Belgian Inspired Imperial IPA. Will this recipe work?

Hi Guys- I am working on a recipe for a Belgian inspired Imperial IPA. Does this look like it could work? Here is the recipe I came up with using Beer Smith.

Partial mash

Batch Size: 5.50 gal
Brewer: Ryan
Boil Size: 4.00 gal
Boil Time: 90 min Equipment: Brew Pot (5 Gallon)


Ingredients

Amount Item Type % or IBU
6.00 lb Light Dry Extract (8.0 SRM) Dry Extract 46.15 %
5.00 lb Pilsner (2 Row) Bel (2.0 SRM) Grain 38.46 %
1.00 oz Simcoe [13.00 %] (90 min) Hops 21.6 IBU
1.00 oz Columbus (Tomahawk) [14.00 %] (90 min) Hops 23.2 IBU
0.50 oz Amarillo Gold [8.50 %] (Dry Hop 3 days) Hops -
0.50 oz Cascade [5.50 %] (Dry Hop 3 days) Hops -
0.50 oz Simcoe [13.00 %] (60 min) Hops 10.1 IBU
0.50 oz Columbus (Tomahawk) [14.00 %] (60 min) Hops 10.8 IBU
0.50 oz Simcoe [13.00 %] (30 min) Hops 7.7 IBU
0.50 oz Columbus (Tomahawk) [14.00 %] (30 min) Hops 8.3 IBU
0.50 oz Simcoe [13.00 %] (15 min) Hops 5.0 IBU
0.50 oz Columbus (Tomahawk) [14.00 %] (15 min) Hops 5.4 IBU
0.50 oz Cascade [5.50 %] (10 min) Hops 1.5 IBU
0.50 oz Amarillo Gold [8.50 %] (10 min) Hops 2.4 IBU
0.50 oz Amarillo Gold [8.50 %] (1 min) Hops 0.3 IBU
0.50 oz Cascade [5.50 %] (1 min) Hops 0.2 IBU
2.00 lb Sugar, Table (Sucrose) (1.0 SRM) Sugar 15.38 %
4.00 gal Portland OR Water
1 Pkgs Belgian Ale (White Labs #WLP550) Yeast-Ale



Beer Profile

Est Original Gravity: 1.089 SG
Measured Original Gravity: 1.010 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.021 SG Measured Final Gravity: 1.005 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 8.95 % Actual Alcohol by Vol: 0.65 %
Bitterness: 96.6 IBU
Est Color: 7.7 SRM Color: Color

Thank you!

Looks good to me. My personal preference for hopping IPAs is to focus on big additions right at the end of the boil, really saturated hop aroma etc... I like the hop character from those additions more than the 1-15 minutes additions.

I might lower the gravity a bit, with all that sugar you are going to get good attenuation and a really high alcohol content. I like having hoppy beers that I can drink pretty young and at a rate higher than 1 glass a night. My last DIPA went from 1.071 to 1.011, at ~8% ABV more than enough to keep me happy.

Portland water is really soft right? A bit of gypsum to add some calcium to lower the ph and sulfate to help crisp up the hops would be worth considering. I like ~150-200 ppm sulfate in my hoppy beers.

Hi Oldsock- thanks for the response. You definitely gave me a few great pointers that will help me tweak this a bit before brew day.

When lowering OG (and maximizing flavor) with this recipe, what would you recommend? Lowering the grains, extract, or adjunct sugar? Maybe a little off all three?

Thanks again!

RexPDX said:

Hi Oldsock- thanks for the response. You definitely gave me a few great pointers that will help me tweak this a bit before brew day.

When lowering OG (and maximizing flavor) with this recipe, what would you recommend? Lowering the grains, extract, or adjunct sugar? Maybe a little off all three?

Thanks again!

Click to expand...

I would leave the malt alone (it provides a paler and more fermentable wort than the extract) and lower the extract and sugar to hit your gravity. You are at the right % sugar, so I would drop more malt than sugar.

Let us know how it turns out.

Perfect.

One last thing- do you think that I should add an additional type of malt to add a darker color for this style? And does this really matter?

RexPDX said:

Perfect.

One last thing- do you think that I should add an additional type of malt to add a darker color for this style? And does this really matter?

Click to expand...

I think simple malt bills are best for both Belgians and IPAs. All that malt (expecially the extract) will add some color as will the thick 90 min boil, so I would leave it alone. You could add a pound or two of wheat if you really wanted to add something. For all-grain IPAs I add a touch of carapils and medium crystal (less than .5 lbs total in 5 gallons) for body/sweetness, but I think you'll get enough sweetness from the extract.

I have one problem with this and most other Belgian ipas. Too much bitterness clashes with the yeast. Tripels/strong goldenseal have the same abvs that iipas have, but lack to body and malt profile to stand up to that kind of bitterness. I think you would be better off using an iipa late addition for your flavor/aroma, but cutting back the ibus to standard ipa level around 60-70. This way you get bitterness to balance but not clash, and still give the yeast and hops a chance to shine.