Noob to AG Brewing, my first stab at an Imperial IPA, thoughts/comments/suggestions??

[williamnave]

Going for a nice Caramelly (It's not a word, it's a feeling) beer underneath with a serious Hop 1-2 punch. A little heavy on the Nugget Hops because I have 4oz staring back at me in the fridge.

The name is with apologies to the Prince of Darkness.


BeerSmith Recipe Printout - http://www.beersmith.com
Recipe: Blizzard of Hopzz
Brewer: Brewhaus 1337
Asst Brewer:
Style: Imperial IPA
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (35.0)

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 5.50 gal
Boil Size: 7.74 gal
Estimated OG: 1.082 SG
Estimated Color: 14.2 SRM
Estimated IBU: 120.7 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00 %
Boil Time: 90 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
14 lbs NW Pale Ale (2.7 SRM) Grain 81.16 %
1 lbs Crystal Malt - 60L (Thomas Fawcett) (60.0 Grain 5.80 %
1 lbs Toasted Malt (27.0 SRM) Grain 5.80 %
8.0 oz Carahell (Weyermann) (13.0 SRM) Grain 2.90 %
8.0 oz Honey Malt (25.0 SRM) Grain 2.90 %
1.00 oz Simcoe [12.70 %] (Dry Hop 21 days) Hops -
1.00 oz Nugget2 [12.00 %] (90 min) Hops 32.0 IBU
1.00 oz Williamette [5.20 %] (Dry Hop 21 days) Hops -
2.00 oz Nugget [12.20 %] (60 min) Hops 60.9 IBU
1.00 oz Williamette [5.20 %] (30 min) Hops 10.0 IBU
1.00 oz Liberty [4.30 %] (20 min) Hops 7.2 IBU
1.00 oz Amarillo2 [8.60 %] (15 min) Hops 10.6 IBU
4.0 oz Turbinado (10.0 SRM) Sugar 1.45 %
1 Pkgs Pac-Man (Wyeast Labs) Yeast-Ale


Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Full Body, Batch Sparge
Total Grain Weight: 17.00 lb
----------------------------
Single Infusion, Full Body, Batch Sparge
Step Time Name Description Step Temp
60 min Mash In Add 21.25 qt of water at 169.4 F 153.0 F

 

[ScrewyBrewer]

I've been drinking some pretty hoppy beers lately even though I never really considered myself to be a hop head. This can happen to you too if you have friends that like really hop forward beers and bring some over for you to try. So with this in mind I set out to brew my very first all grain India Pale Ale and after some intense research on the Internet and recommendations by Joe Bair owner of Princeton Homebrew I came up with the following recipe.

Size 2.13 gallons: Estimated IBU=134, SRM=11, OG=1.070, FG=1.017, ABV=6.8%

5 pounds Marris Otter Malt (UK)
1/8 pound Crystal Malt (40 °L)
1/8 pound Biscuit Malt (Belgium)

1 ounce Saaz hops (first wort hops)
1 ounce Chinook hops (90 mins)
1 ounces Northern Brewer (UK) hops (5 mins)
1 ounce Cascade hops (added when pitching yeast)
1 ounce Cascade hops (dry hop in secondary for 7 days)

1 Pack Wyeast 1968 (London ESB), smacked the night before to activate

Aerate, pitch at 70°F and ferment at 66°F for 19 days
Raise to 70°F over days 20 to 21 then rack to secondary fermenter
Cold condition secondary fermenter for 1 week at 34°F
Keg at 30psi for 5-7 days and serve at 34°F

Directions:
** Infusion mash at 150°F for 60 minutes **
Heat 16 quarts of filtered water to 170°F
Soak mash tun in 8 quarts of 180F water for 20 minutes to preheat it
Pour 8 quarts of 170°F water into mash tun
Mix in 5.25 pounds of crushed grain mix at 60°F
Pour the 170°F water to fill mash tun to 2.50 gallon mark
Stir water and grain mixture and adjust to 150°F and mash for 60 minutes
Sparge with 170°F strike water to set mash bed to 168°F
Add 1 ounce of Saaz hops to boil pot as first wort hop addition
Lauter for 30 minutes adding 11.5 quarts of sweet wort to the boil pot

Full Wort Boil:
Add 1 ounce Chinook hops with 60 minutes remaining to boil
Add 1/8 tablet WhirlFloc with 9 minutes remaining to boil
Add 1 ounce Northern Brewer (UK) hops with 5 minutes minutes remaining to boil
Use Screwy's Cooler wort chiller to cool wort to 70°F

Primary Fermentation:
Pour wort through strainer to remove excess hop and grain debris
Fill the Mr. Beer fermenter with wort to the 8.5 quart mark
Aerate wort and pitch 1 package of Wyeast 1968 (London ESB) at 62°F
Add sanitized hop sack with 1 ounce of Cascade hops and marbles to fermenter
Ferment at 66°F for 19 days, raise to 70°F over days 20 to 21 for rest

Secondary Fermentation:
Rack to secondary fermenter and add 1 ounce of Cascade hops in sanitized muslin sack
Cold condition secondary fermenter for 1 week at 34°F

Keg/Bottle:
Keg and force carbonate at 30psi for 5-7 days at 34°F
Bottle prime and carbonate at 70° for 7-14 days

 

[a_w_taylor]

Curious as to why you chose 1968?

