Brewing FOUR new AG recipes this weekend

[GuitsBoy]

Hi All -

I'm brewing four new AG recipes this weekend, and would love some thoughts. These are brand new recipes, not necessarily based on anything. Just trying to throw different things against the wall and see what sticks. I've got pretty good assortment of grains and hops, so if you think a different combination might be better suited, Id love to hear your thoughts. Thanks!

Amber IPA - Reddish, sweet IPA with an earthy/piney/grapefruit hop profile
1.068 OG - 12.4 SRM - 81 IBU
10 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 1 70.2 %
2 lbs Munich Malt - 10L (10.0 SRM) Grain 2 14.0 %
1 lbs Aromatic Malt (26.0 SRM) Grain 3 7.0 %
12.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM) Grain 4 5.3 %
8.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 20L (20.0 SRM) Grain 5 3.5 %
0.75 oz Bravo [12.90 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 6 29.8 IBUs
1.00 oz Chinook [12.50 %] - Boil 20.0 min Hop 7 23.3 IBUs
1.00 oz Cascade [7.00 %] - Boil 15.0 min Hop 8 10.7 IBUs
0.50 oz Columbus (Tomahawk) [12.70 %] - Boil 15. Hop 9 9.7 IBUs
1.00 oz Cascade [7.00 %] - Boil 5.0 min Hop 10 4.3 IBUs
0.50 oz Columbus (Tomahawk) [12.70 %] - Boil 5.0 Hop 11 3.9 IBUs
1.00 oz Cascade [5.50 %] - Boil 0.0 min Hop 12 0.0 IBUs
0.50 oz Columbus (Tomahawk) [12.70 %] - Boil 0.0 Hop 13 0.0 IBUs
1.0 pkg Safale American (DCL/Fermentis #US-05) Yeast 14 -


Imperial IPA - Drier, high gravity, resiny hop bomb
1.083 OG - 9.2 SRM - 122 IBU
12 lbs 8.0 oz Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 1 75.8 %
1 lbs Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain 2 6.1 %
1 lbs Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L (40.0 SRM) Grain 3 6.1 %
1 lbs Munich Malt - 10L (10.0 SRM) Grain 4 6.1 %
1 lbs Sugar, Table (Sucrose) (1.0 SRM) Sugar 5 6.1 %
2.00 oz Millenium [11.80 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 6 64.2 IBUs
1.00 oz Centennial [10.00 %] - Boil 30.0 min Hop 7 20.9 IBUs
1.00 oz Cascade [7.00 %] - Boil 15.0 min Hop 8 9.5 IBUs
1.00 oz Columbus (Tomahawk) [12.70 %] - Boil 15. Hop 9 17.1 IBUs
1.00 oz Cascade [7.00 %] - Boil 5.0 min Hop 10 3.8 IBUs
1.00 oz Columbus (Tomahawk) [12.70 %] - Boil 5.0 Hop 11 6.9 IBUs
1.00 oz Cascade [5.50 %] - Boil 0.0 min Hop 12 0.0 IBUs
1.00 oz Centennial [10.00 %] - Boil 0.0 min Hop 13 0.0 IBUs
1.0 pkg Safale American (DCL/Fermentis #US-05) Yeast 14 -


Island IPA - Tropical, fruity somewhat sweet
1.062 OG - 5.9 SRM - 68 IBU
11 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 1 84.6 %
1 lbs Caramel/Crystal Malt - 10L (10.0 SRM) Grain 2 7.7 %
1 lbs Munich Malt (9.0 SRM) Grain 3 7.7 %
1.00 oz Galena [12.50 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 4 40.3 IBUs
1.00 oz Cluster [7.00 %] - Boil 15.0 min Hop 5 11.2 IBUs
1.00 oz NZ Orbit [5.50 %] - Boil 15.0 min Hop 6 8.8 IBUs
1.00 oz Cluster [7.00 %] - Boil 5.0 min Hop 7 4.5 IBUs
1.00 oz NZ Orbit [5.50 %] - Boil 5.0 min Hop 8 3.5 IBUs
1.00 oz NZ Orbit [5.50 %] - Boil 0.0 min Hop 9 0.0 IBUs
1.0 pkg Safale American (DCL/Fermentis #US-05) Yeast 10 -


