Ambitious newbie- first beer IPA recipe

[ingnuty]

Hey all!
I just bottled my first beer today and am stoked. I'm a hop head and figured I'd try something out for my first home brew. Let me know what you think. Before I bottled it, I tried it and it was wicked hoppy and seemed to have a high abv.

3.3# light malt extract
3.3# amber malt extract

1oz cascade (pellet) 60min
1oz centennial (pellet)30min
2oz citra (pellet) 30min
1oz cascade (pellet) 15min
1oz sweet orange rind 10min

11g S-05

7 day primary (64-68*F)
8 day secondary w 1oz citra (whole/dry) (64-68*F)

Primed with 4.5g priming sugar

Thoughts?

Here's hoping it turns out good! I'll know in about 3 weeks, but I will be testing once a week to see the progress.

Will be upgrading to specialty malts and grains soon. My next one will be a cherry porter.

 

[LexusChris]

Looks like it could turn out well.. keep us posted!

On my IPA's, I like to move most of my hops to the last 10 minutes and/or dryhop. The boil will burn off aroma & flavor of the oils fairly quick, and you'll want some of those floating in there at the end. Something like..

1 oz at 60 mins for most of your IBU
1 oz at 10 mins flavor
1 oz at 0-2 mins aroma.
2-4 oz dry-hop in fermenter post fermentation.

Of course, the amounts would vary with AA%. If you put a high-alph hop (like Centennial) as your 60-minute addition, you can use less hops to get some good IBU's. Then, use your lower AA% hops in those last 10 minutes, and take adavantage of their hop oils and flavor/aroma.

And, I have nothing against 30-min or 15-min adds. I just like to focus on bittering level first (60-min additions) then on late boil additions (15-min or less). Lots of different ways to skin this hop-cat!

If you don't want to dry-hop, you can always whirlpool them as the wort is chilling, before the transfer to the fermenter & pitching.

Just a few thoughts... Hope it turns out awesome for ya!
--LexusChris

 

[IslandLizard]

This ^^^^ and do a search for whirlpool hops, hop stand, and hop tea. They have improved my IPAs immensely.

You're going to like steeping grains to bring some more malt character and flavor to the beer. Do a few of those to get really good at the process and taste different recipes. And eventually you'll want to move on to at least partial mashes or all-grain.

Someone posted this link in another thread:
http://byo.com/stories/issue/item/2808-hop-stands

 

[ingnuty]

Thanks guys! Yeah, since this is my first real attempt with a normal setup (had a mr beer for 1 attempt) I didn't want to steep any grains yet.
I will look into the other hopping options! I'm planning beers to follow the seasons and am going to keep a sixer of each for a Xmas party. Heh

 

[ingnuty]

Just tested the IPA 5 days after bottling. Most of the suspension has settled to the bottom of the bottle. It is slightly carbonated and you can clearly see the carbonation when poured into a glass. Flavors are starting to develop and mellow, and it has just enough bitterness at the finish. Yay.

 

[ingnuty]

Okay, maybe someone can help me out.

When I bottled, it looked pretty clear, but now I've got nasties in the bottom of the bottle. Lol. I know its just yeast, but what could I have done (besides let it sit in primary/secondary longer) to help this? I am about to move it all into the fridge, which I know will help the lingering floaties to settle, but... it is going to make it difficult to drink the last 1/8 of the beer. I know it's too late for this batch, but for the next one?

 

[LexusChris]

Some of that is probably yeast that flocculates out and settles on the bottom. All bottle-conditioned beer will have that.

In addition, dry-hopping can sometimes leave a little hop material floating around. Those tend to float at the bottom, rather than stick to it like the yeast typically does.

If you haven't tried dry-hopping with a nylon bag, that should keep the hop floaties at bay. I used a bucket fermenter, so it was easy to toss a hop bag in, rather than a carboy.

As for the yeast, if you store them upright in the fridge for a few weeks, it should be pretty firm on the bottom. Then, when you pour, just go slow & easy and finish the whole bottle with 1 pour... leaving behind just a little bit when you start to see the yeast cloud hit the glass. You should have a pretty clear pour at that point!

--LexusChris

 

[ThaBrewFather06]

I have the same thing with all my bottle conditioned beer and if you chill it really well before you open and pour all that crap stays in the bottom of the bottle.

 

[T-Dan]

For this reason, when i bottled i preferred 16 oz bottles. still some loss at the end of the pour, but more beer in the glass!

 

[ThaBrewFather06]

I use all 22oz bottles or growlers so I'm not worried about the crap in bottom.

 

[Jeremy_N]

I know this was from a little while ago, but about your recipe. I agree with LexusChris. But I would consider Nugget or Perle as your 60 minute addition. Centennial and Cascade are more expensive and have really great flavor and aroma. Save them for that. Definitely consider moving the hop additions back in the boil to get the IPA flavors and aroma. I would probably dry hop with more than 1 oz. I usually do 2-3. But good job so far and welcome to the obsession!

 

[ingnuty]

My LHBS charges a flat rate for all hops. Haha. 2.49/oz pellet or fresh. Love it

 

[Jeremy_N]

2.49 per ounce sucks you will find. You said you are a hop head. I am too. I started buying it by the pound and freezing it. Way cheaper! You can find great prices and quality hops online, but I personally support my LHBS.

 

[ingnuty]

Well I didn't know that. Haha. I don't think it's too bad in the scheme of things right now, considering it costs me about $35-$45 per batch. I will look into buying them online though. Thanks!

 

[ingnuty]

Good news everyone!
The IPA was/is delicious! Is pretty hoppy, has a nice clean bite to the finish, and has a very slight orange/citrus tinge. It is very drinkable, as I had 3 the other night and wished I brought more to my friend's place.