Low ABV full bodied IPA recipe suggestions?

im looking to brew an all-grain 5 gallon ipa that has the body and flavor of a 7% big boy but clocks in at sub 4% ipa. Any suggestions on how to achieve this?

 

Sub 4% could be interesting... To answer your questions, look towards higher mash temps in the mid to upper 150's, additions of non-fermentables like lactose, and maltodextrin, lower attenuating yeast, and possibly a higher oat/wheat content depending on the type of IPA you are looking for.

 

With a low attenuation yeast you can hit 60-65% attenuation. M015 and Windsor can do it. And they taste normal at that attenuation.

 

I’d match IBU’s to your OG. So 1.040-1.045 and 40-45 ibu’s.
Mash at 154-155 and mash out at 170.
I would use 1318 or Ringwood yeast. I’d avoid 001 or 1056. They are too bland and neutral for a session beer. You’ll need a d rest with Ringwood. Build a dextrin based grain bill with some Munich malt and some caramel or crystal malts in the grain bill to boost mouthfeel and body. 60-65% 2 row is a good base followed by 10% Munich, 10% Dextrin malts and the rest caramel or crystal. Maybe 8% Carmel 40and 7% crystal 80.

You’ll want to add a bit of CaCL and gypsum. I’d look at .3 grams of gypsum and .7 grams of CaCL per gallon of water. Treat all water the same. This is assuming your using RO water.

If your looking for a West Coast style I’d use a larger first wort hop percentage. Maybe 30-40% of your ibu’s coming from first wort hops.

If your looking at east coast style I’d back load almost all the hops at flameout and whirlpool and then hit it with dryhops at active fermentation and again with a few points left before your finished.


You may want to read session beers. The new brewers association book. They discuss some of the challenges to making session beers that have some backbone.

 

I'd recommend mashing high, like 156-57. Use a characterful base malt, floor-malted MO or something. Maybe .8-.9 BU:GU. I've found that lower gravity hoppy beers have a harder time holding on to their hop aroma/pungency, so try for whirlpool addition and two-stage dry hop, as well as a bit in the keg. YMMV but I'm generally more into mouthfeel/body than crystal/dextrin sweetness, so I like to go for cracker/biscuit malt character and use the mash temp and flaked barley or oats (~15%) to provide body and head retention.

 

You should be aware this is definitely not-newbie stuff, this is some of the most difficult brewing to do well, plenty of good professionals would struggle to make a beer with that spec. It's easy to hide so-so brewing technique behind alcohol and hops, but there seems to come a point as you drop below about 4.5% where you just can't hide anymore. At the same time yeast, malt and water chemistry become more obvious and give you levers to pull to help you achieve your aim.

You've had a lot of good advice above, all I'd say is aim for 4.5% initially and see how it goes before going significantly below that - and think British. Maximising the taste of beer in the ~4% range is what British brewing is all about, so it makes sense to take tips from there. It's not just a question of characterful yeasts and base malts, but eg not over-carbonating and not serving too cold.

Oh, and I'm not great fan of Ringwood myself, but that's probably because of my prejudice against the brewery. The likes of 1318 and 1968 should do you fine in the first instance.

 

^^This. It's golden advice. Something I think any of us can take as a kind of "spine" of work, whatever strength or character we're brewing. Know how to do it with nothing to hide flaws, and you can do anything.

 

Mash high. Dextrines yes, maltodextrine, etc. But careful with crystal and id say no lactose. Sweet isn’t really what you going for it seems. Maris, golden promise, ashburne mild, etc. Cara foam is good at this too. British tricks are helpful here for sure- serve bit warmer than normal, natural carb it.

Go a bit higher than 1:1 in ibu/og but make sure to watch for harshness. Chlorides and sodium help with body. Just be careful about high sodium when you also have high sulfate.

 

http://www.themadfermentationist.com/2012/01/vienna-malt-session-ipa-recipe.html

Just read this today..old post but good info. CHEERS

 

This is a little higher abv than you wanted, but you can cut back on the malt a bit.

https://www.morebeer.com/products/obsession-ipa-grain-beer-brewing-kit-5-gallons.html

I brewed it not too long ago. The corn sugar helps dry it out, and the acidulated malt makes the hops pop. I thought it drank like a nice big IPA as you described for only being 4.5%.