Pushing the "Outer Limits" of an IPA

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BierMuncher

...My Junk is Ugly...
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This recipe should get me right to the outer BJCP edge of and IPA in OG, SRM, IBU and if I can mash it correctly...the top end of the final gravity range (at 1.018).

Looking for malty sweet. I don't want to have any "seemed a bit thin" regrets when I'm sipping on this one in December.

Outer Limits IPA

Batch Size: 5.50 gal
Boil Size: 7.22 gal
Estimated OG: 1.075 SG
Estimated Color: 16.0 SRM
Estimated IBU: 65.6 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.0 %
Boil Time: 75 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount
11.00 lb Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM)
1.75 lb Munich Malt (9.0 SRM)
1.00 lb Honey Malt (25.0 SRM)
0.50 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM)
0.50 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 80L (80.0 SRM)

0.75 oz Nugget [13.00%] (60 min) (First Wort Hop)
0.50 oz Amarillo Gold [8.90%] (45 min)
0.50 oz Centennial [10.00%] (30 min)
0.50 oz Amarillo Gold [8.90%] (15 min)
0.50 oz Cascade [7.80%] (10 min)
0.50 oz Cascade [6.10%] (5 min)
0.50 oz Centennial [10.00%] (0 min)

2.00 oz Glacier [5.60%] (Dry Hop 5 days)


Mash it at 154 for 45 minutes.
Toss in a slurry of Notty.



If it turns out well, I'll post up the recipe on the database...now how do you do that??? ;)
 
Have you dry hopped an IPA with Glacier before? With such an American IPA hop schedule I'm not sure your gonna be happy with what the Glacier is going to bring to the table. Tends to be very earthy.

Of course I could be wrong and it could be the best thing ever. I've never dry hopped an IPA with Glacier before.
 
Have you dry hopped an IPA with Glacier before? With such an American IPA hop schedule I'm not sure your gonna be happy with what the Glacier is going to bring to the table. Tends to be very earthy.

Of course I could be wrong and it could be the best thing ever. I've never dry hopped an IPA with Glacier before.

I agree. I dryhopped an American Brown with Glacier and it was good for that style, but I'm not sure how well it will go with an IPA, as it will be more earthy and green. It's not what I normally associate with an IPA. That doesn't mean that it won't be good, but if you're shooting for the nose of most commercial examples I find that Amarillo, Simcoe and Cascade work really well.
 
If it were me, I would do this with the hop schedule:

1.50 oz Centennial [10.00%] (First Wort Hop)
0.50 oz Centennial [10.00%] (60 min)
0.50 oz Amarillo Gold [8.90%] (30 min)
0.75 oz Nugget [13.00%] (15 min)
0.50 oz Amarillo Gold [8.90%] (15 min)
0.50 oz Cascade [7.80%] (10 min)
0.50 oz Cascade [6.10%] (0 min)

2.00 oz Glacier [5.60%] (Dry Hop 5 days)


Stylistically, I would assume the schedule above would blow out the IBUs, but I brew mainly for me, not judges. Any way you look at it, this should be a winner.
 
I did a similar style pushing IPA recently. It was very good, but finished a bit sweet for me. Some maltiness up front is good, but IMO the best IPA's finish nice and dry. I have another IPA in primary that hopefully fits the bill a bit better.
 
If it were me, I would do this with the hop schedule:

1.50 oz Centennial [10.00%] (First Wort Hop)
0.50 oz Centennial [10.00%] (60 min)
0.50 oz Amarillo Gold [8.90%] (30 min)
0.75 oz Nugget [13.00%] (15 min)
0.50 oz Amarillo Gold [8.90%] (15 min)
0.50 oz Cascade [7.80%] (10 min)
0.50 oz Cascade [6.10%] (0 min)

2.00 oz Glacier [5.60%] (Dry Hop 5 days)


Stylistically, I would assume the schedule above would blow out the IBUs, but I brew mainly for me, not judges. Any way you look at it, this should be a winner.

I just did a 10-gallon batch of a Nugget SMaSH ale, so I want to keep the nuggets restricted to bittering on this one. Though I do love late additions of nugget.

I am tempted though to go ahead and take the Glacier dry hop to 1-ounce and then add an additional dry hop medley of Amarillo andCentennial. (maybe a 1/2 ounce each).

I want to stick to the 65 IBU's as well, just to stick with the theme. :D
 
Heh. It's like you guys are in cahoots with my stomach, who had one last night. Here are my tasting notes.

Cross-posted from 10der & Mild Swap:

Byaa!-Muncher's Outer Limits IPA:

- Smells pungently citrusy, and a bit grassy - of the fresh-cut variety. Inviting, just like an IPA should smell. You can pick out some breads and biscuits behind the hops, but not more than a faint presence.

- I'd call this a brilliant ruby with hints of copper, and very, very clear, just like your other beers. Clear enough that it can be used as a magnifying loupe to see my individual pixels on my LCD monitor. Poured with a 1/4" to 1/2" head that stuck around for a minute or so.

- Seltzery mouthfeel, kind of nice, but strange since the head on pour didn't indicate a huge carb level. But nice, like I said... kind of a champagne-y like sensation from the bubbles. Not as hoppy as I had expected - maybe that's just a sign my tongue is starting to strip from the increasingly hoppy beers I've been starting to favor. It starts with this great balanced bitterness - a packs a bit of a punch, but not a K.O. in one drink. The finish is superb, with very soft mingling of a couple varieties of hops, some grassy notes, some grapefruit notes, some pine notes... It's almost hard to describe, because the finishing flavor hops really do mingle so well that you can't seperate one from the other.

- This is a really good example of an American IPA that still knows what it is - just that, an IPA and not a enamel-stripping IIPA. I feel like that distinction has been lost recently in the beer world, and it's nice seeing an IPA that is patently strong, but not overblown or overdesigned.

And all this coming from a guy who is usually very hesitant of IPAs. Cheers, BM. Thanks for sharing another great one. You and I will have to swap beers more frequently - you brew some really stellar stuff, man. One of these days I'm gonna find time to do another Dryhop Honey Wheat so I can share some of the really fresh stuff with ya.
 
I'm guessing the grassy notes must come from the Glacier hops since they are a descendant of fuggles?

The tasting notes are certainly helpful. Methinks I'll be sending some yeast samples to Chriso at some point. ;)
 
Heh. It's like you guys are in cahoots with my stomach, who had one last night. Here are my tasting notes.
.

Timing is everything. :D

Yeah, I really like this beer. I enjoy an IPA that isn't pucker up bitter. I lean more towards the sweeter versions with a ton of flavor and aroma. Similar to a B2HA.

I noticed that sensation last night too Chriso...with a bit of a champagne mouthfeel. I don't think it's the carbonation though. I had very little effervescing in my glass. I think it might just be the dance of the hop ferries tingling the taste buds. It's not a belch out loud fizzle. In fact, my glass was more on the chewy side.

As an aside, I ended up dry hopping with one ounce of Glacier and one ounce of Amarillo.
 
I had a fellow St. Louis Brews member over at the house the other night picking up some grains I'd gotten for him. He's been judging for quite a while.

He sampled everything I had and settled in on this recipe as his favorite.

Suggested I submit for some up coming competitions.

The rings on this glass are a good indication of the body...this is definitely a do-over.


OuterLimits_Rings.jpg
 
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