Tominator IPA (extract)

[tominator]

Hi all! Trying to put together a spicy, aromatic hop bomb. This is version 1 of what I hope to be a work in progress. I'm using BeerSmith 2 to do all the calculations. This will be only my second 'real' beer (having previously used a few Mr. Beer kits). This recipe might be on the predictable side, but it's a good place to start. To be very honest, I haven't read a whole lot of other recipes on this forum so it's verrrry possible that this exact recipe has already been attempted many times. I'm not trying to reinvent the wheel, just want to brew something I'll drink besides spending $9/sixer of Lagunitas IPA or $12 for Dogfish 60!

5 Gallon recipe:
1lb Crystal 40 - steep as normal
8lbs Light DME (or maybe 9lbs LME? - would there be a difference in flavor, or does it make much difference?)
1oz Chinook - boil at 60min (about a half-ounce at once, then rationing the last half-ounce a few pellets at a time until 30min mark - got this idea from this forum!)

Mix these hops and ration for the last 30 minutes:
1oz Chinook - boil at 30min
1oz Cascade - boil at 30min

1oz Cascade - flameout
1oz Cascade - dry hop

OG: 1.071
FG: 1.017
IBU: 56.5
Color: 11.2
7.1% ABV

What for ale yeast? I don't have a lot of experience with yeast so while I want to make a complex ale, I want it to be predictable at this point. It will be a 2-stager: 1 week in primary, then probably 2 weeks in secondary before bottling. I'm not afraid to age this thing awhile to allow it to condition. I know it will need to mellow a bit. Future versions of this Tominator IPA will possible use different Crystal grains, late extract additions, alternate hops, etc.

Any suggestions or critical input is greatly appreciated. Thanks!!!
Tom

 

[Keffa]

Yeast, I'd say 1056/-001/US05 between 60-64 degrees.

Sounds pretty good, although you've got a little too much Crystal in it, IMO. I'd knock it down to .5lbs and up the DME to make up for it.

 

[bobbrews]

My personal preference?...

The hop schedule is much different than what I would do, but if you want to experiment that's cool.

I would recommend a lower FG, more IBUs, and more focus on the dryhop and late additions... especially if this is a partial volume boil. The amount of crystal for a 6 gallon boil / 5 gallon batch is not entirely off base. Though some people might prefer less.

Drink it fresh, not with age. American IPAs are best drunk as fresh as possible. With age, the hops lose focus and malt takes over.

For more complexity than WLP001, but somewhat similar traits, try WLP007 w/starter.

I suggest 2 weeks in primary in low 60s, then 2 weeks in secondary in high 60s.

 

[tominator]

thanks keffa and bobbrews! this is a partial volume boil. i'll extend my primary to 2 weeks (that's what will help decrease the FG, right?). i'm a big fan of the late hop/dry hop idea so definitely i'll put more emphasis there. and i can't possibly resist drinking it fresh "just to try it" lol so it will be interesting to taste it as it ages. i'm resisting changing too much at this point so i'll have a solid standard to build from.

 

[tominator]

does it matter whether i use dme or lme, other than quantity?

 

[tominator]

Alrighty, it's in the primary changed the recipe a bit based on my own flexibility and what my LHBS had in stock (they were out of cascades, no big deal). here's what i ended up doing:

steeped 1lb crystal 40 for 30 minutes at ~160deg. stirred in 8lbs briess brewers gold light DME. bring to a boil. set timer for 60 minutes.

i used pellet hops:

1/2oz cascade (had these left over from previous batch - why not lol)
1oz chinook
1oz citra
1oz centennial

blended all 3 1/2oz of the above hops into a bowl, then divided in half ("A" and "B").

added 1/3 of hops blend A, then continually added a few pellets every minute for 30 minutes. at 30min, added 1/3 of hops blend B, then continually added a few pellets every minute for 30 minutes until timer reached 0.

added 1oz centennial at flameout.

i'm figuring a 2 week primary, but i'll check it after 1 week. i'll be dry-hopping in secondary with 1oz centennial, for 2weeks.

Notes:
8lbs DME took FOREVER to stir in! it's supposed to be easier than all-grain, but based on what a PITA it was to stir in all that DME it's probably worth it to commit to all-grain.

while the wort was busy boiling and i had a moment between adding hops, i rehydrated safale s-04 yeast. this is my 5th brew and the first time my yeast really got moving. very encouraging.

i cooled the wort on the top step of my pool. i started in the sink with an ice bath but i quickly ran out of ice. the pool worked pretty well but this still just took too long - i'll be making my own wort chiller for next time.

actual=SG 1.062. a bit low according to brewsmith. low efficiency on the crystals? or too much water? not enough DME?

