IPA Recipe Critique

[ss4ivan]

Looking for a good balance between bitter and fruity hops.

Recipe Type: All Grain
Yeast: wyeast 1056
Yeast Starter: Yes
Batch Size (Gallons): 5.5
Original Gravity: 1.062
Final Gravity: 1.006
Boiling Time (Minutes): 1
SRM: 8.3
IBU: 72
Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): 5@62 - 9 @68
Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): 14 @ ~68

Mash Temp: 153F for 60 min
Pale 2-row - 12lb
Crystal 40L - 1lb

Hops:
Centennial (AA-9%) - 1.5 oz @ 60min
Centennial (AA-9%) - .5 oz @ 15min
Citra (AA-11.7%) - .3 oz @ 15min
Galaxy (AA-13%) - .3 oz @ 15min
Centennial,Citra,Galaxy - each 1oz @1min
Centennial (1 oz),Citra (2 oz),Galaxy (2 oz) - -Hopstand @170F for 20 min
Centennial,Citra,Galaxy - each 1oz Dry Hop - 5 Days

 

[m00ps]

I think most will recommend you take out the crystal malts and add in some cane sugar. I'd also mash lower, it looks like this will be more of an American Strong Ale than an IPA

 

[ss4ivan]

I actually brewed this with all centennial, 1oz at 60, 1 at 20 1 at 1min and 1 Oz dry hop. The crystal was not overpowering...maybe because it attenuated so low? I might reduce it by half because I liked what it added.

 

[ss4ivan]

I don't see why this would be a strong ale as the color is still very light. Maybe bordering on double ipa.

 

[douglasbarbin]

Looks pretty good, only I'd go with half the crystal 40 and replace it with Carapils and wheat. Maybe add some cane sugar if you like your IPAs dry. I also like a smidgen of Victory/biscuit in mine to give it a little complexity.

 

[ss4ivan]

How much biscuit should I use if I just want a hint...maybe 1-2%?

 

[Calder]

I'd halve the crystal, mash 148/150 F, and boil a little longer than 1 minute. I like them dry.

 

[ss4ivan]

Sorry, my mistake...will be boiled for 75 min

 

[douglasbarbin]

How much biscuit should I use if I just want a hint...maybe 1-2%?

My last IPA was (according to BeerSmith):

• Pale ale malt - 81.8%
• White wheat - 10.6%
• Carapils - 3%
• Victory - 3%
• Crystal 40 - 1.5%

It did well in a recent BJCP competition (average score 39, honorable mention for Best-Of-Show) and one of the non-certified judges actually called it "malty for an IPA" (which I disagree with, because I hate malty IPAs and this one was pretty damn good).

I think 1-2% Biscuit/Victory would give some complexity without making it too malty at all.

 

[Owly055]

Everybody is down on crystal these days........ I use less of it, and often none at all, but I've used the kind of percentages you are using before. CR40 is fairly light and has a fair amount of fermentability when mashed. Each crystal offers a bit different flavor profile, and the intensity of those flavors increase with the darker crystals...... and fermentability goes down. A pound of CR75 would be pretty intense..... A pound of CR40, not so much. Consider dark Munich to enhance color and flavor. I personally would probably go 10 pounds 2 row, 3 pounds Munich 20, and 1/4 pound CR60.......... But my IPAs are closer to the traditional English IPA ......... I tend to shoot for about 55 IBUs


H.W.

 

[ss4ivan]

Ive never used Munich so I am not really sure what flavor that it contributes... I might have to do a 1 gallon experiment with it before I commit to a 5 gallon batch.

 

[m00ps]

I find munich too malty for IPAs. I like my IPAs to have a very lean body which accentuates hop character. Munich tends to compete with that for me so I save it for more malt-centric beers

 

[Owly055]

I find munich too malty for IPAs. I like my IPAs to have a very lean body which accentuates hop character. Munich tends to compete with that for me so I save it for more malt-centric beers

Munich will leave it less malty and more crisp than a pound of crystal malt. I made a sort of dunkle recently using all Munich.... Fermented as a lager, it was crisp and clean, and the malt presence was not at all overpowering. The IPA we are talking about obviously does NOT have a "lean body". If you want a "lean body", that would be a very different beer. You might drop some of the base malt and replace it with corn sugar, and you definitely would NOT use a pound of crystal.


H.W.

 

[songe]

I would probably add 120g lemmon grass and 15 g ginger

120g lemmongrass at 10 min, just beat the **** out of it before adding it, and peel the ginger.

and use a lighter crystal. i used 20l in my batch and not galaxy but another hop with the same alpha acid as it. it turned out quite tasty.

mine is actually quite similar to this. but a lighter ibu.

 

[ss4ivan]

lemon grass and ginger sound interesting... Do those flavors come through with that amount of hops? It seems like the hops would overpower those flavors

 

[douglasbarbin]

Lemongrass and ginger are pretty potent

 

[Brew_G]

If you like crystal , then 1 lb of 40 would work just fine - I like the looks of it. You've got lots of hops, so it should really pop. I might not hop it so aggressively, but if that's what you like then I say go with it.

I do agree with comments about mashing slightly lower (maybe 150F, give or take a degree) to help get your FG down some. Other than that, I think it looks pretty good just the way it is.

 

[sandyeggoxj]

Pitching rate? Why are you fermenting for do dan long?

 

[ss4ivan]

pitching as per mr. malty calculator. My lays 2 ipa's finished at 1.006. I usually do a two week primary and a 2 weeks secondary fermentation although my last ipa i did 2 primary and 1 secondary and beer is fantastic... so might stick with that schedule for my lighter beers.

 

[Owly055]

pitching as per mr. malty calculator. My lays 2 ipa's finished at 1.006. I usually do a two week primary and a 2 weeks secondary fermentation although my last ipa i did 2 primary and 1 secondary and beer is fantastic... so might stick with that schedule for my lighter beers.

Wow!! I'm often through primary within 4-5 days, and secondary in around a week, cold crash for about 3 days, bottle condition for about 3 weeks. I'm currently sampling a very green beer.... slightly over 2 weeks since I pitched, and force carbed...... pretty darn green, but I have limited time to develop a recipe and produce a special beer for a wedding.


H.W.