Oatmeal Porter - Bitter, somewhat sweet, chocolaty, oatmeal mouthfeel
1.066 OG - 33 SRM - 41 IBU
10 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 1 71.4 %
1 lbs Caramel/Crystal Malt -120L (120.0 SRM) Grain 2 7.1 %
1 lbs Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM) Grain 3 7.1 %
1 lbs Munich Malt (9.0 SRM) Grain 4 7.1 %
1 lbs Oats, Flaked (1.0 SRM) Grain 5 7.1 %
0.75 oz Galena [12.50 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 6 29.4 IBUs
1.00 oz Willamette [5.50 %] - Boil 15.0 min Hop 7 8.5 IBUs
1.00 oz Willamette [5.50 %] - Boil 5.0 min Hop 8 3.4 IBUs
1.0 pkg SafAle English Ale (DCL/Fermentis #S-04) Yeast 9 -





Available Grains:
2 row
Aromatic
CaraPils
Munich Malt
Crystal 10L
Crystal 20L
Crystal 40L
Crystal 60L
Crystal 120L
Black Patent Malt

Available Hops:
Bravo
Cascade
Centennial
Chinook
Cluster
Columbus
Galena
Magnum
Millenium
NZ Orbit
Willamette

 

[m00ps]

I'd cut back the crystal in the IPAs. Im one of those people that doesnt like any amount of crystal in my IPAs since it gets in the way of the hop flavor. But even those that do include it, its recommended to stay under 5%. Definitely not 13% like in the Amber IPA. A bit of aromatic would go well in its place

For the tropical IPA, im nto sure what flavor you are trying to get. Cluster isnt really an IPA hop, more like a stronger noble-ish hop. Same with Galena. None of the hops you have really lend themselves to "tropical" flavors. For that, you need to look at NZ and AU hops, or at least newer US varieites like mosaic and citra. Orbit may work, but from what I've read, its not nearly as pungent as many other new world varieties. I made a Hawaiian Fruit Punch amber ale with Citra, Mouteka, Pacific Gem, and Mandarina Bavaria. I also tried a pina colada IPA with an experimental hop that supposedly has some coconut taste and kohatu for pineapple. I added 3 lbs fo fresh toasted coconut to the fermentor

Also what are you aiming at with mash temps? I always stick around 148-150 for my IPAs to get them dry. Stouts are usually 154-155

Also, have you heard of a hopstand? Ive found this to be essential to get anythign close to a commercial quality hop character in your IPA. My IPAs usually have a total of 14oz or more, with at least half of that going into a massive hopstand.

 

[GuitsBoy]

Thanks for the reply.

Ill Drop the crystal down a bit. I had used aromatic last time I did an amber IPA, but I still had just as much cara. I simply omitted the aromatic and brought the gravity back up with 2row. I was definitely going for sweet though.

I hear you on the galena and cluster, I was really just going by the descriptions floating around since I'm not very familiar with them myself. I guess its not quite tropical (aside from perhaps the orbit) but more citrusy/lemony. Any suggestions on what I could replace with? Or just stick to the usual centennial/cascade/columbus?

Mashing temp target at 150-152 for 60 min, but I could go a touch cooler.

I have heard of a hop stand, but for some reason I never seem to hops at or beyond FO. I guess I really should move back towards that again. Perhaps Ill simply duplicate the 5 minute additions at FO, and swirl for a few minutes while I start chilling the porter or a different batch. Or do you suggest waiting till it drops well below boiling before the hop addition?

