American IPA Best Birthday IPA

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SouthPhillyBr3w3r

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 2, 2017
Messages
151
Reaction score
42
Location
Philadelphia, PA
Recipe Type
All Grain
Yeast
Wyeast 1272 or Imperial A24
Yeast Starter
600 mL DME @ 48hr
Batch Size (Gallons)
5.5
Original Gravity
1.070
Final Gravity
1.017
Boiling Time (Minutes)
60
IBU
55.6 (software counts whirlpool as 0 IBU)
Color
6 SRM
Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)
11 days @ 68'F
Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)
N/A
Tasting Notes
Bitter Backbone. Caramel, Nutty, Citrus, Floral, Pine. Aroma= Citrus/stonefruit/tropical
This batch will be a birthday present for one of my closest friends. I would love to get some feedback. I am hoping to make a twist on a West Coast IPA. In addition to the usual citrus, floral, and pine, I want to have a very strong, fruity nose with hints of tropical. I am concerned I am blurring the lines between WCIPA and NEIPA and am worried about making the beer equivalent of mixing all of the sodas at the fountain.

GRIST:
Mash for 60 min @ 152'F

  • US 2-Row: 6.25 lbs
  • Golden Promise: 6.25 lbs
  • Victory: 12 oz
  • Flaked Oats: 8.0 oz
HOPS:
Kettle:
  • Chinook: 0.5 oz (FWH)
  • Centennial: 0.25 oz (FWH)
  • Centennial: 0.5 oz (10 min)
Whirlpool (45 min):
  • Citra: 1.25 oz
  • Centennial: 1.0 oz
  • Azacca: 1.25 oz
  • Eureka: 1.25 oz
Dry Hop (4 days post-krausen)
*Dry Hop for 7 Days*

  • Centennial: 1.0 oz
  • Eureka: 1.0 oz
  • Azacca: 1.0 oz
  • El Dorado: 1.0 oz
WATER:
*2:1 Ratio of Calcium Chloride to Gypsum for Smooth Sweetness
*Phl. Municipal, Filtered through activated carbon, treated with Campden
  • Calcium Chloride: 0.35 grams/Gal (Mash+Sparge)
  • Gypsum: 0.25 grams/Gal (Mash+Sparge)
  • Lactic Acid: As needed to maintain 5.45 pH
YEAST:
Imperial Yeast A24: Dry Hop (Conan + Sacc Trois)

Finings:
  • Whirlfloc: 1 tablet (10 min)
  • Gelatin: 5 grams in 1/4 cup water (in serving keg)
Please feel free to give any input/suggestions/etc. regarding this recipe, as well as the formatting of this post. I hope I made this easy to read, not over-formatted.
 
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My two-cents. Use all 2-Row and replace the Oats with white wheat. I'd also drop the Crystal as well.

Mash at 150F

I'd also decrease the Chinook to .50 so you have a total of .75 FWH

I would also wait and dry-hop post fermentation or at least wait for 80% of it to be done.

If you're worried about blurring the lines, you're certainly on the edge.
 
Thanks. I appreciate it. Do you think the FWH will blow out the flavor/aroma as is? If I am not mistaken, his favorite beer is Green Flash West Coast IPA, but I don't wanna do a clone recipe as a gift...
 
Thanks. I appreciate it. Do you think the FWH will blow out the flavor/aroma as is? If I am not mistaken, his favorite beer is Green Flash West Coast IPA, but I don't wanna do a clone recipe as a gift...

If anything I think the FWH will round out the bittering addition if anything.
 
My favorite IPA Grist is about 50/50 2-row and golden promise with a bit of victory (about 5%). I would, personally, drop the Munich either in half or altogether. I feel Munich gets a bit “malty” like a pale ale especially with a healthy bit of MO. The oats are fine in that amount and get you nowhere near the adjunct amount present in a NEIPA. I would drop the crystal but a 1/2# of 30L won’t break the bank. However, half MO a# of Munich and the crystal are going to go against the light crisp background of a good west coast IPA.

I agree with a 150-152 mash temp. I like your hop additions but I find chinook to be a bit harsh and take a while to settle into a gentle bitterness. But that is preference.

Good luck.
 
My favorite IPA Grist is about 50/50 2-row and golden promise with a bit of victory (about 5%). I would, personally, drop the Munich either in half or altogether. I feel Munich gets a bit “malty” like a pale ale especially with a healthy bit of MO. The oats are fine in that amount and get you nowhere near the adjunct amount present in a NEIPA. I would drop the crystal but a 1/2# of 30L won’t break the bank. However, half MO a# of Munich and the crystal are going to go against the light crisp background of a good west coast IPA.

I agree with a 150-152 mash temp. I like your hop additions but I find chinook to be a bit harsh and take a while to settle into a gentle bitterness. But that is preference.

Good luck.

