Single Hop IPA experiment

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desabat

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I will be brewing over the next few days 4 single hop IPAs with Amarillo, Columbus, Centennial and Cascade(of which I have a pound of each). I haven't brewed an IPA since I started in all grain so I want to get the malt bill correct (malt bill will be identical for all 4 beers). So I wanted some input on the recipe I will be using for the different hops. I would post my results for anyone that's interested.

This is my first brew of the four I will be making later today:

Amarillo Single Hop
Method: All Grain
Style: American IPA
Boil Time: 45 min
Batch Size: 5.5 gallons (fermentor volume)
Boil Size: 6.5 gallons
Efficiency: 75% (brew house)
1.052 OG
1.008 FG
5.71% ABV
51.12 IBUs
4.26 SRM
Fermentables
Amount Fermentable
7. lb American - Pale 2-Row
1.25 lb American - Vienna
0.25 lb American - Carapils (Dextrine Malt)
0.25 lb American - Caramel / Crystal 20L
11 lb Total
Hops
1.25 @30minutes
.5 @10
.5 @5
1.25 @0
1.5 whirlpool @165

Are the hop additions too much? I really want to get the most flavor/aroma out of each of these beers.
 
Interesting.

I bought a 12 pack of the Sam Adams Latitude 48 break down hops sampler last year. To tell the truth these 71 year old taste buds could not tell the difference. The one w/all 5 hops tasted the same as any of the single hop brews. But they all tasted GREAT so I was happy.
 
Unless you're going for a DIPA just up your base grains and leave the sugar out to hit your desired OG. Also leave the carapils out.

I'd just consolidate the whirlpool additions to 1-1.5oz at flameout. Seems excessive to do first wort hops and 2 hopstands. Maybe trade one for the other.

Also 21 Day Dry hop seems extra long, If you want to do a double dry hop i'd do 4-7 days for dry hop one and the same for #2 for a total of 8-14 days.

But f-it, do it however you want and let us know how it comes out!
 
It all depends on what you mean by flavor... Do you like your IPA's bitter or do you like the fruity flavors and aromas you get from late addition hops? Earlier hops additions will give you more bitter...except for the FWH...that will dull your bitterness a bit. but 60 and 45 minute additions will give you pretty much the same thing. Your late addition hops are going to add more fruity flavors and aroma to your IPA. Your hop stands and dry hopping schedule will help alot with that.
 
Im with ss4ivan. If you are wanting bitter, combine the FWH and 45min addition to a single 60min addition. I would also combine your two whirlpools into one. 2.5oz whirlpool for 30 min would be a good flavor contribution. If you desire a smoother bitterness, then take your 45min and add it to your FWH addition.

As for the dryhop, you can start your first round as soon as the krausen starts to fall. 7 Days after, you can add your second dose. Then package at day 14. I wouldnt recommend going past 14 days on dryhopping, but to each their own.

I think your grainbill looks fine. Its not overwhelmed by crystal malts. The 1lb of corn sugar will help achieve a good, low FG which most people enjoy in an IPA. It really lets the hops stand out.

On a side note, what type of water will you be using?
 
I've done a few single hop IPAs Centennial, chinook, warrior and citra. Centennial was my favorite, but I do like me some Bells Two Hearted Ale. I personally would find a clone recipe for Two Hearted Ale and sub out your hops accordingly.
 
I brewed the Amarillo IPA last night, was up till 2 AM on this one but everything went ok. I changed the malt bill taking into consideration the feedback you gave me, lowering the dextrine and eliminating the sugar. Due to grain limitations however I changed the recipe to be a session ipa of 1.044. The good news is my BIAB efficiency went up to 79% and finished at 1.052.

This beer has 5 oz of hops in a 30 minute boil and I kept the IBU at around OG (I'll update the recipe in the OP later).

I just pitched the US 05 packet into the fermenter and woke up 5 hours later to head to work and didn't see any activity yet, hopefully it'll be bubbling when I get back.

I'm gonna brew these four batches within a two week time frame and hopefully be able to do some blind tasting with them and learn to identify each hop.
 
