4th batch, tried something new question.

[winkkle]

I've been using the Brooklyn beer shop all grain kits. So today I found a scaled down recipe for 1 gallon batch ipa. The recipe called for centennial hops but I bought simcoe and cascade hops as well as cascade leafs for dry hoping. I also got wyeast American ale 1056 but have only used dry yeast. So I have a few questions about the recipe.

First, it called for .25 oz at 60 and .25 at 10 of centennial. Instead I'm using .25 of each cascade and simcoe. And plan on dry hopin with the cascade leafs. Will this be too hoppy?? If so how much should I use of each including the dry hops??

Second, the yeast packet is for a 5 gallon batch, I'm just dividing by 5 to get the right 1g amt. my question is can u save the rest of the liquid yeast once activated and if so what's the best way/container to preserve it in?

Finally, the Brooklyn kits usually contain rock sugar and call for honey or syrup at the end of the boil. This recipe did not call for any additional sugar at the end of the boil. Should I add some sort of sugar and if so how much?

 

[Demus]

For the full boil hops, it depends on the alpha acid %age. Simple math will get you about the same bitterness with different hops. On other words, 1 oz of 10% aa hops gives the same bitterness as 2 oz of 5%. As for flavor/aroma hops (late addition), it's less scientific as each variety has unique characteristics. 1 to 1 is a fine place to start. As far as being "too hoppy" only experience can tell since it's totally up to your palate.
Sugar additions are for adding alcohol without increasing maltiness. In fact they tend to reduce maltiness and thin the body of a beer. They are not a typical ingredient in an IPA. No rule against it, but it probably won't help you brew taste better. Generally speaking, each ingredient should have a specific purpose in a recipe.
Yeast: pitch rates are dependent on volume and gravity. One 5th of a smack pack would be very hard to measure, and likely not be enough. What's the gravity of the brew?

 

[winkkle]

Og 1.067
Fg 1.018

I figured as far as the yeast it's a 4.25 oz packet. A tablespoon is .5oz so just under 2 tablespoons would seem enough if dividing by 5

 

[Demus]

Check out http://yeastcalc.com/. It's a pitching rate calculator. It shows 1 gallon of 1.067 wort to need about 46 billion cells, which is more like half a smack pack of Wyeast. They are advertised to contain 100 billion, but you can't assume 100% viability. Half a pack should be perfect, assuming it's pretty fresh and somewhere around 90% viable. That'll get you 2 batches, not bad... As suspected, one 5th of a pouch would be way underpitching....

 

[winkkle]

Ok thanks ill check that out. How should I store the remainder of the yeast?? And in your opinion if I use the simcoe and cascade, what would be the best way/amt to addy I the boil as well as dry hopping.

 

[Demus]

I'd store it in a small glass jar like a baby food jar or similar. Make sure it's every well sanitized and leave some a few ounces of boiled and cooled water in it. Have that ready when you pitch to your beer so you can take car of it at the same time.
Aside from the standard full boil hop addition, there is an almost infinite way to add hops for various effects. The 3 basic are late addition (15 to 20 minutes remaining), knock out (when you turn off heat) and dry hopping (added in fermentor when fermentation slows). Each have different effect and frequently all or more methods are used in an IPA. Simcoe has a nice, pine resiny flavor so that might be nice for a late addition if that sounds good to you. Cascade is more floral/citrus, so for me that makes a great dry hop. Since you're doing such a small batch play around with it over the course of a few batches and see what you like best. Generally, you want to use more flavor hops than bittering, and more still for dry hopping as they have less and less effect the later you use them in the process...

 

[winkkle]

Ok cool. Going to start with the cascade and with about 20 left add the simcoe and dry hop with cascade as well. Well see how it turns out. U said add cool boiled water to the remaining yeast and store it?

 

[Demus]

Ok cool. Going to start with the cascade and with about 20 left add the simcoe and dry hop with cascade as well. Well see how it turns out. U said add cool boiled water to the remaining yeast and store it?

Actually add the yeast to the cooled boiled water, but yes. This will give it an oxygen barrier as the yeast settles to the bottom, and also make it easier to swirl up to use on your next batch. Keep it in the fridge, and try and use it within a month or so....

 

[winkkle]

Ok. Thanks for all your insight