Im brewing my own IPA recipe this weekend .. any thoughts
- Thread starter cadarnell
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Looks fine. My only thought is that where I buy, the hops come in 1 ounce bags, and I'd hate to have a half ounce left over. I would toss that last half ounce of Centennial into the pot at flameout.
Golddiggie
Well-Known Member
Looks decent... Brew it and report back how it in once carbonated... Have you thought about dry hopping it 7-14 days before bottling?
I'll be brewing an English IPA next. I plan on dry hopping with a 1.5 ounces of whole EKG for about a week (7-10 days, not 100% sure just yet).
As for the hop amounts and any 'leftover'... If you're buying in bulk (so many brewers I know now do this, myself included) the amount in a batch doesn't really matter. I would just suggest making sure you have a very accurate, and responsive, scale. I just picked up the 11oz hop scale from Williams Brewing. I'll be using it for my next batch. You can also use grams to weigh the hops, to ensure you get a very accurate measurement.
I'll be brewing an English IPA next. I plan on dry hopping with a 1.5 ounces of whole EKG for about a week (7-10 days, not 100% sure just yet).
As for the hop amounts and any 'leftover'... If you're buying in bulk (so many brewers I know now do this, myself included) the amount in a batch doesn't really matter. I would just suggest making sure you have a very accurate, and responsive, scale. I just picked up the 11oz hop scale from Williams Brewing. I'll be using it for my next batch. You can also use grams to weigh the hops, to ensure you get a very accurate measurement.
I think 14% crystal malt is WAY too much! I would go with no more than 5-7% total, or about one pound max.
I'm not much of a fan of 30 minute additions in an IPA. You don't get any flavor, and you get only a portion of the bittering ability. If you need more IBUs, move some of that addition to 60 minutes with the rest of the bittering hops. If you have enough IBUs, move the addition to late in the boil for flavor/aroma or add it to dryhopping.
I'm not much of a fan of 30 minute additions in an IPA. You don't get any flavor, and you get only a portion of the bittering ability. If you need more IBUs, move some of that addition to 60 minutes with the rest of the bittering hops. If you have enough IBUs, move the addition to late in the boil for flavor/aroma or add it to dryhopping.
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cadarnell
Well-Known Member
the last IPA i brewed was really good, but i was thinking about trying to get more of the crystal malt flavor this time, so I upped it a little ... but really it's just about 5% more than last time .. i didn't think that was too much of a jump ... anyways i had already called in my order and it was crushed and all in the same bag before i checked back here, so that was dumb on my part ... maybe moving up the 30 min addition and bittering it a little more will help offset the too much crystal thing? .. thanks for the opinion ...
ThePearsonFam
Well-Known Member
+1
I'd just use 1# of Caramel 60 with the 9# of 2-row. That's what I usually do. I agree with Yooper about the hops too.
Golddiggie
Well-Known Member
5% more is more than you might be thinking... After thinking about the recipe a bit more, I think you could drop the Cara-Pils/Dextrine from it and also reduce the caramel 60L a percent or two, and still get a solid brew. Increase the base malt to offset dropping the cara-pils. Increase the base to 10# would also help you to retain the other grain amounts, while reducing their %.
Actually, if you go 10# 2 row, 10oz C60L and 8oz C20L, then you'll have only ~10% caramel malts (rounding off here). OG should be 1.062, so a little higher than your original recipe, and the color will be close enough to not matter (low by .1)... You could easily drop 1 ounce from each of the caramel malts too, getting to 1#. But, I would up the base malt to 10#, so that you hit your OG goal (since I recommend dumping the cara-pils)...
For the hops, if you up the Magnum to 1oz, you can drop the 30 minute Centennial addition, and still get your original IBU level. You could use that .5oz for dry hopping before bottling.
Of course, you could just tell us all to go beat ******** if you like and brew it as you intended. That's your right as the brewer.
jigidyjim
Well-Known Member
+1. Dry hopping is great for IPAs.
Golddiggie
Well-Known Member
bruin_ale
Well-Known Member
that amount of crystal will be fine. I usually do about a lb in a similar IPA and there's almost no sweetness at all.
Dry hop for sure though..
