Ithaca Flower Power IPA Clone

How's it goin everyone? I've been a long time reader here in the forum and decided I would do some contributing with my first recipe I created. There were a couple other threads about this beer with no real results posted so here is my journey...

c/p from Ithaca's website:

Flower Power India Pale Ale
Enjoy the clover honey hue and tropical nose. Simultaneously Punchy and soothing with a big body and a finish that boasts pineapple and grapefruit. Flower power is hopped and dry-hopped five different times throughout the brewing and fermentation process.

IBUs: 75
ABV: 7.5%
Malt: 2-Row, Honey malt
Hops: Columbus, Cascade, Ahtanum
Dry hop: Simcoe, Amarillo, Centennial (and there was discussion on this forum that sorachi ace is also used in dry hopping)


My Recipe:
13 lbs 2-Row Malt
1 lb Honey Malt
1 oz Columbus @ 60 Min
.5 oz Cascade @ 30 Min
1 oz Mt Hood @ 15 Min (Ahtanum substitute)
(Mash 1 Hour at 153)
Safale US-05 dry yeast (this has become one of my favorite yeasts)

I also plan on dry hopping in the secondary with 1 oz Citra (in place of Simcoe and Sorachi Ace) and .5 oz each Amarillo and Centennial.

As I said, this is my first original creation (although it is a clone) and I will be brewing friday afternoon so if anyone sees any tweaks they might make, please make any suggestions!

I know that the grain bill is as follows....

94% 2row
3% Honey Malt
3% Acid Malt

Not sure about the hops....

this is one of my favorite beers of all time, and has been on my list of "want to clones" for a while. Definitely will like to hear how yours turns out, compared to the original. Good luck!

bgraham said:

How's it goin everyone? I've been a long time reader here in the forum and decided I would do some contributing with my first recipe I created. There were a couple other threads about this beer with no real results posted so here is my journey...

c/p from Ithaca's website:

Flower Power India Pale Ale
Enjoy the clover honey hue and tropical nose. Simultaneously Punchy and soothing with a big body and a finish that boasts pineapple and grapefruit. Flower power is hopped and dry-hopped five different times throughout the brewing and fermentation process.

IBUs: 75
ABV: 7.5%
Malt: 2-Row, Honey malt
Hops: Columbus, Cascade, Ahtanum
Dry hop: Simcoe, Amarillo, Centennial (and there was discussion on this forum that sorachi ace is also used in dry hopping)


My Recipe:
13 lbs 2-Row Malt
1 lb Honey Malt
1 oz Columbus @ 60 Min
.5 oz Cascade @ 30 Min
1 oz Mt Hood @ 15 Min (Ahtanum substitute)
(Mash 1 Hour at 153)
Safale US-05 dry yeast (this has become one of my favorite yeasts)

I also plan on dry hopping in the secondary with 1 oz Citra (in place of Simcoe and Sorachi Ace) and .5 oz each Amarillo and Centennial.

As I said, this is my first original creation (although it is a clone) and I will be brewing friday afternoon so if anyone sees any tweaks they might make, please make any suggestions!

Click to expand...

I think your dry hops are dead on. I personally would use less Simcoe than the others, I feel like it can easily overpower rather than contribute. Also - if it were me I'd add 0 minute additions, maybe even matching the dry hops.

I have no idea about the grain bill but I definitely can say it is nothing extravagent, which agrees with your recipe.

kappajoe said:

I know that the grain bill is as follows....

94% 2row
3% Honey Malt
3% Acid Malt

Not sure about the hops....

Click to expand...

kappajoe-

That's interesting you mention the acid malt. I've never used it and only read about german brewers using it to adjust the PH of their wort without breaking that law (i don't remember what it is and can't spell it anyways lol). My water is pretty good here and don't really understand what it would do for me.

Did you do a brewery tour and hear it there or something? I know that's where someone else mentioned that they heard sorachi ace was also used.