Sounds like it should be a great brew. Just a suggestion, but if you would like to save some time and still learn about hops and the characteristics they add to beer, I am a big fan of the 15 pale ale. Just sub out your hops. Link below. It is all extract but only requires a 15 boil. It uses lots of hops and turns out a damn good beer for the amount of time involved.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=210253
 
you could also identify commerical beers that are one-hop beers. Gumball head from three floyds is 100% amarillo and Bell's Two Hearted is 100% centennial, for instance
 
Some IPA recipes I've seen use just Pilsner Malt because it allows the distinctness of the hops to show through.

I haven't dried brewing one yet, but I do plan on doing one soon with Falconer's Flight.
 
airbrett said:
Some IPA recipes I've seen use just Pilsner Malt because it allows the distinctness of the hops to show through.

I haven't dried brewing one yet, but I do plan on doing one soon with Falconer's Flight.
Click to expand...

I tell you what, my American Wheat uses 50/50 pils to wheat, and I use a good amount of Motueka (inspired by Half Acre Akari Shogun) and I was really impressed on how well the hops came through more with pils than 2 row.
 
m00ps said:
you could also identify commerical beers that are one-hop beers. Gumball head from three floyds is 100% amarillo and Bell's Two Hearted is 100% centennial, for instance
Click to expand...
two hearted is one of my favorites and my maltbill is similar to the clone posted in the recipe section so it should come out like a sessionable two hearted, even though two hearted is pretty sessionable for me already imo :mug:

Never tried gumbalhead before but looks interesting, a sessionable hop monster is what im hoping comes out from my beers.
 
airbrett said:
Some IPA recipes I've seen use just Pilsner Malt because it allows the distinctness of the hops to show through.

I haven't dried brewing one yet, but I do plan on doing one soon with Falconer's Flight.
Click to expand...

Is it really single hopped if you are using Falconer's Flight?
 
yeah falconers flight is a proprietary blend reported to contain many of the typical "C" hops (centennial cascade columbus chinook citra) as well as a few lesser known hops like sorachi ace and some experimental ones. Altough Im thinking these "experimental" ones have likely been released by now under an actual name since this blend has been around for a few years
 
Well, just to throw my two cents in, I think OP's recipe looks good. As other folks have mentioned, you could make a tweak here or there depending on whether you want this or that -- do you drop the carapils for less body, or do you keep it in to counteract a bit of the corn sugar's effects? Do you do a 60 min bittering, or all FWH, or leave it as is? Etc... But I think you'll be happy with it as you have it written, too. The changes that have been suggested will ultimately only make small differences (not that you can't tweak the a recipe, but I think for now you don't need to make changes. It's not like you had a pound of black patent in there or something major like that). I'm looking forward to hearing/seeing the results!

Edit: Just realized that you already brewed your first round of this, so my two cents is a bit late. Carry on!
 
There's a hop utilization chart that shows the peak time for flavor is around 21 mins and the peak time for aroma is around 7 mins. I have changed my hop schedules to reflect that. I cannot seem to find an imagine I can link from my phone.

My last IPA (black) targeted 104 IBUs using 1/2 oz Columbus @70 mins, 1/2 oz Columbus with 2 oz Centennial @21 and 7 mins, 1/2 oz Columbus with 4 oz of Centennial for a 28 min whirlpool, and 2 oz of Centennial for both a 3 and 7 day dry hop in what ended up a 6.6% ABV beer. What a Hop Monster!!! And it was not bitter as I had been warned about long ago when I asked about higher IBU levels.
 
rodwha said:
I'm curious why a few of you recommended that he ditch the carapils.
Click to expand...

Many of us do not use Carapils at all........ It's a relatively useless ingredient, adding some unfermentable sugars to increase body...... something that can be accomplished easily by playing with mash temperature. Using sugar as a fermentable (which is fine) and then adding carapils to add body is about the same thing as using more 2 row or pilsner. malt. Sugar ups the alcohol but adds nothing else. I frequently add sugar when I want a light pilsner type beer but don't want to mess with pilsner malt. It's the same sort of redundancy as as overdrive in a vehicle......... gear up just to gear back down at the rear axle..... pointless.