Dry hop for sure though..
cyclonite
Well-Known Member
+1 for dry hopping
Every pale ale and IPA should be dry hopped IMHO. The aroma it gives is SO NICE!
Every pale ale and IPA should be dry hopped IMHO. The aroma it gives is SO NICE!
Golddiggie
Well-Known Member
I do agree that dry hopping adds really nice things to pale ales. But I don't think it's for ALL pale ales.
I'm just getting started with my own dry hopping experiments. So far, I've dry hopped one English Pale Ale recipe (damned good after about a month in bottles. Even better at 6 weeks in...
I have the English IPA on deck, that will get more dry hopping in it. Going with a single hop variety this time, but more of it, and for a bit longer. Want to see what that brings to the brew. I'll be brewing my house pale ale again soon, and plan to alter the dry hop on that. Also going with a single type, more, for longer (first time was just 6 days). I'd prefer to get it great closer to when it's ready for drinking (once bottle carbonated/conditioned). Of course, once I start kegging, who knows how I'll be dry hopping batches.
:rockin:
I'm just getting started with my own dry hopping experiments. So far, I've dry hopped one English Pale Ale recipe (damned good after about a month in bottles. Even better at 6 weeks in...
I have the English IPA on deck, that will get more dry hopping in it. Going with a single hop variety this time, but more of it, and for a bit longer. Want to see what that brings to the brew. I'll be brewing my house pale ale again soon, and plan to alter the dry hop on that. Also going with a single type, more, for longer (first time was just 6 days). I'd prefer to get it great closer to when it's ready for drinking (once bottle carbonated/conditioned). Of course, once I start kegging, who knows how I'll be dry hopping batches.
:rockin:
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cadarnell
Well-Known Member
well .. i would never tell anyone trying to help me to beat******* .. i really do like to hear all these opinions ... I am going to have to brew it with the malts listed in the recipe i posted tho as the grain is already crushed and in the same bag .. i dont think i can change it now ... i should have waited until tomorrow to call in the order i guess ... in fact it was stupid of me to ask for help and then call in the order before i read the help i was asking for i guess
... anyway .. i may change the 30 min hop to 60 and bitter it more to offset the potential sweetness i may get from the crystal .. i just upped it 5% but i guess that is a pretty good jump .. well .. I'll report back and learn from it .. thanks all .. 
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cadarnell
Well-Known Member
any last minute thoughts on what i might do with these hops to offset the higher than normal amout of crystal malt? ... would bittering it more help, or flavoring it more help .. or would neither? .. i just stated the mash .. nailed the mash temp, so Im off to a good start at least
frydogbrews
Well-Known Member
looks good to me, i would use way more hops around the 30-5 minute time frame, but that's me. here is my favorite one, granted it is a IIPA, but the honey is key. http://hopville.com/recipe/581163/imperial-ipa-recipes/benders-buzz-2
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cadarnell
Well-Known Member
i ended up adding all the centennial hops in the last 15 minutes ... i thought that flavoring more with the hops would help the higher % of crystal malt more than bittering more ... the brew session went pretty well ... i missed my OG by a little but since i top off I was able to just make 4.5 gallon and get the OG i was shooting for anyway ... just a little less beer
... no biggie really ... I'll report back ... thanks again eveyone for the comments ... BEER IS GOOD !!!!!here is the recipe after the brew session with how things actually went
http://hopville.com/recipe/682566/american-ipa-recipes/hoppytonkwoman-ipa-2011-05-28-version
Golddiggie
Well-Known Member
Next time, if you have any doubts about a recipe, and are looking for advise, post up before you either crush the grain, or get it crushed and mixed all together. Or, get the grain crushed and bagged separately so that you can tweak the recipe before you start.
Personally, I'm enjoying being able to crush my own grains on brew day, just before I fire up the burner for the mash-in. This allows me to do any last moment adjustments to the grist without worry.
Personally, I'm enjoying being able to crush my own grains on brew day, just before I fire up the burner for the mash-in. This allows me to do any last moment adjustments to the grist without worry.
