.44 Mag IIPA- check before brew

Hi all,
First legitimate recipe attempt here. I'm wanting to brew something worthy of the name ".44 Magnum", as it's my first, favorite, and (fittingly) most expensive handgun to shoot. I've posted the recipe below, developed via Beersmith. My goals of this are as follows: use 4.4oz of Magnum hops, be able to drink the thing, again- be worthy of the name, and preferably be an almost brassy color. The color doesn't really matter too much, it's more the 4.4oz Magnum addition. I prefer aromatic beer over tongue-scrape hoppy, though I fear I've no choice given my variety and quantity desire. I started with around 6.5% ABV and had a very high IBU/OG, so the 2-row was jacked up to even things out a little. So....what would you change? Also, if it's really, truly not sensible to use my desired hop profile, let me know. I've read here that 100+ IBU is not distinguishable to use mortals, but tried to keep it sub-100 anyway. This is as close as I could get. The FWH is to 'smooth' the bitterness, as opposed to a face-punch blow. Suggestions?

Recipe:
BeerSmith Recipe Printout - http://www.beersmith.com
Recipe: .44 Magnum
Style: Imperial IPA
TYPE: Partial Mash

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 5.00 gal
Boil Size: 6.00 gal
Estimated OG: 1.090 SG
Estimated Color: 11.5 SRM
Estimated IBU: 150.2 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
14.00 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 84.85 %
1.00 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM) Grain 6.06 %
1.00 lb Munich Malt (9.0 SRM) Grain 6.06 %
0.50 lb Wheat Malt, Ger (2.0 SRM) Grain 3.03 %
2.00 oz Magnum [14.00 %] (60 min) Hops 74.5 IBU
1.50 oz Centennial [10.00 %] (Dry Hop 5 days) Hops -
0.00 oz Magnum [14.00 %] (45 min) (Aroma Hop-SteeHops -
2.40 oz Magnum [14.00 %] (30 min) (First Wort HopHops 75.6 IBU
1.50 oz Centennial [10.00 %] (20 min) (Aroma Hop-Hops -
1 Pkgs SafAle American Ale (DCL Yeast #S-05) Yeast-Ale


Total Grain Weight: 16.50 lb

Thanks,
Kyle

Given hop flavor is what makes an IPA great and that magnum is much better suited for bittering additions I would take this a different route. Instead of 4.4 oz of magnum I would bitter with 44 IBU's of magnum then let the centennial do the talking for the late addition hops (I would go for some simcoe in there too if it was me). Then I would adjust my grain bill to somewhere around a 1.060 level.

Another suggestion is to get rid of the crystal or use .5 lb of 10L crystal I think crystal malts (particularly the higher lovibond) really get in the way of the hops. If you really want to keep this in the IIPA range I prefer making them dryer to add more hop emphasis and would accomplish this by replacing some of the 2 row with 7-10% sugar. If you choose to drop your OG I would not add the sugar though.

Anyway, that is what I would do...for what its worth.

IIPA's are generally more late hopped for flavor additions, you'll have the bitterness that your looking for... But I would think about a few more additions past 20 min.

Something to think about

Sleepyemt said:

IIPA's are generally more late hopped for flavor additions, you'll have the bitterness that your looking for... But I would think about a few more additions past 20 min. Something to think about

Click to expand...

Agreed - if one of your primary goals is to get 4.4oz of Magnum in there, then check out "hopbursting" which is essentiallly a ton of hops at the end of the boil which will put your aroma over the top, and given the late addition, significantly reduce the bitterness extraction to more acceptable levels than if you did it early in the boil.

Ahhhh, enlightenment. I was not keen on raising the OG to accommodate IBU's, and yes- flavor is more important than bitter. I really like your suggestion of 44 IBUs Magnum.

