Adjuncts with an IPA

[MrPostman]

Brewing my first IPA tomorrow, and was wondering if there was anything recommended to supplement (not mask) the flavor of the beer. Nearly every other beer style I can think of some flavor that might complement it, but IPAs have me totally puzzled. I'll be doing an extract brew, 1 lb crushed caramel 40L malt, 8 oz victory malt, 6.6 lb muntons LME light, , 1 lb light spray DME, 1.5 oz columbus bittering hops (10.9) and 2 oz cascade (6.4) for an hour and 1 oz cascade (6.4) for 10 minutes. Any suggestions? I'm brewing this from a BB kit, so the recipe's the same for every single batch (minus ingredients, I'm speaking schedule wise) but have found that the wealth of human knowledge an experience from HBT is a little more practical and trust-worthy.

 

[Yooper]

An IPA is all about the hops, with enough malt to give it some support. So, usually, nothing "fancy" in an IPA at all!

Often there is no crystal/caramel malt and sometimes corn sugar is added instead of some of the malt to help keep it crisp and dry.

I have a couple of IPA recipes that have some crystal malt that I like, and one or two that have some other base malts like Vienna or Munich to provide a firm malt backbone. Victory malt like you have is nice in an IPA!

Overall, your recipe looks good. I'd change the hopping, though.

I'd do this:

1 ounce columbus 60 minutes

1 ounce cascade 15 minutes
.5 ounce columbus 10 minutes
1 ounce cascade 5 minutes
1 ounce cascade 0 minutes

That's more of an IPA schedule, using the same hops you have. Your recipe schedule will be too bitter, without the hops flavor you need in an IPA.

 

[MrPostman]

I really appreciate the help! On my first batch I had some trouble developing the hops flavor, so I have a couple quick questions on technique. I'm going to use a bag for bittering hops, then just toss the rest in the brew pot as I go. So long as I keep stirring to keep the hops in the wort and not sticking to the sides of the brew pot, am I good to just dump it all in the primary, or do I need to strain to prevent over extraction of flavors? I had the Sam Adams latitude 48 the other day and am craving a really robust IPA.

 

[Yooper]

I really appreciate the help! On my first batch I had some trouble developing the hops flavor, so I have a couple quick questions on technique. I'm going to use a bag for bittering hops, then just toss the rest in the brew pot as I go. So long as I keep stirring to keep the hops in the wort and not sticking to the sides of the brew pot, am I good to just dump it all in the primary, or do I need to strain to prevent over extraction of flavors? I had the Sam Adams latitude 48 the other day and am craving a really robust IPA.

I never strain out my hops, and so far, so good!

For your bittering hops, make sure you have them loose in the bag, so they aren't packed in. You want to make sure they are free flowing in the wort- use two bags if you have to, so that you don't restrict hops utilization with the bag.

If you want to remove some of the hops debris, you could try a couple of things. Once is to bag all of the hops- using a "hops spider" is handy. Or you can strain through a sanitized strainer going into the fermenter which is a bit messy. If you use a bucket for fermentation, you could line the bucket with a 5 gallon paint strainer and pour the wort into the bucket and then lift out the strainer to drain. Or, you can just dump it all in. It really doesn't affect the flavor of the beer, just makes less trub if you strain some of it out.

 

[MakeshiftBrew]

Yeah, Yooper is on it. I would definitely make better use of your cascade hop, you wont get any flavor/aroma from them at 60 min. I recommend Yooper's schedule, you might even split the addition at zero in half and use .5 ounce of cascade to dry hop it during your secondary. As for the grist, simplicity seems to be key, so your bill will probably be okay. Good luck, let us know how it turns out.

 

[MrPostman]

I never strain out my hops, and so far, so good!

For your bittering hops, make sure you have them loose in the bag, so they aren't packed in. You want to make sure they are free flowing in the wort- use two bags if you have to, so that you don't restrict hops utilization with the bag.

If you want to remove some of the hops debris, you could try a couple of things. Once is to bag all of the hops- using a "hops spider" is handy. Or you can strain through a sanitized strainer going into the fermenter which is a bit messy. If you use a bucket for fermentation, you could line the bucket with a 5 gallon paint strainer and pour the wort into the bucket and then lift out the strainer to drain. Or, you can just dump it all in. It really doesn't affect the flavor of the beer, just makes less trub if you strain some of it out.

Thanks. Yea, I usually make sure the hops are loose, and as far as excess debris and trub is concerned, I like to use my secondary for clearing purposes, so I'm not too worried. And makeshift, I really like the idea of dry hopping so that may be the way to go. I can't wait for all the delicious hops goodness! Thanks for the words of wisdom guys. As always, Cheers

 

[Sacdan]

It's not an adjunct, but if you want to make it a little different, use a Belgian yeast. I have used Trappist yeast in an IPA with some pretty amazing results.

 

[MrPostman]

sacdan, I appreciate the help, but I won't be out by the lhbs tomorrow for ingredients. yeast variants are my next step in hand crafting my brew. i'm taking baby steps and just judging by your dock of beer I can tell you know what you're talking about!

 

[Sacdan]

Try a small amount of Honey Malt. Maybe 1/4lb. I use it in many of my IPAs. It helps balance the hops without being too cloying. For the record, I learn something new here almost everyday.