Any advice for a rookie IIPA brew?

[bobbrews]

I'd like to follow up with a slightly tweaked recipe of more what I would do. Wyeast 1056 has an alcohol tolerance of 10%, so I would probably use something a bit tougher.

http://hopville.com/recipe/1438416/imperial-ipa-recipes/bat-out-of-hell-imperial-ipa

Mash instructions on page 2.

There are no rules, to my knowledge, that state an Imperial IPA must follow a 1:1 BU/GU ratio. That is the minimum ratio I would follow, but the bittering could definitely be heftier. After all, this is not a regular, low abv IPA.

 

[brewski08]

No disrespect taken, I created this grain bill based on a lot of recipes here. (Granted most of mine is 2row) It seemed like a big IIPA had 14-19 pounds of grain (5gal), a couple oz of first wort high alpha hops and then a sh*tload of late hop additions and dry hopping. I bumped recipe up a pound or 2 because I am new and I figured being a little heavier than expected (if i hit all my numbers) would be better than being too weak (not hitting all my numbers)
Also, if this beer and many other IIPAs have corn sugar added spacificlly for dryness why do they do it?
I am still learning, so you probably know this better than I but Im a little confused. Some say "dont forget your corn sugar so its not so sweet" and other say this is too dry.

Im using a pound of hops. Shouldnt this amount of hops balance well with such a large grain bill?

i understand what you're saying, and you seem to know what you're talking about.

here's my opinion:

it seems as if you're taking a lot of extremes and throwing them together for a SUPER BEER :rocking:

a pound of hops and nearly 20 pounds of grain seems a bit much for a IIPA...especially since it's your first IIPA. i've seen RIS's with lower OG's than this!

again, i'm not trying to discourage you. experimenting is a MUST in home brewing. however, i'd hate to see you invest all this money (1 pound of hops is mighty expensive) in a beer that comes out tasting undesirable.

what IIPA's are serving as inspirations for this beer? what do you look for in your IIPA's?

 

[dooman333]

You're probably right and I was kinda going for a super beer. IMHO I think a IIPA should be a medium bodied beer with subtle color and a hops loaded kick in the teeth. I guess I'm over doing the grain bill because I don't want it to taste like a super hoppy glass of water. Due to my last few brews lacking in body and

 

[dooman333]

Whoa, didn't mean to hit send button right there haha, damn iPads. Anyhoo, my beers have lacked malty flavor and have, let's face it, sucked. (prob a lot to do with my lack of yeast knowledge at the time). I have no problem cutting it back. And I really like the idea of a pound of hops. I guess I'm looking for a somewhat fool proof way to get me a founders double trouble, Sqatters Hop Rising, Hopsickle kinda beer. I like the lighter colored IIPAs. Not so caramel looking. Lots of sparge water, easy pitching yeast kinda day. I still need that breathing room for slip ups. I feel I have been rushing beers and under pitching my last brews so that should be better now. I'm rushing this post as I'm on my way out the door so bare with me.

 

[brewski08]

ok so here's what i got from your last couple of posts:

1. you want a medium-bodied beer...not watered down.

-your body is going to come from the sugars retained in your beer that the yeasts can't eat. your grain bill consists of over 90% 2-row. the majority of the sugars you extract from 2-row are going to be fermentable depending on your mash temperature.

to up the body of your beer, add unfermentables. i know you said you're not a big fan of cara/crystal malt, but these malts are effective in adding body to your beer and are commonly used in IIPAs. if you plan on adding a pound of hops to your beer, you should add some cara/crystal malt to sweeten up your beer in order to balance out all those IBUs. i would keep a IIPA grain bill from 5% to 10% cars/crystal malt.


2. you want to retain a pale color.

-your recipe you have right now will produce a pale colored beer. if you do decide to add more crystal, keep the crisp between 5L-20L. this will keep it fairly pale.

3. you want the drinker to be able to notice the malt back bone.