Estimated OG: 1.068 SG
Estimated Color: 5.3 SRM
Estimated IBU: 44.4 IBU

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item % or IBU
11.00 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) 88.00 %
1.00 lb Munich Malt (9.0 SRM) 8.00 %
0.50 lb Wheat Malt, Ger (2.0 SRM) 4.00 %
1.50 oz Centennial [10.00 %] (Dry Hop 5 days) -
0.50 oz Magnum [14.00 %] (60 min) 22.1 IBU
1.00 oz Simcoe [13.00 %] (30 min) (Aroma Hops) -
0.60 oz Magnum [14.00 %] (30 min) (First Wort Hops) 22.4 IBU
1.50 oz Centennial [10.00 %] (20 min) (Aroma Hops) -

Here's the revised version. Added some Simcoe for flavor, and dropped the Magnum significantly. I'm including Centennial only because it's one of my most-used hops, and I'm familiar with it. Simcoe is new to me, but I think I have an idea of how it will taste. My beers have had an almost watery, lacking finish. It makes me want another sip to cover up the emptiness, but at the same time makes the beer lackluster. Would a stronger flavor/ aroma addition solve this? Kyle

sleepyemt and mmonacel: Seems everyone's in agreement that late additions are the way to go. I had acclimated myself to the IIPA just because I saw no other way out. Then I got to thinking- I'd be able to brew again very soon, let it age a good long while, and enjoy slowly.
Hopbursting- I'm assuming the massive flavor additions mask the bitterness? Off to do a search! Kyle

Conan...I like it, centennial and simcoe together are a thing of beauty, the citrus of centennial plays off the pine flavors of simcoe surperbly. Not having a heavy crystal will really let the hops shine through. However, if you have been having some issues with watery beers you might want to toss in .5 lb of a crystal 10 to give it a little body without adding flavors that will cover the hops. Mr. Malty has an article on hop bursting. I personally don't like beers that have all hops after 20 minutes...too much hop phenols for my liking so the mouth feel isn't right for me. Magnum will not benefit much from later additions so you can run all your FWH and 60 minute additions with the magnum and then let around half your IBU's come from the last 20 minute time frame. If you can, you might really enjoy an ounce of simcoe along with that centennial for dry hop. Anyway, I know I'm driving you towards what I like, but it is where I have got from trial and error over the years.

Conan, Not nearly enough hops in that second recipe. I'd look for 44 ibu's from the magnum but also increaes your 20 min ..... maybe even look at a couple of ounces at 10min and at 5 min, the 3 at dry hop? Not all additions after 20 min, but the the flavor additions add more than just flavor IMHO. Personally I'd keep the OG higher, the higher alcohol tends to deliver hop flavor better ....And I wouldnt age it for extended periods of time due to the hops fading over time ....
Just my opinion on these things , Hope it helps
Jp

Thanks folks! What to do....two opinions, both backed by good reasoning. After reviewing the second recipe, I do see there's really a lack of hops. I've added .5lb. Crystal 10 to cover the watery feel, and wonder if it may be a process-related effect as well. That's another problem for another section of forum, though. Also added an ounce of Simcoe dry, which for me is keg hopping. There's a smattering of late-additions as well. It's looking like I may want to late-add some Simcoe to balance the strong Centennial. Is this true, or will keeping this setup (roughly) not waste the Simcoe AA potential?

11.35 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 85.02 %
1.00 lb Munich Malt (9.0 SRM) Grain 7.49 %
0.50 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 10L (10.0 SRM) Grain 3.75 %
0.50 lb Wheat Malt, Ger (2.0 SRM) Grain 3.75 %
1.00 oz Simcoe [13.00 %] (Dry Hop 5 days) Hops -
0.50 oz Magnum [14.00 %] (60 min) Hops 21.2 IBU
1.50 oz Centennial [10.00 %] (Dry Hop 5 days) Hops -
0.65 oz Magnum [14.00 %] (30 min) (First Wort Hops 23.3 IBU
1.00 oz Simcoe [13.00 %] (30 min) (Aroma Hops
1.50 oz Simcoe [13.00 %] (20 min) (Aroma Hops
1.50 oz Centennial [10.00 %] (20 min) (Aroma Hops
1.50 oz Centennial [10.00 %] (10 min) (Aroma Hops
1.00 oz Centennial [10.00 %] (5 min) (Aroma Hops

Thanks,
Kyle

Looks great, anything from here on out is refinement and should be your decision for you first IIPA, remember to mash low, pitch a lot and keep us informed! Some sugar would help with attenuation and drying it out... But it's all you!

Thanks again, it'll be a little bit before I brew this, but I'll let you know how it goes. Kyle