I looked at the hop schedule and had to ask "why"...... Why two different late additions, two different whirlpool additions and two different dry hops??? To me it looks like complexity for it's own sake. I like hops..... and frequently use a LOT of late addition and whirlpool hops, occasionally dry hops, and often nothing before the 15 minute mark... or just a bit of summit or magnum early on to compensate for all other additions being very late in the boil........ I'd never consider doing a hop bill like this. Each addition should have some reason or logic behind it.......... there may be, but I don't see it.

H.W.
 
Owly055 said:
Many of us do not use Carapils at all........ It's a relatively useless ingredient, adding some unfermentable sugars to increase body...... something that can be accomplished easily by playing with mash temperature. Using sugar as a fermentable (which is fine) and then adding carapils to add body is about the same thing as using more 2 row or pilsner. malt. Sugar ups the alcohol but adds nothing else. I frequently add sugar when I want a light pilsner type beer but don't want to mess with pilsner malt. It's the same sort of redundancy as as overdrive in a vehicle......... gear up just to gear back down at the rear axle..... pointless.

I looked at the hop schedule and had to ask "why"...... Why two different late additions, two different whirlpool additions and two different dry hops??? To me it looks like complexity for it's own sake. I like hops..... and frequently use a LOT of late addition and whirlpool hops, occasionally dry hops, and often nothing before the 15 minute mark... or just a bit of summit or magnum early on to compensate for all other additions being very late in the boil........ I'd never consider doing a hop bill like this. Each addition should have some reason or logic behind it.......... there may be, but I don't see it.

H.W.
Click to expand...

I havent updated the recipe yet but my hop schedule didn't come out as complicated on brew day. But to each their own in terms of how formulate their own recipe. I asked for input in the OP as I have never done an IPA recipe before and was going simply by information provided on this forum and other websites. Why two different late additions? Supposedly it develops a more complex flavor profile which is something I'm trying to observe with making these beers.
Why two different whirlpool additions? I wanted to test whirpool at different temperatures to test if certain hop oils dissolve at your normal flameout additions.
Why two different dry hop additions? Testing to see if in fact it does create a more complex aroma as ive read online as well as test if aroma last longer in storage.
You don't have to agree with me but this is my experiment to share with those who are interested.
 
desabat said:
I havent updated the recipe yet but my hop schedule didn't come out as complicated on brew day. But to each their own in terms of how formulate their own recipe. I asked for input in the OP as I have never done an IPA recipe before and was going simply by information provided on this forum and other websites. Why two different late additions? Supposedly it develops a more complex flavor profile which is something I'm trying to observe with making these beers.
Why two different whirlpool additions? I wanted to test whirpool at different temperatures to test if certain hop oils dissolve at your normal flameout additions.
Why two different dry hop additions? Testing to see if in fact it does create a more complex aroma as ive read online as well as test if aroma last longer in storage.
You don't have to agree with me but this is my experiment to share with those who are interested.
Click to expand...

As you said, you asked for comment............. Please do not take the comments personally. Without a "control" brew for comparison it's impossible to evaluate the actual benefits (if any). You are trying to do too many things at once to be able to evaluate the benefits of any of them. For example the whirlpool additions...... How will you know what one or the other contributed... if anything. To really evaluate accurately, nearly identical brews are needed.... one with one whirlpool, one with the other, and one with both.....The same is true of your late additions, and your dry hop additions additions. It takes many batches with small different variations to really be able to evaluate the results and decide what is worthwhile and what is a waste of time...... You learn nothing from the scatter gun approach.

Like yourself, I'm a fairly new all grain brewer. I've only been doing all grain brewing for a year and a half, and did brew #82 yesterday .............. I have a LOT to learn. Brew 82 was a minor variant of a brew I really like, incorporating a few change in the hop schedule, and the grain bill in an attempt to take it to "the next level"....... I try to evaluate what each hop and each grain contributes, and when and how to add hops to get the result I want.......... From that I'm gradually learning how to brew what I like....... consistently

H.W.
 
Owly055 said:
As you said, you asked for comment............. Please do not take the comments personally. Without a "control" brew for comparison it's impossible to evaluate the actual benefits (if any). You are trying to do too many things at once to be able to evaluate the benefits of any of them. For example the whirlpool additions...... How will you know what one or the other contributed... if anything. To really evaluate accurately, nearly identical brews are needed.... one with one whirlpool, one with the other, and one with both.....The same is true of your late additions, and your dry hop additions additions. It takes many batches with small different variations to really be able to evaluate the results and decide what is worthwhile and what is a waste of time...... You learn nothing from the scatter gun approach.

