IPA Critique

[senfo]

I'm considering brewing this in about a week and would love to have some constructive criticism ahead of time. The hope is to brew a somewhat traditional IPA, but something also a little different and pleasant for the summer months ahead. I'm also considering substituting the Vienna for Munich and using a lager yeast, as opposed to an ale yeast, but I haven't settled on a yeast strain yet.

US 2 Row - 9.75 lb (75%)
Vienna Malt - 2.25 lb (17.3%)
Crystal 60 - 0.5 lb (3.8%)
Victory - 0.5 lb (3.8%)

Chinook - 1 oz @ 80 minutes
Cascade - 1 oz @ 15 minutes
Cascade - 1 oz @ 2 minutes
Nelson Sauvin - 0.5 oz @ 2 minutes
Cascade - 1 oz @ flameout
Chinook - 1 oz @ flameout
Cascade - 1 oz @ dry hop for last 7 days
Chinook - 1 oz @ dry hop for last 7 days
Falconer's Flight - 1 oz @ dry hop for last 7 days
Nelson Sauvin - 0.5 oz @ dry hop for last 7 days

WLP001 - California Ale Yeast

OG - 1.061
FG - 1.010
IBU - 49.6
SRM - 7.6 (maybe a little on the light side)
ABV - 6.8%

I expect to let this sit in the primary for about two weeks, then either transfer to a keg or a fermenter (still undecided) with the dry-hop additions.

Recipe aside, if I do dry-hop in the keg, what is the preferred way to transfer to a serving keg and leave the hops behind? I'm more than happy to filter, but I'm worried I'll lose some taste / aroma.

Thank you ahead of time...

 

[CBMbrewer]

Looks pretty good. I would be careful with chinook in the dry-hop. My inclination would be that it might over power some of the others.
Some people use SS herb balls in their kegs. Every time I have done this they popped open and have caused serious clogging issues.

 

[senfo]

Somebody recommended a SS herb ball a while back and I completely forgot until just now.

In your experience, how much do they hold? Would 3.5 oz (without removing the chinook) of pellet hops fit into a 4" herb ball like the following? http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000NLO0CA/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

 

[Yooper]

Somebody recommended a SS herb ball a while back and I completely forgot until just now.

In your experience, how much do they hold? Would 3.5 oz (without removing the chinook) of pellet hops fit into a 4" herb ball like the following? http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000NLO0CA/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

No- those herb balls hold about .5 ounce total of leaf hops. You need them to be "loose" in the ball so that the beer can permeate the hops.

I use a tightly (fine weave) woven "hops bag" in the keg for both pellets and leaf hops, if I"m not using a tea ball. Or two or three. Several hops bags might be needed for 3.5 ounces of hops, but they won't allow any hops debris out of the bag.

I dryhop in the keg all the time, and rarely rack to a new keg. I keep the hops bags in there until the keg kicks. At colder temperatures in the fridge, I've never noticed any grassy off notes from doing this.

 

[senfo]

My only issue with the bags is they seem to really reduce utilization for me in the boil. Maybe they're not as bad when dry-hopping. Though, for all I know, herb balls have the same issue.

 

[Yooper]

My only issue with the bags is they seem to really reduce utilization for me in the boil. Maybe they're not as bad when dry-hopping. Though, for all I know, herb balls have the same issue.

Yes, they do. I've actually opened those balls and had the hops inside be totally dry! That's how I know not to be more than .5 ounce of leaf hops in them, and they don't work at all for pellet hops.

 

[senfo]

Has anybody ever tried attaching a muslin bag to the end of the dip tube?

 

[indianaroller]

I'm considering brewing this in about a week and would love to have some constructive criticism ahead of time. The hope is to brew a somewhat traditional IPA, but something also a little different and pleasant for the summer months ahead. I'm also considering substituting the Vienna for Munich and using a lager yeast, as opposed to an ale yeast, but I haven't settled on a yeast strain yet.