-besides adding unfermentables, you can add other types of base malt to create a nice complexity in your beer. vienna, white wheat, pilsner, and trace amounts of munich contribute fermentables to your beer while also adding a nice touch that makes your beer's maltiness POP out a bit.

4. you want your beer to be oozing with hops.

-i mean you're adding a pound of hops...it's going to be hard for it not to ooze with hop flavor/aroma. get your IBUs up. the more unfermentables you add and the higher your FG is going to be, the higher the IBUs you're going to need to produce.




...and now for what i think you should do:

1. for christ's sake...lower your OG!

-lower your 17# of base malt. with your remaining amount of 2-row, sub it out for other base malts for complexity. vienna malt in a IIPA is awesome!

2. get rid of the corn sugar and mash at a low mash temperature.

-i personally never add corn sugar to my beer. if you're scared of creating too big of a body in your beer, keep your mash temperatures at 149F-150F.

3. balance your IBUs.

-if you up your amount of unfermentables, make sure you up your IBUs. increase your late hop additions and dry hop amounts to increase your hop flavor/aroma.

4. keep your cars/crystal under 10% of your grain bill.

- i would aim for ~5% if you're not a big fan of crystal.



this is my opinion and take it for what's worth! i spent A LOT of money on ingredients for a IIPA in the past and completely ruined it due to my inability to balance fermentables, unfermentables, and IBUs.

good luck, dude!

 

[dooman333]

Wow. I glad you buzzed in before I made this! I will definitely redesign this and post again. I debated using vienna and honey malt. I will drop some of the 2row and add some vienna and more cara/crystal. How do you feel about honey malt? Hopslam-ish? Also, mash at 150 u think? 60 or 90 min mash. I like the idea of boiling for 90 min too for more sparge volume. Lastly, you think shaking and 2 packs S-05 should be sufficiant? Can't thank you enough for your time.

 

[brewski08]

honey malt isn't very fermentable, so i'd include that in your 0-10% portion of your cara/crystal grain bill. i've actually read that honey malt is a medium colored crystal malt (perhaps 45L?). i would say it adds similar tastes that medium colored crystal malt would rather than a honey taste. i think if you'd like to get the hopslam honey taste, you either should prime with honey or simply back-sweeten (kill the yeast, then add the honey so it won't be fermented) your beer with it.

as for your yeast, i'm in that ever decreasing pool of brewers who puts a lot of faith in my yeast. they're tough little buggers, and i know they like my beer A LOT (perhaps even more than i do!). i've never made a starter, and i probably never will. i once pitched a vial of WL001 in a big beer (1.095 OG) without a starter; everything turned out fine...in fact, everything turned out better than fine! that beer was delicious! never even had a stuck fermentation.

because of this, i think 1 pack of S-05 is plenty for any 5-6 gallon batch of beer. in fact, i think two packets would be over pitching.

if i were you, i'd pitch 1 pack of S-05, and if you realize you have a stuck fermentation, pitch a little bit of the other pack. however, i think 1 pack should suffice.

 

[crushingblackdoom]

Hey dude. I aerate with an immersion blender. Some call it a stick blender. I just sanitize that thang, and dip it in enough to create a heavy foam in the wort. It seems to work for me, but I'm also a noob working out the kinks, so take it for what it's worth. Dunno mang. If you got an immersion blender, it could make your pitching period a lot less, well, physical.
But I "No-Chill"chill... So whatever...

 

[Brewenstein]

I'd keep the 17 pounds of grain. It is an imperial IPA so it is supposed to be big. Remember that efficiency usually drops with bigger beers, so you may well not get 70% unless you sparge more and boil more. Don't be afraid to boil for 2 hours. My IIPA had an OG of 1.098 and is 9.7% ABV. BJCP guidelines are just that - guidelines. Don't be afraid to stretch them if you want. It's your beer .

