Session English-ish IPA Recipe Critique

[NorthwestBrewman2013]

Hey Everyone. I'm going to be potentially brewing a Grapefruit flavor based Session IPA tomorrow AM. But, with one twist, I'll be using US-04 instead of my go to 05. Was looking for some critique on my recipe to see if there was anything that I may need to tweak.

Mash at 152 for 60 minutes

9lbs - 2row
1lbs - Vienna
2oz - Black Malt (only for color purposes)
1.5lbs - Cane Sugar ( at 10 left in boil)

0.5oz CTZ at FWH
1oz Dried Grapefruit Peel at 15
1oz Cascade and 0.5oz Chinook at 10
1.3oz Cascade and 0.5oz Chinook at 5
1oz Cascade at Flameout

Dry Hop with 2oz Cascade and 1oz Chinook for 5 days

US-04 yeast

I'm unsure about using a fining agent during the boil? I don't mind the haze but there is something to be said about a crystal clear beer being poured out the tap. Thanks for the help!

 

[jerbrew]

What's your batch size/expected efficiency? 10 pounds of base malt and 1.5lbs of cane sugar seems like a lot for a 5 gallon batch to be a session beer. I'd just get rid of the sugar all together. I use it in a double IPA to drive the FG down a bit (get more booze) but an IPA specifically a Session IPA doesn't need it it'll end up too "thin" vs just using base malt to get your desired OG.

Can't comment on the grapefruit but you could simplify the hop schedule by moving the 5 minute addition to FO. You're not going to get anything out of having both of those. This is a personal preference so Take it FWIW if you're trying to get flavor out of the 10 min hops move them back to 15. I find that 15-20 minute additions will add flavor (some will disagree) that you wont get in a FO (unless its a huge flameout and then I'm still not convinced) but 10 will just kind of leave you with less bang for your buck. Essentially, I find anything less then 15 should go into the FO.

Other than personal preference it looks like a tasty beer just maybe not a session.

I've moved on to using WLP007 as my go to yeast and love what it does to my IPA vs the good ol' Chico strain. I think you'll enjoy the s-04 in there.

 

[Raoul_Duke_PhD]

Why all the sugar?

I always add a little wheat malt or dextrine for mouthfeel/body. You can use whirfloc tablets during the boil. Add it around 15 minutes left.

 

[NorthwestBrewman2013]

It's a 5 gallon batch (to carboy). My efficiency can swing from about 65% to 70% depending on style. I know that 04 finishes off a little high. So I wanted my OG to be a bit higher and didn't want to pay more for grains. I'm basically doing this batch for about $22 total. My goal is to get a great tasting low ABV IPA at a smaller cost. Sugar seemed like a good addition based off of prior beers I've done.

As for the hop additions I think you may be right. For some reason I've gotten into this kick that utilizing hops without boiling is a waste. No idea where that came from. But, the IBU calculations on this came out to approximately 55 from what I put in. Right where I want it to be.

The grapefruit seemed like a neat add as well. Never used it before but thought why not. It'll probably pair well with the Chinook and Cascade.

Thanks for the comments!

 

[NorthwestBrewman2013]

I made some corrections based off of the comments above. I cut the Sugar addition to 0.5lbs and added the 5 minute hop addition to flameout. Great ideas and should help the overall beer even more.

Mash at 152 for 60 minutes

9lbs - 2row
1lbs - Vienna
2oz - Black Malt (only for color purposes)
0.5lbs - Cane Sugar ( at 10 left in boil)

0.5oz CTZ at FWH
1oz Dried Grapefruit Peel at 15
1oz Cascade and 0.5oz Chinook at 10
2.3oz Cascade and 0.5oz Chinook at Flameout

Dry Hop with 2oz Cascade and 1oz Chinook for 5 days

US-04 yeast

 

[Calder]

Looks good. Two comments:

Recipe looks OK for a session if you only get 70% efficiency. You probably need to look into your process. If I get 80%, I feel like I have been left sugars in the tun. I usually get ~85%, any batch I get 80 or less I take a hard look at what I did, to ensure my process is not changing. Maybe you are at entitlement, but many people get better.

FWH hops seem to give a mild bitterness in my experience. I usually dial them in as 30 minute hops in my calculator, to get a reasonable representation of their actual bitterness. I think you should consider doubling your FWH hops.

 

[NorthwestBrewman2013]

Looks good. Two comments:

Recipe looks OK for a session if you only get 70% efficiency. You probably need to look into your process. If I get 80%, I feel like I have been left sugars in the tun. I usually get ~85%, any batch I get 80 or less I take a hard look at what I did, to ensure my process is not changing. Maybe you are at entitlement, but many people get better.

FWH hops seem to give a mild bitterness in my experience. I usually dial them in as 30 minute hops in my calculator, to get a reasonable representation of their actual bitterness. I think you should consider doubling your FWH hops.

I hit my target Pre-Boil gravity yesterday of 1.040 and collected 6.5 gallons of wort into the kettle. I boiled for 60 and was left with 4.5 gallons of wort into the fermenter. I topped it off with 1/2gallon of water due to my gravity being a touch over the expected 1.051 (it was actually 1.057 before adding the top up water). So, my efficiency was exactly what I hoped at 70%. My system can be finicky at times so it was nice to know that I hit my targets.

The Hydrometer sample was amazing. SUPER citrusy, a little dank, and a dark gold/brown color. I tend to like the FWH because it adds bitterness without the bite. I've actually exclusively been FWH on all my ales for about a year. Exactly what I was looking for. Pitched the dry packet of US-04 yeast and it was bubbling away within three hours of pitch.

More to come. I'll try and post a pic of the final product and some tasting notes for those who are interested.

 

[NorthwestBrewman2013]

I dry hopped with 3oz Cascade and 1oz Chinook for 4 days and then kegged. It's been on CO2 for two weeks now and I have to say it's very good. Big grapefruit bitterness bite at the beginning and a smooth/sweet grapefruit aftertaste. Alcohol came in at just about 5%. Surprisingly the body is not thin at all either.

The only thing I would tweak is changing the FWH to a hop that has a little less harsh bittering. Maybe Nugget that's a little more clean? Thoughts would be appreciated. Adding the Black Malt was a little overkill as well. The color would have been amazing without it. Also, I'd probably add the grapefruit peel a little later in the boil to tone down the grapefruit flavor and get more aroma from the peels.

Clarity is money. Super clear and a bright white head that lingers in the pint glass.

Been getting good reviews from friends and family. Brew on!

 

[Raoul_Duke_PhD]

I always use Magnum if I want a nice, clean bittering charge.