A sack of grain and a pound of hops. Recipe Formulation

[permo]

I have always wanted to do this. I make 16 gallon batches and I have a very large 100+ quart mash tun. I am looking to use a single 50-55 pound of grain and a pound of hops in a big, bold ale. The gravity should hit 1.080 or so in my system. Does anybody have any recommendations for a really big, bold smash ale that could reach IIPA strength?

I was thinking a sack of marris otter, a pound of chinook and a huge WLP001 starter.

 

[stpug]

I would personally pick centennial but that's all personal choice there.
Do it!

 

[permo]

Centennial would be a great idea

 

[TechyDork]

Pretty hard to beat your idea of MO and Chinook, just my opinion though....

50lbs MO (mashed @ 148)

3 oz Chinook FWH
3 oz Chinook 15 min
3 oz Chinook 5 min
3 oz Chinook (Whirlpool/Steep @<180 for 30 min)

Leaves you with 4 oz Chinook to dryhop.

OG 1.085 (72% eff)
IBU 77

Sounds like a tasty brew to me!!

 

[hopbrad]

sounds awesome, the MO/Chinook combo will be great for a big bold ale. thinking in the ballpark of arrogant bastard.
if your leaning towards a less malty IIPA style. Go american 2-row and centennial.

 

[permo]

I am thinking i might use a continuous hop schedule like DFH90 minute IPA. I will mash low and long for good fermentability hoping for 1.014 or so for the FG. I am quite sure this ale would be sublime fresh but i am hoping that as it ages it would mellow and develop different character instead of just becoming dull.

 

[aprichman]

Pale Ale malt and Cascade hops would be a nice combo

 

[MaxStout]

Another vote for Centennial. The flavor and aroma would be great in your half barrel imperial SMaSH. And use Maris for more malt complexity. 2-row in a SMaSH beer just doesn't have a lot of depth.

 

[jfr1111]

Burton ale inspired beer: sack of MO and a pound of Fuggle or EKG. Put 12 ounces at the beginning of the boil, dry hop with the rest before packaging.

 

[hottpeper13]

I find a 100% MO beer too much,so my vote would be Golden Promise and any of those hops already mentioned.

 

[Brew_G]

Agreed with the MO/Centennial combination. That said, if you stick strictly with the full bag of grain and one pound of hops and you're looking at a IIPA, you might have some trouble getting IBUs up enough to compete with all that malt, plus have enough hops left over for a sufficient dry hop.

What about MO/Nelson? Nelson has a little bit more to give in terms of IBUs, so you might be able to get away with that. Not sure how they are for bittering additions, though.

 

[permo]

Agreed with the MO/Centennial combination. That said, if you stick strictly with the full bag of grain and one pound of hops and you're looking at a IIPA, you might have some trouble getting IBUs up enough to compete with all that malt, plus have enough hops left over for a sufficient dry hop.

If I stick with high AA hops it hasn't been an issue. I was in beersmith messing with it last night and I had the opposite problem...ended up with over 100 IBU and had 3 oz Chinook left for dry hop....there is a lot of bittering power there.

 

[Brew_G]

If I stick with high AA hops it hasn't been an issue. I was in beersmith messing with it last night and I had the opposite problem...ended up with over 100 IBU and had 3 oz Chinook left for dry hop....there is a lot of bittering power there.

With Chinook, I agree that you'll get good bittering, but 3 oz of dry hop in a 16-gallon batch of IIPA isn't much to speak of. I don't go crazy on dry hops, and I generally use 3-5 oz of dry hops per five gallons. That was more my concern. But it's your beer, so if you think 3 oz will get it done, then by all means feel free to go with that!

 

[permo]

I suppose i could bend the rules and add some nugget to the recipe for extra dry hops?

 

[stpug]

I suppose i could bend the rules and add some nugget to the recipe for extra dry hops?

What "rules" are you referring to? One sack and one pound? If those are the "rules" you want to brew this batch by, then stick to the rules. Be creative. Use unusual/non-standard methods. I'm all for creativity in brewing and this seems like an opportunity.

For example, I might opt to go the british bitters direction:
-Toast 10% of the sack at 350F for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes or so (easy)
-Create some medium crystal malt from a portion of it (7% maybe) ::link::
-Use a pound of EKG (bitter, couple late additions, scant amount for dryhop if any at all)
-Use a good british yeast (1187, 1968, 1469, etc)
-Ferment at 68F for the duration letting get up to 70 after a few days

Call it a 'bitter' and decide what kind of bitter it is based on gravity and when you're drinking it (ordinary, best, strong). The hardest part is the crystal, but it's a fun process nonetheless. Just another idea I suppose.

