Classic West Coast IPA

[drchernus]

Still working on this recipe. The idea is to have a solid, drinkable beer on tap pretty regularly—a house beer, I suppose—with my favorite hops in somewhat equal parts (I'd go big on Simcoe, but that ****'s expensive!). It's sort of a lower gravity Pliny clone with Cascade instead of Amarillo (again, expensive). I would appreciate your thoughts.

Batch size: 5 gallons

11 lbs. 2-row 92%
0.5 lbs. C40 4%
0.5 lbs. Carapils 4%

Mash at 151 for 90 min.

90 minute boil:
0.75 oz Columbus @ 90 min
0.25 oz Columbus, Centennial, Cascade & Simcoe @ 30
0.75 oz Centennial, Cascade & Simcoe @ flameout

Post-boil volume - 5.5 gallons
O.G. - low to mid 60s
IBUs - around 55

Ale Yeast (I'll be using WY1056)

Dry hop: 0.50 oz Columbus, Centennial, Cascade & Simcoe

Since I have the hops on hand in decent quantity, I'll probably mess around with featuring one or the other with each batch, just for fun.

 

[bschot]

Other than removing the Carpils and doing a full pound of Crystal 40, I think you have a winning recipe. I like medium body for my IPA's so I do a 60 minute mash. Just my personal preference. Unless you like 90 minute boils, a 60 minute boil will do it for you. I only do 90 minute boils if my grain bill has something like 40% or more Pilsner malt. I like the 90 for my hefeweizen recipe which is 50/50 pils/wheat malt. I think it helps add a little color and some subtle complexity. No matter what you decide I wish you the best of luck.



Brian

 

[Bramstoker17]

Your recipe looks really good! Just my opinion, but I'd keep the crystal where it is. To me, a pound is too much, but I like a dry lighter colored IPA. Like you said, it looks a bit like Pliney light. I'd maybe consider a hop steep with your flameout hops, or maybe bump the dry hops up just a bit. Cheers!

 

[drchernus]

Thanks for the input, Brian. Don't know why I like the 90 min mash and boil times, but I do. I guess I feel it helps me hit my target gravity and fermentability, cleaner bittering, longer brew day = more fun. I don't want to use any more crystal, as light color and body and low dextrin are part of my game plan. (I'd rather use C20, but I'm worried that would be too light.) Bramstoker hits the nail on the head with the light, dry comment. I'm after something crisp that the hops will really stand out on top of. The Carapils will hopefully give it some head retention without much sweetness. That's all it's there for.

 

[Bramstoker17]

Thanks for the input, Brian. Don't know why I like the 90 min mash and boil times, but I do. I guess I feel it helps me hit my target gravity and fermentability, cleaner bittering, longer brew day = more fun. I don't want to use any more crystal, as light color and body and low dextrin are part of my game plan. (I'd rather use C20, but I'm worried that would be too light.) Bramstoker hits the nail on the head with the light, dry comment. I'm after something crisp that the hops will really stand out on top of. The Carapils will hopefully give it some head retention without much sweetness. That's all it's there for.

This is straying a bit from your Plineyish base recipe, but what I do for my IPAs to get some color without using a bunch of crystal is to use light Munich malt in place of a pound or two of 2 Row. It gives some color and a more crackery/slight biscuity malt flavor instead of the sweetness from using more crystal. I can then go for a smaller amount of a lighter crystal like 20 since I'm getting some color from the Munich. Just something to consider, it looks very tasty either way!

 

[drchernus]

I put a pound of Vienna in my last IPA, and I feel like the bready malt flavor just distracted from hop character—which, in my opinion, should be the primary focus of any West coast style IPA. That said, it was a very tasty brew.

 

[Bramstoker17]

I put a pound of Vienna in my last IPA, and I feel like the bready malt flavor just distracted from hop character—which, in my opinion, should be the primary focus of any West coast style IPA. That said, it was a very tasty brew.

I gotcha, its all about finding the right balance for the hops to shine. I based my IPA very loosely on Firestone Union Jack, which uses Munich. It definitely does add some bready/subtle toast flavor, so if that's not what you're going for then it looks like your recipe is good to go!

 

[619Brewer]

I would mash below 150 to achieve what you're wanting. Otherwise, I would increase IBU's and definitely increase dryhops.

West Coast IPA = smack you in the face hoppy/bitter. ~50 IBU's doesn't fit that bill imo. I would aim for higher IBU's like around 70ish with that OG. Sculpin is ~7% and 80 IBUs as a point of reference.

 

[MEPNew2Brew]

I stopped using C-40 in my IPAs - too much color and taste for me. I use a bit of C-20 instead (3-4%). Hops - Have you considered moving the 30 minute additions to 15, 10 and 5 or something like that? You will likely get more flavor/aroma from the hops. Add more to the 90 min hops if you need to make up some lost IBUs. I really like the hop combo.

As others have said - more hops in the boil and more dry hops. For 5 gallons - 3 - 4 ounces if you really want big aroma.

 

[drchernus]

I like the idea of increasing the late boil and dry hop. I think I'm going to keep the IBUs and 30 minute hops as is, because I want a really hoppy beer, but not a really bitter one. I'm definitely leaning towards ditching the C40 for C20. Thanks for all the suggestions.