West Coast IPA thoughts

[Robinsonrx]

I'm planning on brewing my first original West Coast style IPA. I just wanted to get some feedback/advice. Let me know what you think.

OG: 1.061
FG: 1.014
ABV: 6.03%
IBU: 63.7

13 lbs 2-row
1 lb light Munich

.25 oz Chinook @ 60 mins
.25 oz Chinook, Cascade, Columbus @ 20 mins, 15 mins, 10 mins, 5 mins
1 oz Chinook, Cascade, Columbus dry hop 7 days
1 oz Chinook, Cascade, Columbus dry hop 3 days

Wyeast American Ale 1056

Water chemistry
Sulfate:Chloride 3:1

 

[thehaze]

The grainbill is simple and will work well. The OG and FG are both too high. I like them drier and crisper. An FG of 1.008-1.1010 will work better, which means your OG can drop to 1.055 ( less grains to be used ).

The hopping schedule looks OK, albeit very low on hops. I recommend including a whirlpool at a lower temperature and adding some hops at flameout as well. Your dry hopping is OK at 6 oz in total, if I understand the recipe correctly, but I can't say I am a fan of dry hopping for 7-10 days. That just too much. Even for a WC IPA, you can go for 48-72 hours and it will be enough.

Regarding the water chemistry: sulfate:chloride ratio is OK as a very broad, inaccurate guideline. There is a difference between 90:30 and 300:100. The ratio is the same, but the impact on flavour from the qty of each on their own will be quite different. If you have dabbled with water before, then you probably have an idea where you like the sulfate and chloride. If you don't know, I recommend starting low: 40-50 ppm Cl and maybe 120-150 ppm SO4.

 

[Wayne1]

I have to disagree with thehaze. For a "Traditional West Coast IPA" the OG and FG are on point.
I would drop the Chinook from the later hop additions. Loose the 15 min addition and plan for a whirlpool addition.
For comparison, take a look at https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/vail-pale-ale.60215/
That beer won Gold at GABF

 

[ba-brewer]

I brew a pale ale with the same hops and like the combination.

You could probably simplify the later addition hops and go with a single dry hopping but what you have will work too.

 

[AZCoolerBrewer]

I haven’t tried Chinook as a bittering hop, but have twice used it as a dry hop. I love the flavor from dry hopped Chinook, but the aroma is subtle to me and more for an American Amber Ale or a hoppy lager, so I would use it late addition Use Columbus for bittering which I have used in that capacity twice and it has a very nice smooth bitterness which isn’t lingering to me. That leaves the Cascade for dry hopping, which I think is appropriate for that hop, even though I’m not partial to it.

 

[Robinsonrx]

Thanks for all the advice, guys. My intention was to brew this with my original recipe; however, I made a rookie mistake. Instead of looking at my written recipe, I went with my memory. So instead of .25 oz per hop per addition I added .5 oz. So my new hop schedule end up being,

.5 oz of each at 20,15,10,0
This raised my IBUs by 30. Whoops. I'll still like it just maybe not my non hophead friends. To compensate for the increased hops, I cut my first dry hop addition down to .5 oz of each for 7 days and kept the 3 day dry hop at 1 oz each. Fermented at about 60 F for 3 weeks. OG 1.060 & FG 1.010. Cold crashed and add gelatin (first time doing that) and bottled. I'll let yous know how it turns out. The sample tasted promising.

 

[couchsending]

Pliny is hopped at 90, 45, 30, and nothing else until WP and no cooling before WP.

It is dry hopped twice, always after fermentation and yeast has been removed.

It’s the reference for this style of beer (although it is technically a double I know)

I’d add more additions between FW and 30 and then take all those late hops and put them in at FO.

Split the Dry Hops into two separate charges a few days apart.

 

[Hoppy_Sanchez]

Recipe looks good. Just mash at 148-150. Im sure your beer finish 1.013-1.010. I would probably add each hop separate instead of as a combo.
15 min .75 oz chinook
10 min .75 oz Columbus
5 min 1 oz cascade
FO 1 oz each
Dry hop with an oz each taste before adding the second round of hops. If it’s lacking try a keg hop for the second round.

 

[AZCoolerBrewer]

Recipe looks good. Just mash at 148-150. Im sure your beer finish 1.013-1.010. I would probably add each hop separate instead of as a combo.
15 min .75 oz chinook
10 min .75 oz Columbus
5 min 1 oz cascade
FO 1 oz each
Dry hop with an oz each taste before adding the second round of hops. If it’s lacking try a keg hop for the second round.

Why am I reading this with an Ice Tea Law and Order voice?

 

[Robinsonrx]

 

[Robinsonrx]

Came out pretty good. Initial aroma is the funk of the Columbus. After a few more whiffs the citrus Cascade come through. The taste is simalar to the aroma with a little spice zing to it. Not as overwhelmingly bitter as I feared it would be when I messed up my hop schedule by happy accident. It's dry but thin. Might need to add a little body next time. This is the first original recipe I'm proud of. Not perfect but a good base beer to build off of. Thanks for all the help.