Barley Legal IIPA

Called it my Barely Legal IIPA because @ 7.6% and the SRM almost going above the limit, it barely scratches the marks for an IIPA.

Style: IIPA/American (I)IPA

Mash @ 153-154 for 60-75 minutes
Sparge @ 170 for 10-15 minutes
Boil for 90 minutes.
I'd suggest getting some paint strainer bags for the hops.

12lbs Briess 2-row
12.8oz Caramel 60
12.8oz Carapils
6.4oz Caramel 120
6.4oz Caramel Munich
4oz Breiss Victory

90 minute boil

1oz Chinook MashHop
1oz Chinook @ 60
2oz Centennial @ 15
2oz Cascade @ 5
2oz Cascade @ 0 (flameout)

Ferment for 14-21 days, rack to secondary (or leave in primary- doesn't matter too much) add:

1oz Chinook dryhop for 7 days
1oz Centennial dryhop for 7 days
1oz Cascade dryhop for 7 days







Best beer I've brewed so far

I actually do not own beersmith, so I'm not sure on the IBU's. If someone wants to punch in the numbers and let me know, that'd be awesome. I think it may be around 88?

DavidSteel said:

I actually do not own beersmith, so I'm not sure on the IBU's. If someone wants to punch in the numbers and let me know, that'd be awesome. I think it may be around 88?

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yep, beersmith estimates 88.9 IBU

Gritsak said:

yep, beersmith estimates 88.9 IBU

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Thanks, man! Man, I must be a good guesser

Gorgeous looking IPA!

rjgiddings said:

Gorgeous looking IPA!

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Thanks, the pictures are @ only 2 weeks in the bottle. Those pictures were from the very first bottle opened and poured. After 4 weeks, the flavors balance out a little more (a wonderful marriage). Here is a pic @ 4 weeks in the bottle (same stuff):

I definitely wouldn't mind trying this out, but im not converted over to all grain yet. Can anyone convert this to a partial, or extract recipe?

Sadly, I'm terrible at conversions. I'd love if someone could convert the recipe to a Partial Mash. Also, this is a more or less recent picture of the beer after it cleared a bit:

Looks great! I think I'll add this to my "to brew" list.

Booked marked and added to my potential list of brews

HuRRiC4Ne said:

Booked marked and added to my potential list of brews

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You definitely won't regret it. I took one sip and immediately knew this was going to be a year-round staple.

It's been quite a while since I posted this so I'd like to bump it exclaiming that I believe this is the best IPA I've ever had (excluding double IPA's and the like). The hop schedule is one true to Sierra Nevada and this recipe was originally an intent to clone Celebration Ale. Truth be told (on my part), I think I fully succeeded in the sense that I made a great IPA. Celebration Ale it is not, but a superior IPA it is. I'm bumping this in hopes that another brewer out there gives this a go and experiences this brew. "Perfect blend of malt and hops". Probably the best beer you can brew with these three hops. I'm currently drinking a bottle that has been aged (just for the hell of it) since the original brew in the post. It's crystal clear, the hops have mellowed out, but this aged beer is not the one I am bumping. I've had many people try this beer and after having one, they were willing to buy more for more than a retail price would suggest it's worth. I think that is an accomplishment in its own right. Out of all my brews, this will remain the staple in my brew-schedule until the day I die or decide to stop brewing; whichever comes first.

I'm sold, I'll be brewing this tomorrow. Did you use all pellets for the dry hopping?

Paulcom11 said:

I'm sold, I'll be brewing this tomorrow. Did you use all pellets for the dry hopping?

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Sorry for the crazy late response, but yes. I used all pellets. Bought these 3 hops in bulk from hopsdirect a while back. Great, if not, the best use for them yet. You can use a paint-strainer bag if you so desire? I didn't get any hop sludge in my bottling bucket (or racking cane etc.). I don't remember if I used a paint strainer (mesh) bag or not.. Nope, pretty sure I didn't. Also used Brewmasterswarehouse to buy the grain.

This beer is an amazing double IPA. On par with some of my favorite Chicago microbrews. Great recipe!

Do you have a extract version ?

First off thanks for the recipe David. This was my first all-grain batch, just brewed it up earlier today.

I went ahead and used loose hops instead of pellets. I also used the first 1oz of Chinook for a first wort hop instead of the mash hopping.
I did not take into account that this ammount of loose hops would soak up a lot of my boil, so I only ended up with 4.5 gallons total.

Anyways, there were soooo many hops in my boil that I could not even whirlpool as I intended. I had to poor it through a strainer into my fermenter.
I think this led to a lot of hot/cold break material in my fermenter. I noticed a lot of it settling only after about an hour.

Since there is so much material already on the bottom would you recommend a secondary fermentation? I know you said it wasnt necessary, and I had only planned for a primary. I just dont think I want it sitting on top of this material for to long.

Also my OG was only about 1.060, quite a bit lower than your OG listed. And what would you recommend priming this with?

Anyways, it tasted and smelled great already, I cant wait to see what it becomes! :rockin:

Sorry I don't check up on here very often, but I'd honestly just leave it in the primary and see what happens. What did you end up doing? I'd imagine this would be pretty intense using loose/fresh/whole hops instead of pellets.

I batch sparge and I believe I did 3 runnings and ended up taking a good 6 1/2 gallons out of it to make up for boil-off and I think I ended up with 54 bottles when I did bottle it. I usually get around 80-88% efficiency, and I can't remember, but I think that I listed MY original gravity, not necessarily based on 75%. This beer is a beautiful thing and a great one to have around during the winter.

Well it has been in the bottle for a little over a week, cant wait to try one on friday.

I ended up racking to a secondary, and dryhopping for 7 more days.
I also used some coopers drops to prime each bottle.

Anyways, I will keep you updated.

Well its been in the bottle for about 3 weeks now. I have to say that it taste GREAT, and the aroma is awesome as well. My brew ended up a little cloudy (will try some irish moss next batch) Very little head thus far, but I can see it starting to show up as it gets a little older.

I have to say that I am very pleased with this being my first AG batch. I love IPA and this really hit the spot. A great way to start this new hobby, thanks again David.