.

"Double Murder"

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Love the name, it's very "Film Noir".

When I brewed my first Double IPA a few yaesr ago I called it "Impact IPA" and the tag line was "Your one beer away from...Murder!"

Brewtopia said:

Love the name, it's very "Film Noir".

When I brewed my first Double IPA a few yaesr ago I called it "Impact IPA" and the tag line was "Your one beer away from...Murder!"

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I'm going to take my "Murder In The Red Barn" recipe (which I like a lot) and basically make it bigger. Try and bumb the OG from 1062 to 1085 - 1090 with the corn sugar, some more pale malt, and some more sparging (my efficiency was OK but could have been a lot better). IBUs from 80ish to probably 120, mostly more bittering, it already has a ton of flavor additions. Then, age on oak chips for two weeks.

I'm going to take my "Murder In The Red Barn" recipe (which I like a lot) and basically make it bigger. Try and bumb the OG from 1062 to 1085 - 1090 with the corn sugar, some more pale malt, and some more sparging (my efficiency was OK but could have been a lot better). IBUs from 80ish to probably 120, mostly more bittering, it already has a ton of flavor additions. Then, age on oak chips for two weeks.

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That sounds awesome! Do I dare predict another beer exchange in our future??

If you want a couple bottles of the current version, let me know soon; I'm probably committed to sending out at least a dozen, and I somehow started with less than two cases. Plus, it's my drink of choice

Actually, I', going back to the store with the Weyerbacker this weekend; you want me to pick you up another couple bottles? They had a couple things besides the Inferno and Double Simcoe, too.

That would be awesome! Just let me know if there's anything in particular you are looking for out here that you haven't tried yet. I am bottling my Belgian Tripel in a couple of weeks if you're interested. Aged on Chardonnay soaked oak cubes.

Incidentally, I just found the backstory on the *real* Murder In The Red Barn...

Murder in the Red Barn
[Murder in the Red Barn/Bone Machine]
Murder In the Red Barn actually refers to a murder in Victorian rural England. A man called Richard Cawdaw? had a relationship with a dairy maid. But after an argument he killed her with a spade in a red barn on the farm and buried her under a pile of straw. He then ran off to the Isle of Man, but wrote to the girl's mother pretending to be the girl herself, telling her that she had settled down with a man. However, a woman had a dream of the murder and the body buried beneath the straw. After the body was found, Richard Cawdaw was found guilty on the strength of the dream and was sentenced to be hanged. The British public was intrigued by the murder and the court case, and foot lengths of the hanging rope were sold for a guinea each. The story was made into a musical melodrama, called, funnily enough, The Murder In The Red Barn.

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I never knew it had a basis in reality...

Wow, that's quite a story! Whenever I saw you refer to "Murder in the Red Barn" I always thought of "The Red House" starring Edward G. Robinson. Which is a great B Mystery/Crime thriller from the forties. That story above would make a great film!

I was hoping that someone would elaborate on aging with oak chips. I hadn't heard of this before. Specifically,

Why is it done?

How is it done?

Thanks,
Ken

I use oak cubes from Stavin as I feel they better represent barrel aging. I usually add 2 oz. to the secondary and sample until I feel I have the desired level of oak character and rack off of the cubes. The amount of time on the oak is dependent on the recipe and/or personal preference.

Why? - To make it taste like it was aged in an oak barrel.

How? - Throw some oak chips in the secondary. Preferrably steamed in some water before hand to sanitize.

OK. Thanks.