 

[m00ps]

For replacing cluster and galena, I'd go with your usual IPA hops if you dont want to pick anything else up. If you want to do some sort of tropical taste you could try adding some pineapple juice or something> I had grapefruit sculpin last year and couldnt believe how good it was for what I considered a "fruit" beer

I do my hopstands in 2 additions. First I add 4oz or so at flameout and let it sit for a while before chilling. I definitely get some IBUs form this addition. This is where I get most of the hop character from in my IPAs. Once the temp naturally drops to 180F or so, I'll add another 4oz of hops. These ones I choose to add later becuase supposedly hop oils arent volatile below 180F, so you get extraction fo the flavor and aroma without losing anything. So I choose whichever hops I think smell/taste best for this addition. For dry hops, Im only concerned with smell

 

[GuitsBoy]

Thanks.

I'm really not too keen on adding juices directly to the beer. But pineapple was one of the reasons I was interested in trying cluster hops:

...A more delicate floral note at the top leads you deeper in to a grove of pineapple and orange, and a dewy herbal character follows closely behind....

...It has all the American character you would expect, with intense citrus that was a dead ringer for passionfruit. It kicks off a lot of tropical fruit essence as well, suggesting mango or guava. It is every bit as sticky and vivid as you expect from US hops--and distinctive, too...

I have an irrational aversion to dry hopping, so I tend to avoid it in my recipes, at least for now. Theres been times life gets in the way and the secondary has to sit an extra month or two longer than expected. I figure I can always pepper it back in once I dial in some recipes I like, and I'm sure I can bottle the beer before the hops rot, or taste like it anyway.

I assume you're doing 10 gallon batches with that many post boil hops?

 

[ss4ivan]

Hopstand and/or Dryhop for some great fruity aroma and some percieved fruity taste. Galaxy and Citra would be great for the Island IPA.

 

[GuitsBoy]

Hopstand and/or Dryhop for some great fruity aroma and some percieved fruity taste. Galaxy and Citra would be great for the Island IPA.

Galaxy, Citra and Mosaic are all on my to-buy list, but I haven't picked any up yet.


Anyway, I have updated the recipes in the original post. I added some hops at flameout or possibly hopstand after its cooled a bit. Also took out a bit of crystal in the amber, but I still wanted that sweet red IPA taste. For the island ipa (perhaps a poor name now) I removed magnum, and will use the galena purely as bittering. Ill add the cluster and orbit at 15 and 5, then orbit at FO. Hopefully the New Zealand orbit will add enough tropical aroma to carry the team.

 

[GuitsBoy]

Tweaked the recipes a but more. Pulled out a bit more caramel from the IPAs and replaced with munich. Still going to try my luck with the cluster/orbit combo and see how it works out.

 

[GuitsBoy]

Brewed six 5-gal batches monday. Took about 14 hours start to finish, not counting grinding the grain ahead of time. In addition to the AG recipes above, I did two extract kits. Octane IPA from Midwest, and Rogue's I2PA from MoreBeer.

 

[Kharnynb]

I hope you're kegging, otherwise you'll have a very painful bottling weekend in about 3 weeks....

 

[GuitsBoy]

I hope you're kegging, otherwise you'll have a very painful bottling weekend in about 3 weeks....

I usually store gallon growlers uncarbonated, topped off with private preserve to keep from oxidizing. Then Ill force carbonate as needed. A bit unorthodox, but its been working out pretty well, and while I have a handful of corny kegs, its even easier than kegging IMO.

 

[GuitsBoy]

I bottled the two lower gravity beers; the Island IPA and the Oatmeal Porter.

Both really need to mellow for a while before I can really reach a verdict, but these finished much drier than anticipated. Island IPA went from 1.058 to 1.006, and the porter went from 1.060 to 1.008. My mash temps seemed to hold around 150ish, same as usual, so I'm not sure why these finished so low. The fermentation temps may have been a bit higher than I'd like, but nothing I haven't hit before on US-05. Its hard to really taste the beer over a mouth puckering 1.006 finish, so its difficult to pick out the hop notes to see if I liked it. Though the IPA is a hop bomb, nothing overly island-ish jumps out at me. Hopefully I can pick out some flavors and aromas if it ever mellows out.