Christmas Experimental IPA

[ABeerZale]

Okay, so going to brew in under 12 hours, was hoping a few kind sols would have a look at this . What you think , are we good to go?


HOME BREW RECIPE:
Title: Xmas Experimental IPA
Author: Mark Hughes

Brew Method: All Grain
Style Name: American IPA
Boil Time: 60 min
Batch Size: 21 liters (fermentor volume)
Boil Size: 28.5 liters
Boil Gravity: 1.044
Efficiency: 70% (brew house)

STATS:
Original Gravity: 1.059
Final Gravity: 1.017
ABV (standard): 5.61%
IBU (tinseth): 59.54
SRM (morey): 11.48

FERMENTABLES:
5 kg - Belgian - Pale Ale (87.7%)
450 g - American - Caramel / Crystal 30L (7.9%)
250 g - American - Caramel / Crystal 75L (4.4%)

HOPS:
30 g - Centennial, Type: Leaf/Whole, AA: 10, Use: Boil for 60 min, IBU: 34.85
21 g - Amarillo, Type: Leaf/Whole, AA: 8.6, Use: Boil for 15 min, IBU: 10.41
14 g - Cascade, Type: Leaf/Whole, AA: 7, Use: Boil for 15 min, IBU: 5.65
14 g - Cascade, Type: Leaf/Whole, AA: 7, Use: Boil for 5 min, IBU: 2.27
14 g - Amarillo, Type: Leaf/Whole, AA: 8.6, Use: Boil for 5 min, IBU: 2.79
14 g - Citra, Type: Leaf/Whole, AA: 11, Use: Boil for 5 min, IBU: 3.57
14 g - Citra, Type: Leaf/Whole, AA: 11, Use: Boil for 0 min
16 g - Cascade, Type: Leaf/Whole, AA: 7, Use: Dry Hop for 7 days
40 g - Citra, Type: Leaf/Whole, AA: 11, Use: Dry Hop for 7 days

YEAST:
Fermentis / Safale - American Ale Yeast US-05
Starter: No
Form: Dry
Attenuation (avg): 72%
Flocculation: Medium
Optimum Temp: 15 - 23.89 C


Generated by Brewer's Friend - http://www.brewersfriend.com/
Date: 2013-11-29 16:58 UTC
Recipe Last Updated: 2013-11-29 16:57 UTC

 

[WissaBrewGuy]

Just my opinion but there is too much crystal malt here. I only typically use around 5% in my IPAs so as not to drown out the hops. Other than that I like your hop schedule. Go for that citrus!

Edit: maybe add some other malts such as: munich, biscuit, vienna, or victory to add a nice complexity and to replace some of the crystal. It might also add a breadyness to the beer that is really desirable this time of year.

 

[ABeerZale]

By reducing the crystal , how does that affect the final product? More / Less body? Darker / Lighter ? Sorry if these are dumb questions. Used similar grain bill in last brew , beer tastes great but doesnt have much head.

 

[ABeerZale]

Just my opinion but there is too much crystal malt here. I only typically use around 5% in my IPAs so as not to drown out the hops. Other than that I like your hop schedule. Go for that citrus!

Edit: maybe add some other malts such as: munich, biscuit, vienna, or victory to add a nice complexity and to replace some of the crystal. It might also add a breadyness to the beer that is really desirable this time of year.

Noted, I'll see what other grain we have

 

[ABeerZale]

Any last minute suggestions /opinions?

 

[ABeerZale]

Well it's done now

View attachment 163255

The boil and our selection of hops.
Ended up with around 19 litres, have hopes for this one, brew day much easier than our previous effort. Should have taken more pics. I'll post a pic of the final product when is done!

 

[ABeerZale]

The boil and our selection of hops.
Ended up with around 19 litres, have hopes for this one, brew day much easier than our previous effort. Should have taken more pics. I'll post a pic of the final product when is done!

 

[WissaBrewGuy]

Nice Pic! I am glad brew day went well and I apologize for not getting to your questions earlier. I am pretty sure that crystal malt will increase head slightly but most importantly, since it is made up of unfermentable sugars, it adds body and sweetness the the beer; it will also add color like any other grain. The reason you would keep the crystal down in an IPA is so the bitterness of the hops is the main flavor, not the maltiness or sweetness of the malt. When you are showcasing the hops in a beer you really want a dryer, crisp, neutral malt profile so the hops aren't hidden by anything; now this doesn't mean you want hop-water, but you don't want a hopped up barlywine either (although I love hoppy barlywines, I just wouldnt call them an IPA). My trick to adding head to my IPA's is to add a little bit of wheat to the mash. This is a great way to add a thick, stable head to the beer.

 

[ABeerZale]

Nice Pic! I am glad brew day went well and I apologize for not getting to your questions earlier. I am pretty sure that crystal malt will increase head slightly but most importantly, since it is made up of unfermentable sugars, it adds body and sweetness the the beer; it will also add color like any other grain. The reason you would keep the crystal down in an IPA is so the bitterness of the hops is the main flavor, not the maltiness or sweetness of the malt. When you are showcasing the hops in a beer you really want a dryer, crisp, neutral malt profile so the hops aren't hidden by anything; now this doesn't mean you want hop-water, but you don't want a hopped up barlywine either (although I love hoppy barlywines, I just wouldnt call them an IPA). My trick to adding head to my IPA's is to add a little bit of wheat to the mash. This is a great way to add a thick, stable head to the beer.

Cheers for he input man. It's been fementing away happily all week, nice constant bubbling , not so intense now so I reckon we're almot done, maybe I'll takea reading today to see how ít's doing.

If you add wheat, how much are you talking?

 

[WissaBrewGuy]

I have 7% wheat in my pale ale recipe. I'm not sure it needs that much but it has a great body and head on it so I probably won't change it much when I brew it next time.

 

[ABeerZale]

I have 7% wheat in my pale ale recipe. I'm not sure it needs that much but it has a great body and head on it so I probably won't change it much when I brew it next time.

I don't want my beer to have an excessive taste of wheat, so you're saying wheat was 7%of your grain bill?

 

[WissaBrewGuy]

Yes. I know some people start at 1lb/5gal and work their way down. My beers aren't perfect but I find that the 0.5lbs/5gal in my pale ale is just right.

 

[ABeerZale]

Well all bottled up now, 56 bottles primed, now the difícult 2 week wait. One done, photos will be posted. It smelt good yesterday!! Fingers crossed the finished product will be just as good!

 

[WissaBrewGuy]

I'm sure it will be! I can't wait to start kegging to shorten up on that dreadful 2 weeks!

 

[ABeerZale]

Cracked open a few bottles yesterday, great aroma, smells like Brew Dog Punk IPA , great taste, very happy with this, should get us through the New Year. This recipe is being saved for the future. Happy days!!



Sent from my Nexus 4 using Home Brew mobile app

 

[WissaBrewGuy]

Looks nice! Congrats on a successful brew! Also, thanks for following through with the results on the post. Happy new year! Cheers!