That grain bill is from Jeff O'Neil ...
the brewing network had a great interview with him... you should check it out.

They had some great beer at the GABF this year... the Brute was fantastic as was the SF IPA..

I think I'd FWH that columbus add, move the cascade add up with the mt hood add, and add a similar hop charge at flameout. 30min add isnt gunna add any of the flavor/aroma thats needed in this. also mt hood isnt a good sub for ahtanum, use amarillo instead

dcp27 said:

I think I'd FWH that columbus add, move the cascade add up with the mt hood add, and add a similar hop charge at flameout. 30min add isnt gunna add any of the flavor/aroma thats needed in this. also mt hood isnt a good sub for ahtanum, use amarillo instead

Click to expand...

dcp27-

would you mind drawing out your suggested hop schedule a little more literal, like a rough weight at specific times? i don't understand you 100%.

thanks

probably something like
1.5oz Columbus (FWH)
1oz ahtanum, 0.5oz cascade (15min)
1oz ahtanum, 0.5oz cascade (flameout)
1oz citra, 0.5oz amarillo, 0.5oz centennial (dry hop)

centennial, cascade, or amarillo would be fine sub for ahtanum if you can't find any or already have the others.

I'm also trying to make this beer. The hop schedule I'm using is based off the Union Jack clone they did (CYBI) since they mentioned it being similar. The mash temps and final gravity are a shot in the dark since I don't know the attenuation of this yeast under these circumstances. I also added some carapils since I like it in this style. The dry hopping may seem extreme but it's only for 5 days and the yeast will still be in there. Northern Brewer has Ahtanum.

Flower Power
Batch Size: 12 gal
Boil Time: 90 min
Efficiency into Kettle: 90%

Ingredients
24.00 lb Briess 2-Row (2.0 SRM, 1.0354) 88.43 %
1.50 lb Briess Carapils (1.5 SRM, 1.0306) 5.53 %
0.82 lb Gambrinus Honey Malt (22.5 SRM, 1.035) 3.02 %
0.82 lb Weyerman Acidulated Malt (2.3 SRM, 1.033) 3.02 %
2.10 oz Centennial [10.50 %] (Dry Hop 5 days, added just before fermentation is finished)
5.20 oz Simcoe [13.00 %] (Dry Hop 5 days, added just before fermentation is finished)
5.20 oz Amarillo [8.50 %] (Dry Hop 5 days, added just before fermentation is finished)
2.30 oz Columbus [15.20 %] (60 min) Hops 55.7 IBU
1.75 oz Cascade [7.00 %] (30 min) Hops 11.1 IBU
1.75 oz Ahtanum [6.00 %] (30 min) Hops 9.5 IBU
3.50 oz Cascade [7.00 %] (30 min) (Aroma Hop-Steep)
3.50 oz Ahtanum [6.00 %] (30 min) (Aroma Hop-Steep)
360 mL re-pitched slurry, Whitbread Ale (Wyeast Labs #1099)

Beer Profile:
Est Original Gravity: 1.071 SG
Final Gravity: 1.015 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 7.38 %
Bitterness: 76.2 IBU
Color: 5.0 SRM

Mash Profile:
90 min Beta rest 144.0 F
15 min Alpha rest 158.0 F
15 min Mash out Heat 170.0 F

well, brewday went well. i changed around the hop schedule some given dcp's suggestion and dstar's recipe. i ended up doing....

1 oz columbus (14.2%) @ 60 min
1 oz centennial (8.7%)@ 15 min
1 oz amarillo (7.2%)@ 15 min
1.25 oz cascade (6%) @ 15 min

and that got me right up around 71 IBU with an OG of about 1.078 which is oddly the exact predicted OG and i have never come that close before.

as of right now i intend to dry hop with an oz each citra, amarillo, and centennial.

btw dstar, please post some results as well and this thread should become a pretty good reference for anyone looking to try some flower power themselves.

my recipe ended up being more of something in the style of flower power, but yours looks pretty damn close.