24hrs after pitching the yeast, i had a nice enthusiastic bubbling thru the airlock. it was mesmerizing

for steeping the crystal, i used a 5gallon paint straining bag w/elastic band, which was stretched over the top of the kettle. it worked great for the grains! i tried to use it for the hops and seemed to make way more mess in the kettle than it's worth. the hop material would sneak up the sides of the kettle and out of the wort. so, i had to keep scraping it off and spooning it back in. next time i'll just add the pellets directly to the wort.

this was the first time i got to smell Citra hops. they're very strong and to my nose, a bit like bleu cheese, though SHMBO disagreed. sharp, yes. cheesy, no. i hope that's normal and they weren't spoiled. and was there a hint of garlic from the chinooks? once i blended them both with the centennials, the combined aroma was wonderful! we both agreed that the aroma definitely reminded us of varieties of another type of budding flower........

in hindsight, i probably should have used that 1/2oz cascade as a dry-hop along with the cents, but this recipe is made for tweaking and we'll see what happens.

updates in a few days!

many thanks to the advice offered on this board!
Tom

 

[tominator]

o, one more note - after steeping the crystal grains, i lifted the bag and set it into a strainer. then, i sparged with about a half gallon of 170 degree water.

Tom

 

[Keffa]

A chiller is definitely the way to go, but in the meantime, you can help yourself by adding table salt to the water before you add ice. It drops the temperature quicker that just adding the ice. Our first batch we cooled using the bathtub, ice and salt, took about 12 minutes to cool from flameout. With the chiller, it took less than 5 minutes.

As for the aromas, the Citra has never given me the cheesy smell, it's kind of cat pee/green oniony at first and then transforms into tangerines. Never smelled Chinook by itself so no opinion there. Centennial is floral and slightly fruity, and Cascade is just pure floral.

I'm interested to see how this one turns out.

 

[tominator]

Thx for the salt tip. Part of my problem was not having enough ice on hand, too. The chiller is next on the project list. Probably going to prime with some leftover dme. I'll send u a bottle lol

 

[tominator]

Ok 5 days into fermentation, I'm at 1.020, where starting gravity was 1.062. That's a pretty big drop eh? I'll give it til day 7 then I'll run it into secondary. Does it make any sense to leave it in primary longer than a week if fermentation stalls?

I Learned a lesson: I drew a sample thru the spigot, which sucked fluid thru my airlock (duh). Fortunately, I used star-san in the airlock so hopefully I shouldn't have any issues. I figured there would be less risk of contamination if I sampled thru the spigot. Next time I'll either remove the airlock while sampling, or open the bucket.

 

[tominator]

alrighty, fermentation has definitely completed. the wort is no longer sweet and FG is stable at 1.020. so, i transferred into my secondary and dry-hopped with 1oz centennial. i'll let it rest 2 weeks - if i can bear the suspense. while i'm waiting, i'll brew up another experimental batch, just to keep me occupied lol

thanks for reading! any comments are appreciated.

Tom

 

[tominator]

bottled last night! FG was still 1.020 (beersmith predicted 1.017... close enough?). ended up with around 40 bottles worth. after removing the hop sack containing the dry-hop yuck, wife dared me to eat some... so i did it was... interesting lol. anyway, i'll crack one of these in a week and see how it turned out. my next experiment will be to convert this exact recipe to all-grain BIAB and compare. meanwhile, i whipped up a brown porter BIAB that's in primary right now.

thanks again for reading and for the advice!
T

 

[bobbrews]

FG is kinda high for an IPA, but if you overhopped it won't be AS noticeable. I would wait 2 to 2.5 weeks before opening. Any lesser than that, and you'll be drinking hop juice.

 

[tominator]

thx. i guess i can wait i don't think i had a cool enough fermentation, either. next time, i'll keep the fermenter in a bin with ice bottles.

 

[tominator]

Well I sampled one this evening (1 week after bottling) and yeah, hoppy but flat. I refrigerated right after bottling. should I have let them sit for a week before chilling? Or was it right to go directly to refrigerator? If I take them out and let warm up, will it encourage carbonation? Or just let it ride?

 

[Keffa]

Well I sampled one this evening (1 week after bottling) and yeah, hoppy but flat. I refrigerated right after bottling. should I have let them sit for a week before chilling? Or was it right to go directly to refrigerator? If I take them out and let warm up, will it encourage carbonation? Or just let it ride?

The cold could have killed off the yeast, depending on how cold it was, I had the same problem with my IPA.

 

[tominator]

i pulled them out of the refrigerator last night (saturday). i'll let them sit a week or so then i'll chill one down and see what happens. i hope it recovers.

 

[tominator]

Just chilled a bottle and it looks like it has been saved decent carbonation, 1" head on it. a bit hazy, which i expected, but it tasted pretty good - good enough that i have about 48 bottles of homebrew to drink rather than buying commercial beers.

cheers!


T

 

[tominator]

on second tastings - it has a very strong alcohol taste. kinda burns in the throat like a whiskey would, although not nearly as strong. i'm new to this so i'm not positive it's got a problem, but it is very strong. it overpowers all other flavors at the end of the sip.