BluesNBrews
Active Member
I was excited to see an article in the most recent BYO magazine highlighting some popular beers from Vermont breweries. I had a chance to visit the Alchemist brewpub before they closed after Hurricane Irene in 2011, so thought I would try brewing one of the two clone recipes from the article.
I'm concerned that the amount of hops the recipe calls for during the boil is not enough to generate the listed or targeted IBUs.
The Heady Topper recipe calls for only about 1/2 oz. of high alpha hops during the full boil, 1 oz. at 30 mins, and over 10 oz. added during flameout and during dry hopping. The recipe says the beer should come in at 100+ IBUs. Although I lack experience, it does not seem like enough to offset over 16 lbs. of grain/sugar and still be bitter.
The second Alchemist clone recipe in the article follows a similar hopping schedule during the boil.
I'd appreciate any thoughts the group has regarding what I should expect from a recipe like this. I'm sure if it's published, it will be on the mark, but I don't understand why.
Thank you, cheers.
I'm concerned that the amount of hops the recipe calls for during the boil is not enough to generate the listed or targeted IBUs.
The Heady Topper recipe calls for only about 1/2 oz. of high alpha hops during the full boil, 1 oz. at 30 mins, and over 10 oz. added during flameout and during dry hopping. The recipe says the beer should come in at 100+ IBUs. Although I lack experience, it does not seem like enough to offset over 16 lbs. of grain/sugar and still be bitter.
The second Alchemist clone recipe in the article follows a similar hopping schedule during the boil.
I'd appreciate any thoughts the group has regarding what I should expect from a recipe like this. I'm sure if it's published, it will be on the mark, but I don't understand why.
Thank you, cheers.