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cadarnell
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well until i get a grain mill i am going to ask that the grain be put in seperate bags .. they always ask and i always just tell them to go ahead and put it all in the same bag ... also, i was just thinking i could have went and got another pound of 2 row and added it to help the percentages ... doh !!!!
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cadarnell
Well-Known Member
I'm starting to feel a little better about this recipe ... as I looked around to see what it might end up being close to .. and I've seen several SN celabration ale clones with about just as much crystal in them as this one .. well I LOVE that stuff .. they were all higher on the IBUs, but it gives me some hope i think .. anyway the notty is going bonkers now for about the last 24 hours .. i have it at about 65* .. wish me luck .. I'll take a hydo reading this weekend and give a little taste report ... thanks again all
I'd use US-05 instead of nottingham. I don't think there's enough hop or malt to cover up the "nottingham flavor" in your recipe. Maybe if you doubled the late hop additions. Good luck with it either way!
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cadarnell
Well-Known Member
I've used 05 and notty fro apa's and ipa's .. i don't really taste too much of a difference .... the notty is 2 bucks cheaper so i went with it .. and it seems to get going and finish faster for me also ..
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cadarnell
Well-Known Member
well .. the gravity check was just great .. it's down to 1.013 .. as far as the taste right now .. I taste no sweetness at all and the hop flavor is right up front .. but maybe sweetness is not going to be the problem with the too much crystal malt thing ??? .. i dont know .. i think it's going to be a great beer .. at least i have a good reason for hope after that taste test ... I'll report back on it ... cheers all
bruin_ale
Well-Known Member
Sweetness is the argument against too much crystal. I regularly use at least 10% and get no noticeable sweetness at all. It's way overstated on this forum IMO.
ThePearsonFam
Well-Known Member
The caramel/crystal doesn't always add sweetness, it adds more of that caramel flavor if you add a good amount. Some people perceive it as sweet, others just taste the flavor without sweetness. It can be difficult to separate the two since that's how our minds work.
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cadarnell
Well-Known Member
I just bottled this beer after dry hopping it for 5 days with an once and a half of centennial ... i tasted it one more time before i added the priming sugar and i really think it's going to be a real good beer ... the first thing i got from the taste was the hops followed closely by the crystal malt ... but the crystal really doesnt come of as sweet to me at all ... it's just really forward in the taste .. it is probably going to be along the lines of SN celebration ale ... I'll report back in a couple weeks ... cheers !!
cms
Well-Known Member
I made this mistake with the first couple recipe's I created. Too much crystal left those beers cloyingly sweet and "out-of-whack".
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cadarnell
Well-Known Member
well ... after one week in the bottle I went ahead and chilled one down and tried it .. rookie thing to do I know, but I find that my APAs and IPAs carb up really quick for some reason .. anyway, this beer is not sweet at all IMO ... I'll get a second opinion since I am the brewer, but I just don't taste sweet ... I do get a lot of the malt flavor, which is just what I was wanting, but for my taste at least, it's not too much ... and the hops in this beer are just amazing ... I wouldn't change them at all next time ... cheers !!
boomtown25
Well-Known Member
I just made one with Yakima Magnum hops 17%AA and that sh*t smells AWESOME. I wanted to strap the foil bag over my face like a nurse mask while I was brewing. Hell, I might put it in my pillow case.
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cadarnell
Well-Known Member
well i have had a couple of these this weekend and they are still very good ... i think the crystal malt would taste more sweet if the IBUs were less, but like it is, the crystal is just malty tasting ... not sweet at all ... i think the lesson I have learned while formulating this recipe and then brewing, is if I am going to use more than a normal amout of crystal I had better make sure the IBUs are sort of high .. anyway ... I love IPAs and this is a really good one IMO .. I do still need to get a second opinion tho ... If i get one I'll report one more time ... if not, thanks again for all the conversation about this recipe and tips .. cheers
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cadarnell
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ok ... a friend of mine just called and told me he liked, but didnt love this beer ... he said it was a little too malty for him .. he drinks a lot of DFH 60 min ipa ... so maybe the crystal should come back some I'm thinking ... I still really like it and I would brew the same recipe again ... it's about gone now ... thanks again all ...
... thanks again all ... Similar threads