 

[dooman333]

Hey dude. I aerate with an immersion blender. Some call it a stick blender. I just sanitize that thang, and dip it in enough to create a heavy foam in the wort. It seems to work for me, but I'm also a noob working out the kinks, so take it for what it's worth. Dunno mang. If you got an immersion blender, it could make your pitching period a lot less, well, physical.
But I "No-Chill"chill... So whatever...

Are you talkin about those blenders for like protien shakes? If so, I have one. Suppose it wouldn't hurt. Thanks!

 

[dooman333]

honey malt isn't very fermentable, so i'd include that in your 0-10% portion of your cara/crystal grain bill. i've actually read that honey malt is a medium colored crystal malt (perhaps 45L?). i would say it adds similar tastes that medium colored crystal malt would rather than a honey taste. i think if you'd like to get the hopslam honey taste, you either should prime with honey or simply back-sweeten (kill the yeast, then add the honey so it won't be fermented) your beer with it.

as for your yeast, i'm in that ever decreasing pool of brewers who puts a lot of faith in my yeast. they're tough little buggers, and i know they like my beer A LOT (perhaps even more than i do!). i've never made a starter, and i probably never will. i once pitched a vial of WL001 in a big beer (1.095 OG) without a starter; everything turned out fine...in fact, everything turned out better than fine! that beer was delicious! never even had a stuck fermentation.

because of this, i think 1 pack of S-05 is plenty for any 5-6 gallon batch of beer. in fact, i think two packets would be over pitching.

if i were you, i'd pitch 1 pack of S-05, and if you realize you have a stuck fermentation, pitch a little bit of the other pack. however, i think 1 pack should suffice.

I kinda like the idea of adding honey after ferm. Ill be back with a new recipe soon.

 

[dooman333]

I'd keep the 17 pounds of grain. It is an imperial IPA so it is supposed to be big. Remember that efficiency usually drops with bigger beers, so you may well not get 70% unless you sparge more and boil more. Don't be afraid to boil for 2 hours. My IIPA had an OG of 1.098 and is 9.7% ABV. BJCP guidelines are just that - guidelines. Don't be afraid to stretch them if you want. It's your beer .

Do you use beersmith? I just started using it. If I were to up the boil for more sparge I'm assuming BS numbers would adjust accordingly for water volume and such?

 

[crushingblackdoom]

I guess it could be used for protein shakes. They cost about $40 at any Fred Meyer or whatever. I'd buy one just for aeration. Or buy one for anything kitchen. They are indispensable tools! And it's made my brew day so much more fun.

 

[ColumbusAmongus]

Whoa, didn't mean to hit send button right there haha, damn iPads. Anyhoo, my beers have lacked malty flavor and have, let's face it, sucked. (prob a lot to do with my lack of yeast knowledge at the time). I have no problem cutting it back. And I really like the idea of a pound of hops. I guess I'm looking for a somewhat fool proof way to get me a founders double trouble, Sqatters Hop Rising, Hopsickle kinda beer. I like the lighter colored IIPAs. Not so caramel looking. Lots of sparge water, easy pitching yeast kinda day. I still need that breathing room for slip ups. I feel I have been rushing beers and under pitching my last brews so that should be better now. I'm rushing this post as I'm on my way out the door so bare with me.

I have found major lack of malty flavor in my IPA and IIPA recipes as well. I found that crystal / caramel are just too soft to accent a big hoppy beer so I changed over to using Munich 10L or 20L. It has a stronger and crisper malt profile than caramel / crystal and I never brew a pale or IPA without it now.

If I were to alter your recipe, I would just throw in a pound of Munich 10 (given you want a lighter color) along with the 0.5 of caramel because it would help bring out more malt flavor to balance the hops without adding a sweet character that covers them up.

 

[Jakeintoledo]

As far as oxygen goes:

Hit a hardware store--go find the aisle with the blowtorch equipment. they usually have bottles of propane and similarly-sized bottles of oxygen. buy a bottle of oxygen, then hit the pet store and buy one of those aquarium diffusing rocks and tubing. The tubing should be big enough to fit on the end of whatever comes with the oxygen bottle.

sanitize everything, drop rock connected to tubing in, and voila.