Killing it with the IPA advice! Thanks! I'm still getting a feel for munich malt, and I have never used golden promise.. Most of the IPAs I have brewed have been almost entirely 2 row with a touch of Crystal and Carapils. I no longer use Carapils, since I was mashing it, which totally defeats the purpose. Would you suggest dropping Chinook altogether or just in the dry hop? I have a ton of new "aroma hops" with high AA% so I could just use the one with the least cohumulone... or just up the centennial and replace the chinook in the dry hop with some enigma or ekuanot. I currently have a supply of Eureka, Ekuanot, Centennial, Citra, El Dorado, Azacca, Chinook, and Enigma in my freezer. I defer to your experience on this one.
 
Updated the recipe into almost a totally different beer. Ha. Now I just need to brew the damn thing before I keep tweaking it until in turns into a Schwartzbier.
 
I’d reverse your water treatment in favor of gypsum. And use about 5% table sugar. Might try splitting your whirlpool hops with half added about 190 and other half added at about 170.
 
I’d reverse your water treatment in favor of gypsum. And use about 5% table sugar. Might try splitting your whirlpool hops with half added about 190 and other half added at about 170.

I usually favor Gypsum, but it tends to be a little dryer than I want. I'm hoping to accentuate the fruity character to ease my friend into the idea of an NEIPA, without bringing him a glass of hopped OJ
 
Sorry for the late post! Life happened. So THIS is the recipe I most recently brewed, which got me closest to what I want (I have adjusted it based on the tasting notes). HERE WE GOOOOO!

JUICY JUICE NEIPA
Mash @ 148'F for 60 min (NO SPARGE/Full Vol)
Grist:
10.5 lb 2-Row Barley
3.0 lb Maris Otter
2.5 lb Flaked Oats
1.0 lb 6-Row Barley
1.0 lb Rice Hulls

Water:
CaSo4 1.0g
CaCl2 3.5 g
Lactic Acid 2.0 mL

Kettle Hops: (Everything Whirlpool @ 165'F for 35 min unless otherwise noted)
3.0 mL CTZ Hop Extract 60 min
3.0 oz El Dorado
2.5 oz Azacca
1.5 oz Citra
1.0 oz Ekuanot
1.0 oz Mosaic (Cryo-hops)

Dry Hop 1:

1.5 oz El Dorado
3.5 oz Azacca
1.0 oz Citra
1.5 oz Ekuanot

Dry Hop 2:
1.5 oz Azacca
1.5 oz Ekuanot

PROCEDURE NOTES:
First dry hop added 24 hours after pitch. 3 days later, beer transferred onto second dry hop in a purged keg with 200 micron stainless filter around dip-tube. After 8 days, beer is closed-transferred to serving keg. Cold condition and carbonate. 1st Pint or so may have a bit of hop sludge.

Tasting Notes:
When consumed as soon as carbonated, there was a strange tingling left on the tongue after drinking (too much hop oil or something). Beer improved drastically after a week of cold conditioning. Primary flavors include: Orange, lemon, melon, papaya, mango, lychee, bubblegum, candied cherries. Slight herbal undertone with honey finish. I love this beer, but may reduce the ABV% so I can also reduce the hop load, while maintaining hop flavor. I really had to bomb this with hops, so the ~7% alcohol didn't overpower the hop juice.

Tasting Feedback (From Friends)
"This looks and smells like carbonated orange juice, but tastes like tropical fruit punch. Where did you buy this? Wait... YOU brewed it? Jesus, dude.... Good job"
 
The two-row GP blend as you had originally it is wonderful. It just works. Flavor is fantastic.

I have been doing that combo with 1.75 lb malted red wheat, .5 lb flaked oats and a pound of corn sugar. Pretty much a standard grain bill for me at this point

I would reduce the whirlpool to 20 min. It seems to me that too long a whirlpool can leave the brew a little vegetal - plus, it seems as I get everything out of the hops in 20 min anyway (saves time)
 
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My favorite IPA Grist is about 50/50 2-row and golden promise with a bit of victory (about 5%). I would, personally, drop the Munich either in half or altogether. I feel Munich gets a bit “malty” like a pale ale especially with a healthy bit of MO. The oats are fine in that amount and get you nowhere near the adjunct amount present in a NEIPA. I would drop the crystal but a 1/2# of 30L won’t break the bank. However, half MO a# of Munich and the crystal are going to go against the light crisp background of a good west coast IPA.

I agree with a 150-152 mash temp. I like your hop additions but I find chinook to be a bit harsh and take a while to settle into a gentle bitterness. But that is preference.

Good luck.
I don't think there is any lower limit on adjuncts in a neipa. I've heard the best ones don't use any flaked nothing, ie treehouse et all, but then they weren't trying to make an neipa they were just making their take on an IPA so I suppose words are just what you say they are...
It's all like semantics bro
 
I think the lesson here is that there is a very blurry line between different styles of IPA and associated brews. Pretty much everything can be adjusted for taste. Nobody agrees on EXACTLY how it should be done, so if it tastes like you wanted it to, you did a good job. I just hope everyone is sipping something good these days.
 
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