IPA help

Twenty-two days ago, I felt the immediate need to brew an heavy IPA. There was no planning involved. I grabbed whatever ingredients on hand and let her rip.


IPA

Type: Extract
Batch Size: 3 gal
Boil Volume: 2 gal
OG: 1.082
FG: 1.021
IBU: 108


3.3 lbs Light LME
3.0 lbs Amber DME

2 oz Cascade (5.5% AA) @ 60min
2 oz Cascade (5.5% AA) @ 10min
1 oz E. Kent Goldings (4.5%) @ 10min

Wyeast 1028 London Ale (no starter)

Primary: 10 days ~ 20'C
Secondary: 12 days ~ 23'C

Today before dry hopping (1.5 oz Cascade) , I tried a sample. I know its too early to really tell but... clean, v. strong beer with only a hint of hop flavor and almost no bitterness. I'm happy that the beer really didn't have a sweet taste, but where's the bitterness? (I'm no expert judge, but this should be obvious)

Did the high OG kill my hop ultilization? I know Cascade isn't the strongest bittering hop, but it should have done the job here, right? Could the high ABV mask these flavors more than I would expect? I'm just trying to learn a llittle something for future experimentation.





Aside: (other lessons already learned for next time)

-Make a starter for big beers
-Don't brew a big beer when your stash is low and you're impatient

It is because your bittering hops are a little weak, I would have also put 4 oz at 60 min instead of even adding any at 45.
Also I try and use 2 oz of hops for dry hopping
I would probably say you have a nice APA on your hands.

Here is my recipe just to give you an idea of the hopping times/amount

This recipe was created by accident , I love it and so do my fellow drinkers. I was hoping for more hop flavor (I am a hophead) but it really mellowed out to a clean crisp, med body IPA with a nice citrus finsh and long linguring hoppy flavor on the back of palat




[size=+2]?????[/size]
[size=+1]14-B American IPA[/size]



Size: 5.28 gal
Efficiency: 75.0%
Attenuation: 75.0%
Calories: 185.68 per 12.0 fl oz

Original Gravity: 1.056 (1.056 - 1.075)
|=======#========================|
Terminal Gravity: 1.014 (1.010 - 1.018)
|===============#================|
Color: 12.5 (6.0 - 15.0)
|===================#============|
Alcohol: 5.49% (5.5% - 7.5%)
|=======#========================|
Bitterness: 57.26 (40.0 - 60.0)
|=====================#==========|

[size=+1]Ingredients:[/size]
10 lbs 2-Row Brewers Malt
.5 lbs Crystal Malt 40°L
.5 oz Magnum (14.5%) - added during boil, boiled 60 min
.5 oz Simcoe (13.0%) - added during boil, boiled 60 min
.5 oz Centennial (10.0%) - added during boil, boiled 15 min
2 oz Cascade (5.5%) - added dry to primary fermenter
1 ea White Labs WLP001 California Ale
8 oz Molasses

[size=+1]Schedule:[/size]
Ambient Air: 70.0 °F
Source Water: 60.0 °F
Elevation: 0.0 m


[size=-1]Results generated by BeerTools Pro 1.0.28[/size]

Here is just my 2 cent

[size=+2]ChemBrew's IPA[/size]
[size=+1]14-B American IPA[/size]



Size: 5.16 gal
Efficiency: 75.0%
Attenuation: 75.0%
Calories: 151.72 per 12.0 fl oz

Original Gravity: 1.046 (1.056 - 1.075)
|================================|
Terminal Gravity: 1.011 (1.010 - 1.018)
|==========#=====================|
Color: 13.0 (6.0 - 15.0)
|====================#===========|
Alcohol: 4.49% (5.5% - 7.5%)
|================================|
Bitterness: 80.77 (40.0 - 60.0)
|================================|

[size=+1]Ingredients:[/size]
3 lbs Liquid Light Extract
3 lbs Amber Dry
2 oz Cascade (5.5%) - added during boil, boiled 60 min
2 oz Cascade (5.5%) - added during boil, boiled 45 min
1 oz East Kent Goldings (4.5%) - added during boil, boiled 10 min
1.5 oz Cascade (5.5%) - added dry to secondary fermenter
0.0 ea WYeast 1028 London Ale

[size=+1]Schedule:[/size]
Ambient Air: 70.0 °F
Source Water: 60.0 °F
Elevation: 0.0 m


[size=-1]Results generated by BeerTools Pro 1.0.28[/size]

Seems like it should be quite bitter though, maybe give it some time to mellow after dry hopping

How much water do you boil, 3 gl?

Thanks for your comments Tuck.

For this 3 gallon batch, i did a 2 gallon boil. And my hop additions were at 60min and 10mins. (not 45min.)

My IBUs were calculated at TastyBrew.

I'll try some stronger hops next time. I just got some Columbus hops that might do the trick. I don't need grapefruit bitter, but I am looking for something about a notch down from that.

I was under the impression that bitterness mellows over time, but I'm not sure where I heard that.

I would go with a bigger boil. For some reason, the bigger the boil is the more hop utilization you get. And yes, the hop bitterness does mellow with time. If you make a beer that is too bitter let it sit for a few more weeks. If you have a beer that is just right, do what I do. Drink it!

Serving temp also greatly affects aroma/bitterness.

ScubaSteve said:

Serving temp also greatly affects aroma/bitterness.

Click to expand...

Hmmmmmmm...didn't know that