AB IPA vs Hopsickle

[louisbrew]

I recently brewed up a kit from American Brewmaster that was quite tasty. I love all their kits, they are awesome. Anyways, it was an extract American IPA kit. It was right on with hoppy taste and ABV - right at about 6.7% in my batch. I compared it to a couple store bought examples and even taste tested it with friends and they all picked my homebrew over the store versions!!!

My question is this. I recently tried an Imperial IPA (Hopsickle) that tasted a lot maltier and "thicker" in terms of mouthfeel than my IPA did. I really liked the up front mouth feel. I know it's a double IPA and mine is just a single American IPA but is it normal for the bigger beers to have more mouthfeel. It's like the beer is thicker and less watered down than my version. Just curious if others have a similar experience with their beers and can tell me what I can do to my next batch to increase the mouthfeel of the beer. Thanks

Notes from my brew

American Brewmaster American IPA
Extract Kit
8lbs of Light Malt Extract
1 oz bittering, 1 oz flavoring, 1 oz aroma - I don't recall the hops exactly but I believe it was centenniel, cascade, and then armarillo
Yeast was Safale US-05 (American) Ale Yeast

I cooled the wort to about 75 degrees (took over an hour) in an ice bath and then pitched

My pitching temperature was higher than I wanted - probably in the 72 degree range by the time I actually pitched

Overall fermentation temperature (ambient) was around 70-72 degrees constantly

I bottled after 10 days and aged for 2 weeks and then bottled with conditioning tabs - 4 per bottle

Any thoughts on improving this great brew?

 

[bobbrews]

"I know it's a double IPA and mine is just a single American IPA but is it normal for the bigger beers to have more mouthfeel"

Hopsickle is actually more like a Triple IPA. And yes, higher gravity beers usually have more mouthfeel because there are more unfermentable sugars/dextrins in the beer, which give it more body. Some breweries will also mash higher to give a beer a fuller mouthfeel.

"Any thoughts on improving this great brew?"

Yeah, add some character grains or possibly look into a minimash. More late hops and dry hops wouldn't hurt either. Keep the beer in the primary for about 3 weeks and get your temps. on point. Remember ambient temp. during fermentation will be slightly lower than the actively working wort temp. so you want to shoot for low 60s.

 

[DrummerBoySeth]

Louisbrew, since you live in Raleigh, stop by the AB store, and talk to John Federal. That guy is seriously knowledgeable about beer. If you want to "adjust" one of their kits, just tell John what you want to add or take away, or what you want to be different, and he can point you where you need to go.

The guys at AB have never steered me wrong.

 

[louisbrew]

Thanks for the responses. They really helped. I did forget to mention that the kit did use some specialty grains, which I steeped prior to brewing. I will check out AB's John Federal. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[louisbrew]

I hear a lot of folks talk about letting the beer sit in the primary for 2+ weeks. What can I expect from the beer if it has finished primary fermentation and I bottle it on day 10-12 vs waiting the full 21+ days. The beer was super clear when I poured it after about 10 days in the bottle and it tasted great. What happens when it sits longer in the fermenter vs in the bottle?

 

[ChadChaney]

IMO, you can expect even clearer and cleaner beer and better transfer as the yeast cake gets more solid. No one has mentioned this, but look into a swamp cooler to keep your fermentation temps in the right range, also remember the temp reading on the outside of the carboy/bucket is higher than the stick on thermometer. Look into pitching rates via MrMalty.com, free site, it will help you make sure you pitch the appropriate amount of yeast per individual brew. Also look at making yeast starters and oxygenating your wort well. Ok, last thing I will mention is research late additions of malt extract.. Pm me if you have any questions! Keep brewin!

 

[bobbrews]

@louisbrew

Yeast releases early in the fermentation stage, but these off flavors are later reabsorbed by the yeast with time, providing a beer free of off flavors. So the simple answer is to allow further conditioning and flavor refining while the beer is still on the yeast cake. There is a ton of scientific material on the matter if you wish to learn more.

Google: beer yeast off flavor precursors, vicinal diketones, and 2,3-pentanedione

Or take a look at the Google Books preview of Brewing: science and practice By Dennis E. Briggs, Chris A. Boulton, Peter A. Brookes