US 2 Row - 9.75 lb (75%)
Vienna Malt - 2.25 lb (17.3%)
Crystal 60 - 0.5 lb (3.8%)
Victory - 0.5 lb (3.8%)

Chinook - 1 oz @ 80 minutes
Cascade - 1 oz @ 15 minutes
Cascade - 1 oz @ 2 minutes
Nelson Sauvin - 0.5 oz @ 2 minutes
Cascade - 1 oz @ flameout
Chinook - 1 oz @ flameout
Cascade - 1 oz @ dry hop for last 7 days
Chinook - 1 oz @ dry hop for last 7 days
Falconer's Flight - 1 oz @ dry hop for last 7 days
Nelson Sauvin - 0.5 oz @ dry hop for last 7 days

WLP001 - California Ale Yeast

OG - 1.061
FG - 1.010
IBU - 49.6
SRM - 7.6 (maybe a little on the light side)
ABV - 6.8%

I expect to let this sit in the primary for about two weeks, then either transfer to a keg or a fermenter (still undecided) with the dry-hop additions.

Recipe aside, if I do dry-hop in the keg, what is the preferred way to transfer to a serving keg and leave the hops behind? I'm more than happy to filter, but I'm worried I'll lose some taste / aroma.

Thank you ahead of time...

Looks like a great IPA except for the victory. Flavor might clash, not sure.

 

[senfo]

Looks like a great IPA except for the victory. Flavor might clash, not sure.

I only added victory for the color and wasn't really sure what else to put in its place. I'm open to suggestions.

 

[Yooper]

I only added victory for the color and wasn't really sure what else to put in its place. I'm open to suggestions.

Victory is nice in an IPA. It's "toasty" without being sweet, and a good fit.

 

[novahokie09]

I'd axe the victory too. With 17% vienna, you're getting enough toasty notes, and victory can add both a toasty and nutty note. Nutty is not appropriate for IPA's. Victory will contribute some color, but you're going to get a lot of your color from the 60L, along with some slight caramel malt sweetness which will go nice with the Chinook bitterness.

With an IPA, I really want a clean (read that neutral) malt profile to allow the hops to shine. If you're looking for malt character, consider a pale ale, brown ale or scottish ale.

Also, since you don't list your mash temperature, I'd recommend mashing low around 148F/149F to reach your final gravity. You're looking at ~84% attentuation, and you're going to need to pitch a large amount of yeast, aerate well, and mash low to make that happen. The other thing you could do is cut back on your base malt and mimic Russian River's Vinnie Cilurzo style of adding equal amounts of carapils and dextrose to make your wort very fermentable while maintaining the body.

Finally, I'd try to save the Nelson, since you're only adding 0.5 oz at 2 mins and 0.5 oz at dry hop. You're probably not going to get anything from it since you're using a heavy hand of Cascade and Chinook throughout your process. I will say I like your Cascade/Chinook pairing. I really love it in my IPAs.

 

[senfo]

Also, since you don't list your mash temperature, I'd recommend mashing low around 148F/149F to reach your final gravity. You're looking at ~84% attentuation, and you're going to need to pitch a large amount of yeast, aerate well, and mash low to make that happen. The other thing you could do is cut back on your base malt and mimic Russian River's Vinnie Cilurzo style of adding equal amounts of carapils and dextrose to make your wort very fermentable while maintaining the body.

That's BeerSmith being a little overzealous. Realistically, it'll be more like 75% (in my experience).

 

[CBMbrewer]

I've actually opened those balls and had the hops inside be totally dry!

Now that's what I call a dryhop.

 

[senfo]

Appreciate the feedback, all. Making a couple of adjustments and I'll brew this tomorrow.

 

[senfo]

Moved the Nelson Sauvin to 4 minutes and dropped the Chinook dry hop. Transferred into the serving keg and it tastes incredible. This is the best IPA I've brewed yet (in my opinion, of course). Aroma is exactly what I was aiming for. Very good floral, piny, citrus and fruity hop character. The only thing I think I'll change is the amount that goes into the fermenter. The hop additions (including dry hopping) soaked up a good gallon of beer.

I'll post back with final tasting notes after it's carbonated.