American IPA Lilly Spice: a galaxy and riwaka IPA

[drewmarkwith]

Recipe Type

All Grain

Yeast

US-05

Yeast Starter

rehydrated for 20 min

Batch Size (Gallons)

5

Original Gravity

1.052

Final Gravity

1.010

Boiling Time (Minutes)

60

IBU

138

Color

4.1

Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)

21 days at 168 degrees

Tasting Notes

pending

Grain Bill

10 lbs 2 Row (84.2%)
1 lb white wheat (8.4%)
6 oz Munich (3.2%)
8 oz dextose (4.2%)


Hops:

1 oz Warrior 60 minutes (53 IBU)
2.5 oz Columbus 15 minutes (61 IBU)
1.5 oz Galaxy 10 minutes (24 IBU)
2 oz Galaxy 0 minutes (for 20 minutes then cool to 160)
3 oz Galaxy whirlpool (for 45 minutes at 160)

4 oz Riwaka dry hop for 7 days in primary
1 oz Riwaka dry hop in keg

Water: Poland Springs with 70 ppm sulfate and 198 ppm chloride (forgot to record the exact amount)

This was my 10th batch, and only second attempt at BIAB. Mash at 152 for 60 minutes. Efficiency was garbage, so the dextrose was added to increase ABV.

My goal was an IPA that is dry, minimal malt flavor, citrus forward and a strong lingering bitterness. This would probably be better with some Galaxy in the dry hop but I want to get a handle on how Riwaka performs when dry hopping, so chose to go with that alone.

I will post tasting notes once it is fully carbed in the keg. This is also my first attempt at kegging so will bottle two full growlers in case I screw that up.

 

[drewmarkwith]

So I changed the dry hops from original recipe. I have a ported better bottle which makes it too easy for me to pull samples.

3.5 oz riwaka for 9 days in primary
2 oz citra in keg (added 7 days after transfer into keg)

Tasting notes:
1) at day 2 of dry hopping in primary the flavor from riwaka was great. Lots of fresh citrus, pineapple and grapefruit.
2) After 9 day dry hop (life got in the way) the riwaka dominated with an earthy/spicy flavor that I was not a fan of. I have had grassy flavors from excess length of dry hopping and that was NOT what I was tasting. Some grapefruit in the background. No malt whatsoever (didn't work well here).
3) After waiting 1 week I sampled the kegged beer, which had decent carbonation. Flavor again dominated by spice and earthiness (not the good CTZ dankness) and minimal citrus. Bitterness was strong but smooth and very pleasant.

9 days was far too long for riwaka. Next time using riwaka I would either use for only 3 days, or combine with other dry hops

So I added two ounces of citra to the keg instead of more riwaka and the flavor turned out great.
View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1427300828.807028.jpg

For people looking to use riwaka, I ordered mine at brewshop.co.nz
The date on package was 4/8/14 so anyone wanting to try these hops should start checking their website in early April.

I was able to get some Susan by Hill Farmstead last week and that is made with citra, riwaka and simcoe. I could definitely pick out the riwaka but it was well balanced.
View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1427301690.051375.jpg

In conclusion, riwaka is a unique hop that I will only use in the background for future beers