 

[williamnave]

I have 1968 as my other house strain, in fact it's fermenting a batch of London-style ESB right now.

I went with Pac-Man on my IIPA because I want a drier quality to it, and the Pac-Man is insane when it comes to attenuation.

 

[Yooper]

That recipe looks like it'll make a "thick" beer with too much crystal and honey malt.

I'd get rid of at least half of the crystal, probably all of the honey malt, sub in some corn sugar, and mash at 149.

I'm not sure how to get a nice "carmelly" flavor in an IIPA without too much body, so I may be way out to lunch on what you're looking for. That's just my opinion- too much crystal doesn't give carmel flavor, but it gives tons of body and some sweetness which is really out of place in an IIPA.

 

[williamnave]

Yeah Yooper, I know what you're saying. I was looking at it and thinking it looks tasty, but maybe just bulk all those malts, 1/2 the hops and make barleywine!!

According to BeerSmith BJPC I'm on the bleeding edge as far as both IBU's and SRM. I could honestly care less about going a little over on IBU as long as I get the flavor I'm after, but I want a nice, crisp, dry IPA body under the hops. I was using those specialty malts hoping to get nice foam/head/color, and hoping the PM yeast would dry it up enough to make it work.

Never brewed with corn sugar, thought that stuff was just for bottling....

 

[Yooper]

Yeah Yooper, I know what you're saying. I was looking at it and thinking it looks tasty, but maybe just bulk all those malts, 1/2 the hops and make barleywine!!

According to BeerSmith BJPC I'm on the bleeding edge as far as both IBU's and SRM. I could honestly care less about going a little over on IBU as long as I get the flavor I'm after, but I want a nice, crisp, dry IPA body under the hops. I was using those specialty malts hoping to get nice foam/head/color, and hoping the PM yeast would dry it up enough to make it work.

Never brewed with corn sugar, thought that stuff was just for bottling....

The recipe you posted would make a nice barley wine with a few less hops. I think you're on the right track there.

Corn sugar (and candi sugar) are great tools for bigger beers. In a beer like a Belgian triple, you want a high OG but a thin bodied beer. Candi sugar or corn sugar are great in that instance. Also, for IIPAs because they boost up the OG without the body of the malt. Many of the best IIPAs will use some, so that they get a clean crisp finish instead of malt sweetness and a heavier body.

I don't recommend dumping corn sugar in all beers at all! Just in a couple of instances that I mentioned.

If you go lower on the crystal malt and honey malt, you may not need the sugar. I'd mash at 149 and use the pacman yeast like you've got.

An IIPA should be drinkable, and not "thick" or syrupy. You want to get full attenuation.

 

[williamnave]

Yooper, your avatar inclines me to obey.

 

[Yooper]

Yooper, your avatar inclines me to obey.

Well, then it works!

 

[williamnave]

LOL. Yes ma'am :cross:

Went back to the drawing board (saved other recipe for further tinkering and Barleywine project)

BeerSmith Recipe Printout - http://www.beersmith.com
Recipe: Blizzard of Hopzz
Brewer: Brewhaus 1337
Asst Brewer:
Style: Imperial IPA
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (35.0)

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 5.50 gal
Boil Size: 7.19 gal
Estimated OG: 1.089 SG
Estimated Color: 11.2 SRM
Estimated IBU: 109.5 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 72.00 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
15 lbs NW Pale Ale (2.7 SRM) Grain 81.08 %
1 lbs Toasted Malt (27.0 SRM) Grain 5.41 %
8.0 oz Carahell (Weyermann) (13.0 SRM) Grain 2.70 %
8.0 oz Crystal Malt - 60L (Thomas Fawcett) (60.0 Grain 2.70 %
1.00 oz Simcoe [12.70 %] (Dry Hop 21 days) Hops -
1.00 oz Williamette [5.20 %] (Dry Hop 21 days) Hops -
1.00 oz Nugget2 [12.00 %] (90 min) Hops 29.0 IBU
2.00 oz Nugget [12.20 %] (60 min) Hops 55.2 IBU
1.00 oz Williamette [5.20 %] (30 min) Hops 9.0 IBU
1.00 oz Liberty [4.30 %] (20 min) Hops 6.5 IBU
1.00 oz Amarillo2 [8.60 %] (15 min) Hops 9.7 IBU
1 lbs 8.0 oz Corn Sugar (Dextrose) (0.0 SRM) Sugar 8.11 %
5.50 gal Eugene, OR Water
1 Pkgs Pac-Man (Wyeast Labs) Yeast-Ale


Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Full Body, Batch Sparge
Total Grain Weight: 17.00 lb
----------------------------
Single Infusion, Full Body, Batch Sparge
Step Time Name Description Step Temp
45 min Mash In Add 21.25 qt of water at 175.4 F 158.0 F