I saw it done on a youtube vid, and thought that was FRICKIN GENIUS.

 

[dooman333]

Recipe: DOOIIPA
Brewer: Doo
Asst Brewer:
Style: Imperial IPA
TYPE: All Grain

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 8.46 gal
Post Boil Volume: 6.76 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.50 gal
Bottling Volume: 4.75 gal
Estimated OG: 1.089 SG
Estimated Color: 9.2 SRM
Estimated IBU: 121.6 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 82.7 %
Boil Time: 90 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
14 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 1 73.7 %
2 lbs Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain 2 10.5 %
2 lbs Honey Malt (25.0 SRM) Grain 3 10.5 %
8.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 20L (20.0 SRM) Grain 4 2.6 %
1.00 oz Pacific Jade [13.00 %] - Boil 45.0 min Hop 5 30.3 IBUs
1.00 oz Glacier [5.60 %] - Boil 30.0 min Hop 6 10.9 IBUs
1.00 oz Amarillo Gold [8.50 %] - Boil 20.0 min Hop 7 13.1 IBUs
1.00 oz Simcoe [13.00 %] - Boil 20.0 min Hop 8 20.0 IBUs
1.00 Items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 mins) Fining 9 -
1.00 Items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 mins) Fining 10 -
1.00 oz Cascade [5.50 %] - Boil 15.0 min Hop 11 6.9 IBUs
1.00 oz Centennial [10.00 %] - Boil 15.0 min Hop 12 12.6 IBUs
1.00 oz Amarillo Gold [8.50 %] - Boil 10.0 min Hop 13 7.8 IBUs
1.00 oz Simcoe [13.00 %] - Boil 10.0 min Hop 14 12.0 IBUs
1.00 oz Cascade [5.50 %] - Boil 5.0 min Hop 15 2.8 IBUs
1.00 oz Centennial [10.00 %] - Boil 5.0 min Hop 16 5.1 IBUs
1.00 oz Amarillo Gold [8.50 %] - Boil 0.0 min Hop 17 0.0 IBUs
1.00 oz Simcoe [13.00 %] - Boil 0.0 min Hop 18 0.0 IBUs
2.0 pkg Safale American (DCL/Fermentis #US-05) Yeast 19 -
8.0 oz Corn Sugar (Dextrose) (0.0 SRM) Sugar 20 2.6 %
1.00 oz Amarillo Gold [8.50 %] - Dry Hop 7.0 Day Hop 21 0.0 IBUs
1.00 oz Amarillo Gold [8.50 %] - Dry Hop 7.0 Day Hop 22 0.0 IBUs
1.00 oz Simcoe [13.00 %] - Dry Hop 7.0 Days Hop 231.00 oz Simcoe [13.00 %] - Dry Hop 7.0 Days Hop 24 0.0 IBUs
Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Medium Body, Batch Sparge
Total Grain Weight: 19 lbs
----------------------------
Name Description Step Temperat Step Time
Mash In Add 6.581 gal of water at 157.7 F 148.0 F 90 min

Sparge: Batch sparge with 2 steps (0.27gal, 4.63gal) of 168.0 F water

Notes:
------
Need: Nylon Hop Bag couple glass marbles
Use mixer on drill then shake before pitching.
21 day Primary
2 dry hop additions in secondary
1 on transfer day and 1 after 4 days
crash cool for 5 days before kegging

 

[dooman333]

Any better? Lower IBU, lower OG, balanced hop schedule, I bought an aerator, I have Pacific Jade and Glacier in my fridge so im using them instead of warrior, 2 packs of S-05 instead of 3liter starter of 1056, added honey malt and some cara. Vienna maybe? anything look outa place. Also the Beersmith stat: Post Boil Volume of 6.75gal worries me a bit. should I lower my total batch?