Advice needed on wheat IPA Recipe for new brewer.

[KDBrewer]

Hello,
I am new to this forum and just wanted some opinions on a wheat IPA recipe I made. Mainly on the steeping grains I am using and the bitterness ratio when using a lb or corn sugar. Also, any other hop recommendations would be great.Thanks for any advice in advance.

Grains:
5lbs Wheat DME
2lbs extra light DME
1lb Corn Sugar
1/2lb Carapils
1/2lb Honey Malt
Hops:
1oz Magnum@60
.5oz Amarillo@20
.5oz Cascade@20
.5ozAmarillo@10
.5oz Cascade@10
1oz Amarillo@5
1oz Cascade@5
1oz each of Amarillo/cascade at flameout
Yeast- US-05
SG-1.065
BU-50
IBU/SG- 0.78

 

[sweetcell]

looks like a solid recipe! your hopping regimen looks great. are you going to dry-hop? you can't really make an IPA without dry-hopping (well of course you can, but IMO you're missing an important component if you do).

a pound of sugar for a 1.065 IPA is a tad on the high side, in my opinion. certainly won't ruin the beer, but i'd consider halving it.

 

[KDBrewer]

Thank you and I didn't even think about dry hopping. Maybe an ounce each of Amarillo and cascade?


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[KDBrewer]

And I was worried about adding too much sugar so I'll only add a half pound. Thanks for the advice.


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[sweetcell]

Thank you and I didn't even think about dry hopping. Maybe an ounce each of Amarillo and cascade?

sounds good

 

[chickypad]

I think it looks good too, but I agree with sweetcell on the sugar. In fact at 1.065 I'm not sure you need any, but a half lb should be okay if you want to go with it. An oz each of amarillo and cascade sounds good for dry hop.

 

[KDBrewer]

Well I think I'm going to leave the sugar out this time. Maybe next time. Thanks for the advice. This website is awesome!


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[thegreatmaibockaddict]

Well I think I'm going to leave the sugar out this time. Maybe next time. Thanks for the advice. This website is awesome!


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Sugar will leave a flavor footprint that trained tasters can pick out. If you are thinking about entering competitions in the future it is something to be avoided. I have given samples to pro brewers in the past and they could pick out corn sugar used in priming. Always substitute malt extract for sugar to make better beer. FYI Honey or agave nectar also can be substituted if you want to play around....

 

[KDBrewer]

Thanks for the advice. I was actually planning on entering this beer into a competition just to get some feedback. Should I replace the corn sugar I was going to prime with for DME?


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[ddicker60]

Plenty of pro brewers use corn sugar. No more than 10% in an ipa

 

[sweetcell]

Sugar will leave a flavor footprint that trained tasters can pick out. If you are thinking about entering competitions in the future it is something to be avoided.

there are many excellent palates out there, i have no doubt that some folks can pick out the use of sugar for priming but i've never come across anyone who mentioned this, including in competitions. so YMMV

 

[thegreatmaibockaddict]

there are many excellent palates out there, i have no doubt that some folks can pick out the use of sugar for priming but i've never come across anyone who mentioned this, including in competitions. so YMMV

Ha ha yeah.... Pro brewers that know their stuff can pick it out. Also, interestingly enough, the bubbles made by using Malt Extract have been (semi-)scientifically proven to be the best! Believe it or not, a nutty homebrewer in my club that we call Tin Man because of all the brewing medals he wins constantly made a batch and carbonated a portion of the beer 10 different ways from honey to force carbonation. Extract won.

 

[KDBrewer]

Well I'll try carbonating with extract this time and see how it turns out. How much extract should I use for 5.5 gallons?


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[thegreatmaibockaddict]

Well I'll try carbonating with extract this time and see how it turns out. How much extract should I use for 5.5 gallons?


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Approx. 1 1/4 cup. I was recently told it is best to weigh it, but I don't remember the weight off the top of my head. The granular size of the extract varies, so finer extract may use less, more coarse more.

I generally use 1 1/8 cup and that seems decent enough. For Wheat beers or pils, 1 1/4 for sure.

Note: Belgian ales will NOT be impacted by using corn sugar, due to the yeast flavor pattern, and the fact that high carbonation levels are desired the coarser bubbles made by corn sugar, honey, belgian candy sugar etc work just fine.

 

[chickypad]

Ha ha yeah.... Pro brewers that know their stuff can pick it out.

Also picking something out doesn't mean it's a flaw. I would assume these brewers as well as other experienced tasters can recognize Munich in a recipe, various crystals, pick out base malts, etc. Simple sugars are integral to brewing certain styles and as pointed out used widely by professionals.