Like yourself, I'm a fairly new all grain brewer. I've only been doing all grain brewing for a year and a half, and did brew #82 yesterday .............. I have a LOT to learn. Brew 82 was a minor variant of a brew I really like, incorporating a few change in the hop schedule, and the grain bill in an attempt to take it to "the next level"....... I try to evaluate what each hop and each grain contributes, and when and how to add hops to get the result I want.......... From that I'm gradually learning how to brew what I like....... consistently

H.W.
Click to expand...

Im doing these single hop brews with the primary purpose of evaluating the characteristics of each hop individually. When I finish these I can go back and use normal hop quantities and compare how long the perceived flavors lasted with both quantities. Plus what's wrong with going a little crazy with hops if its for data. That is about as much as I want to achieve with this.

In the actual brew I used one whirpool addition, one flame out, one at ten and at 5, with a 30 minute boil and bittering addition.
 
desabat said:
Im doing these single hop brews with the primary purpose of evaluating the characteristics of each hop individually. When I finish these I can go back and use normal hop quantities and compare how long the perceived flavors lasted with both quantities. Plus what's wrong with going a little crazy with hops if its for data. That is about as much as I want to achieve with this.

In the actual brew I used one whirpool addition, one flame out, one at ten and at 5, with a 30 minute boil and bittering addition.
Click to expand...

If the goal is to evaluate the hop flavor & bittering characteristics as a reference for future beers, the most simple grist & hop schedule will give you the best reference point. They would not have to necessarily HAVE to be IPA's either.

Just one guy's opinion but I would do the following for each batch...

Maris Otter base & shoot for a OG in the mid 1.050's. Mash around 152-153 for 60 minutes... FG of 1.012-1.014

As for the hop schedule...

60 minute bittering, 25-35 IBU
15 minute flavoring addition of 1-1.5 oz depending on AA% of each hop type.
0 minute whirlpool addition of 2 oz. If you can hold the temp around 175 for 30 minutes or so, the better.

Dry hop of 1 oz for 7 days.

This will get you in the neighborhood of 40-50 IBU Pale Ale.

Ferment with a clean, dry yeast. I'd use Safale SO5 because it is cheap, attenuates well & leaves a clean, neutral taste profile. 1 sachet per each batch...
 
cantrell00 said:
If the goal is to evaluate the hop flavor & bittering characteristics as a reference for future beers, the most simple grist & hop schedule will give you the best reference point. They would not have to necessarily HAVE to be IPA's either.

Just one guy's opinion but I would do the following for each batch...

Maris Otter base & shoot for a OG in the mid 1.050's. Mash around 152-153 for 60 minutes... FG of 1.012-1.014

As for the hop schedule...

60 minute bittering, 25-35 IBU
15 minute flavoring addition of 1-1.5 oz depending on AA% of each hop type.
0 minute whirlpool addition of 2 oz. If you can hold the temp around 175 for 30 minutes or so, the better.

Dry hop of 1 oz for 7 days.

This will get you in the neighborhood of 40-50 IBU Pale Ale.

Ferment with a clean, dry yeast. I'd use Safale SO5 because it is cheap, attenuates well & leaves a clean, neutral taste profile. 1 sachet per each batch...
Click to expand...

That's basically what I did but with 7lbs two row and 1.25 Viena, .25 crystal 20 and .25 carapils. It gave me an OG of 1.52 and my ibus should be around 50 as well. I plan to dry hop for 7 days as soon as krausen falls then bottle. But I'm not sure if I should do that or just wait for it to fully attenuate, then cold crash, then dry hop.
 
desabat said:
Im doing these single hop brews with the primary purpose of evaluating the characteristics of each hop individually. When I finish these I can go back and use normal hop quantities and compare how long the perceived flavors lasted with both quantities. Plus what's wrong with going a little crazy with hops if its for data. That is about as much as I want to achieve with this.

In the actual brew I used one whirpool addition, one flame out, one at ten and at 5, with a 30 minute boil and bittering addition.
Click to expand...