Just an update, this beer came out excellent. The honey malt was maybe a little more noticable in this than in flower power. However, I don't think that was a bad thing, that extra malty sweetness went well with the bitterness of this beer. The aroma is absolutely outstanding and it just has a clean great taste all the way through. Next time I have one I'll take a pic and post it. Thanks to all who helped me refine this recipe!

I kegged mine last night and will taste some this weekend once it's carb'd and the CO2 bite fades. If the smell is any indicator, it should be pretty good. I'll post the revised recipe and some tasting notes.

bgraham said:

Just an update, this beer came out excellent. The honey malt was maybe a little more noticable in this than in flower power. However, I don't think that was a bad thing, that extra malty sweetness went well with the bitterness of this beer. The aroma is absolutely outstanding and it just has a clean great taste all the way through. Next time I have one I'll take a pic and post it. Thanks to all who helped me refine this recipe!

Click to expand...

Did you end up going with the original 1b of honey malt?

dcp27 said:

Did you end up going with the original 1b of honey malt?

Click to expand...

I did. I didn't get KappaJoe's comment about that grainbill and your recipe til after I had bought my grains. My LHBS owner suggested he had used roughly a pound of honey malt in grainbills of similar sizes and in IPA's and had been quite pleased with the results so I figured I'd just stick with it. (that and all my grains were already milled and mixed together, ha.)

Looking at your recipe, I'm sure you'll be very pleased. I do have an extra citrusy finish on my beer that I rather enjoy that I think I got out of the citra hops. Please post your tasting results.

I tasted mine over the weekend. It's one of the best IPAs I've made out of the 21 that I've done. Haven't done a side by side with the real thing yet, maybe tomorrow night if I can find some fresh commercial bottles. It's close though, going by memory. I missed the anticipated OG (1.071) by 3 points since it didn't boil off enough. I got lazy and didn't check the boil gravity at 45 minutes.

Here's the recipe, I'll post any changes later that might make it closer to the real thing:

Flower Power IPA attempt
Batch Size: 12.45 gal (should have been 12)
Boil Time: 90 min
Efficiency into Kettle: 90.23%
Original Gravity: 1.068 SG
Final Gravity: 1.015 SG
ABV: 6.92 % (shooting for 7.5%)
Bitterness: 95.2 IBU
Est Color: 5.5 SRM

Ingredients:
15.28 lb Muntons Maris Otter (2.9 SRM, 1.0366) 58.45%
7.72 lb Briess 2-Row (2.1 SRM, 1.0357) 29.53%
1.50 lb Briess Carapils (1.5 SRM, 1.0314) 5.74%
0.82 lb Gambrinus Honey Malt (22.5 SRM, 1.0353) 3.14%
0.82 lb Weyermann Acidulated Malt (2.3 SRM, 1.0337) 3.14%
1.0 oz Chinook, 10.30% pellet (Mash Hop) 14.8 IBU (this could probably be omitted)
2.55 oz Columbus, 15.20% whole (Boil 80 min) 60.3 IBU
2.55 oz Ahtanum, 4.50% pellet (Boil 30 min) 10.1 IBU
1.85 oz Cascade, 6.10% pellet (Boil 30 min) 10.0 IBU
2 items Servomyces Capsule (Boil 15 min)
2 items Whirlfloc tablet (Boil 15 min)
3.75 oz Ahtanum, 4.50% pellet (Whirlpool 30 min)
3.75 oz Cascade, 6.10% pellet (Whirlpool 30 min)
Whitbread Ale Yeast (Wyeast Labs #1099)

Dry hop 7 days split between 2 carboys (pellets):
5.2 oz Simcoe, 13.00%
2.1 oz Centennial, 10.50%
5.2 oz Amarillo, 8.50%

Mash Profile:
90 min Beta rest 144F
15 min Alpha rest, steam to 155F
15 min Mash out, steam to 170F