 

[permo]

Here is my first try in beersmith on this one...should really be loaded with hop flavor and aroma. The yeast is undecided but it could very well end up being a quart of slurry WLP001, WLP002 or WLP029 (wierd huh?)




Sack of Grain amd A Pound of Hops

Imperial IPA (14 C)
Type: All Grain
Batch Size: 17.00 gal
Boil Size: 19.18 gal
Boil Time: 60 min
End of Boil Vol: 17.68 gal
Final Bottling Vol: 16.50 gal
Fermentation: Ale, Two Stage




50 lbs Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM) Grain 1 100.0 %
3.00 oz Chinook [13.00 %] - First Wort 60.0 min Hop 2 38.4 IBUs
1.00 oz Chinook [13.00 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 3 11.6 IBUs
2.00 oz Chinook [13.00 %] - Boil 30.0 min Hop 4 17.9 IBUs
3.00 oz Chinook [13.00 %] - Boil 10.0 min Hop 5 12.7 IBUs
3.00 oz Chinook [13.00 %] - Steep/Whirlpool 0.0 min Hop 6 0.0 IBUs
4.00 oz Chinook [13.00 %] - Dry Hop 0.0 Days Hop 7 0.0 IBUs


Gravity, Alcohol Content and Color

Est Original Gravity: 1.084 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.021 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 8.3 %
Bitterness: 80.7 IBUs
Est Color: 6.6 SRM

Mash In Add 15.63 gal of water at 163.7 F 152.0 F 60 min

 

[stpug]

I say, "Do it." It looks good enough from here. See what comes out the other end and adjust next time. WLP002 would be my choice of those three.

BTW, your sack is most likely 55 lbs

 

[MaxStout]

Here is my first try in beersmith on this one...should really be loaded with hop flavor and aroma. The yeast is undecided but it could very well end up being a quart of slurry WLP001, WLP002 or WLP029 (wierd huh?)

Unless you are using a single fermentor, why not split up the batch and ferm with different yeasts? You could do 5.33 gal of each of those three.

 

[permo]

Yes sir single fermenter

 

[TAK]

For my taste 1lb of hops isn't nearly enough to make 16 gal of IIPA. Myself, I use about 12oz just for 5.5gal of 1.070 IPA. I used 20oz for 5.5gal my last IIPA. And those don't count the bittering additions. For bittering, I use hop shots to cut down on material in the boil. Which gets me to my suggestion. You could stick to your rules for this idea, and still put more hops towards the end of the boil and cold-side if you use hop shots for bittering. I don't think those technically count as hops, thus you're not breaking the 1 bag to 1 lb rule.

 

[permo]

I am going to mess with beersmith a little here and see if I can come up with something workable here. I know I am bending my rules here by adding a second hop variety for bittering. I use a large hop spider to contain my hops so vegetate mater is not really all that concerning to me. This beer is very intriguing to me......I know I said that this would be IIPA by style, but I wonder if I shouldnt change the boil time to 120 minutes and increase pre boil volume to compensate for more evaporation and try to get some extra kettle caramelization and malliard reactions for added depth? I really appreciate your input on this as a batch of beer this big with this many resources involved really should be buttoned up.

So my big change here is 4 oz nugget hops at 60 and shifting more of the chinook to the end of the boil.

WLP001 seems to be a natural choice given its beastly nature


55 lbs Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM) Grain 1 100.0 %
4.00 oz Nugget [13.00 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 2 43.6 IBUs
3.00 oz Chinook [13.00 %] - Boil 30.0 min Hop 3 25.1 IBUs
3.40 Items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 mins) Fining 4 -
3.00 oz Chinook [13.00 %] - Boil 10.0 min Hop 5 11.9 IBUs
4.00 oz Chinook [13.00 %] - Steep/Whirlpool 0.0 min Hop 6 0.0 IBUs
1.0 pkg California Ale (White Labs #WLP001) [35.49 ml] Yeast 7 -
3.40 tsp Yeast Nutrient (Primary 3.0 days) Other 8 -
6.00 oz Chinook [13.00 %] - Dry Hop 0.0 Days Hop 9 0.0 IBUs
I would mash at 150 overnight (yes for 8 hours) this increases extract and also creates a more fermentable wort.

Gravity, Alcohol Content and Color

Est Original Gravity: 1.088 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.015 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 9.8 %
Bitterness: 80.6 IBUs
Est Color: 7.1 SRM

 

[permo]

Just an update that I have finally got around to building my 25 gallon mash tun, so now I should be able to make this brew a reality. I will update on what I decide but a maibock with straight pilsen and sterling could also get the call!