I do a lot of single hop beers for the same reason......... When I do, I usually use a lot of hops also...... I've used as much as 3 ounces in a 2.5 gallon brew a number of times. Ultimately it isn't very economical........ the important thing (to me), is to determine when and how much to add to get the effect I want. I often do things like using a hop not normally thought of as a flavor and aroma hop for flavor and aroma, or bittering with large quantities of a low AA hop when building a single hop brew. I find some interesting things this way, but more often than not, I use something like Summit or Magnum for bittering, small quantities early in the boil, so I can really throw the flavor and aroma hops at near the end of the boil... Often 5 minutes or less. I often whirlpool, but rarely dry hop. I would love to have a hopback and a pump to feed it, but as use pellets almost exclusively, it wouldn't be practical.



H.W.
 
Subbed.

The original recipe is edited, right? I see folks knocking corn sugar, but I do not find corn sugar in your current recipe.

I am trying something similar in my brews. I'll have the same grain and yeast for each one, and try hop variations. My difference is that I am not doing any single hop brews.
 
Owly: I use carapils/carafoam/flaked barley/wheat as I often have head retention issues. It's why it was recommended to me.

I'm assuming your comment about late additions was directed at me as well. There is but one whirlpool addition, and I did 2 separate dry hops as I read some feel a short dry hop is better and some feel a longer one is better. People's opinions greatly differ with many things hopping, including dry hopping so I figured I'd try a bit of both (I used to do 14 day dry hops).
 
Brewing the centennial one right now. This one is a 2.5 gallon batch but I hit the same targets as the last batch so everything good so far. Centennial and Amarillo at first smelled similar but the aroma is definitely throwing a lemony citrus different from citrus aroma from the amarillo. Centennial has a deep spicy/floral character while I thought amarillo was slightly more pungent/stronger hop aroma.
 
My understanding is that carapils, along with carafoam, help with head retention, something my beers have often suffered from. And so I use it or wheat or flaked barley in most of my beers. I've not read that a higher mash temp will help. Am I wrong?
 
rodwha said:
My understanding is that carapils, along with carafoam, help with head retention, something my beers have often suffered from. And so I use it or wheat or flaked barley in most of my beers. I've not read that a higher mash temp will help. Am I wrong?
Click to expand...

No, you're right, and that's the same reason I include some Carafoam (same thing) in virtually all of my own recipes, too. I'm a sucker for some nice lacing on my glass. Makes me feel classy. :)
 
It's not a huge deal for me personally, but I hate handing a beer that the head fizzles out on in two minutes. And I'd certainly prefer it to be right anyway.
 
Oh, and the way I understand the whirlpool and temperature is that at the higher end it adds more of a flavor, whereas at the lower end it adds more of an aroma. If this is true I can understand using two whirlpools. But I've only barely jumped into doing one myself and am not even sure that those who spoke about knew exactly what was going on.
 
rodwha said:
Oh, and the way I understand the whirlpool and temperature is that at the higher end it adds more of a flavor, whereas at the lower end it adds more of an aroma. If this is true I can understand using two whirlpools. But I've only barely jumped into doing one myself and am not even sure that those who spoke about knew exactly what was going on.
Click to expand...

It contributes both. Boiling temps impart bitterness
 
Doing the columbus single hop right now. I had a hold up with available fermenters but got some new ones so I'll knock these other two batches (Columbus, Cascade) in the next few days. Meanwhile the Amarillo and Centennial are ready for dry hopping for a week and bottling.
 
I will defintely post pics. I plan on doing a blind tasting and ranking them in order of preference and give my tasting notes. I will get other people to do tastings as well.

Edit: This was my first time using columbus. I have read how "herbal" it smells and I have to say the description is spot on. The pellets didn't smell as potent as the amarillo or even the centennial but once they hit the kettle they bursted huge resin aroma at first followed by a mild citrus and herbal quality. First impression is that this hop would go well with any of the more potent citrus hops I hope it stands out well by its own too. From what I've read people do like the taste of columbus in single hop ipa so Im confident it will turn out good.

I didnt stir the mash enough on this batch and my efficiency dipped a little to 1.046. It was either that or that I got the grains from a different lhbs (some grains weren't cracked). The last batches i've usually stirred the mash at 15 min intervals and gotten consistent results at 77-79 % efficiency. The other ones are at 1.052.
 

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