Water Profile:
Added Gypsum, Epsom and Calcium Chloride to distilled water to get overall:
Ca = 87
Mg = 12
Na = 0
SO4 = 120
Cl = 100

Notes:
pH = 5.10 after 15 minutes @ 144 F, 5.21 after 30 minutes (shooting for 5.15)
Distilled sparge water pH = 5.42
1.088 after 90 min mash at 1.36 qt/lb
1.091 after 15 min 155 rest = 99.7% conversion
Chilled to 63F, O2'd each carboy for 40 seconds @ 3 Lpm = 12ppm
Pitched ~626 Billion cells (400 mL of 2nd generation slurry harvested 2 weeks prior)
Let warm to 66F over 24 hours and then let warm to 70F over 4 days
Dryhopped in the primary at day 4 and left in for 7 days
Crash cooled to 30F for 48 hours and transferred to a half barrel with 3 tbsp Biofine Clear for 48 hours and then kegged.

That is a really interesting recipe. I'm intrigued by the MO you added that is now the majority of your grainbill. How do you like that?

Also, do you use that whitbread ale yeast with a lot of IPA's? It seems to me like its attributes are what I like and want to taste in IPA's.

I'm sure your hop flavor is cutting through with that pH, I wish I had used some acidulated malt to get mine down, but I'm generally happy with how it came out.

I definitely want to do a bottleswap now. hahahaha

I didn't think the regular 2-row and small amount of honey malt was going to be enough to balance all the hops, plus the color was a little lighter than I thought it should be with just the 2-row. There was some MO left in a sack from a Barleywine I brewed recently and I had no plans for it so I figured what the hell. I think it works really nice. My wife is going to help me do a blind tasting tonight.

I've only used the Wyeast whitbread yeast once before (here) and repitched from that batch. I used WLP007 in my Homegrown Hop IPA this year and then repitched into that Barleywine. I like the flavor characteristics a lot and it also clears quickly. I'm going to use english yeasts for a few IPAs and Pale Ales in the next few months. Before it was all about WLP001 but that yeast is so clean it's almost too clean.
I actually may be going to Pittsburgh this Thursday and Friday so I could hand deliver a bottle to you

hahaha let me check my schedule.... maybe hofbrauhaus pittsburgh friday?

We tasted the two side by side last night. Mine was brewed on 10/17 and is served from a keg. Ithaca's is bottled and marked January, whatever that means.

The color is very close, Ithaca's has a chill haze (even after a careful pour leaving some behind) which makes it look lighter in the pics. Once it warms up and clears, the color is pretty much identical. Ithaca's foam seems to be slightly fluffier, laces better and has better retention. The home brew was poured first so there was some foam loss which is evident in the pic.

The aromas at first are similar but once you get half way through the Ithaca, there's much less hop aroma. The Honey malt starts to come through (similar to honeysuckle) and my tasting partner thought he could smell Pilsner malt. The aroma on he home brew is much stronger and lasts forever. More Simcoe aroma in the home brew.

The flavor was also similar. The Ithaca just seemed more melded together probably due to it's age, there was also the start of some oxidation but barely detectable. The home brew had more distinct hop flavors and more hop flavor overall, especially as the beers warmed. The home brew had noticeably less mouthfeel which was surprising to me as it finished at 1.015. I could just barely get a mineral flavor at the end with the home brew.

To make it closer to Ithaca's, I'd cut the SO4 back to 100, leave out the biofine or any other finning besides whirlfloc, cut the 0 min hops back 25%, cut the dryhopping back 25% and use less Simcoe in the dry hop, and also try some different base malt but I have no idea what. Maybe some Golden Promise? I'd also try to hit the OG right next time of course and maybe fooling around with the OG-FG to get the mouthfeel closer.

I like the hops in the home brew so the only changes I'll make are the SO4 reduction and trying to hit the OG to see if that helps the mouthfeel. Maybe use a different base malt and add 5% malted wheat.

Homebrew left, Ithaca's right.