Critique Session IPA please!

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turkeygecko

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Hey all - Hoping to brew a session IPA this weekend, which I've never done before. I'm not looking to make it very bitter, so vast majority of hop additions are flameout and dry hop. I'm most interested in feedback on mash temp and use of dextrine/Carapils as it relates to body and head retention, but all feedback welcome! I don't want to make an extremely thin beer, but I want it pretty dry... hence the (typical IPA) low mash temp, plus the use of Carapils.

Thanks all!

12 gallons wort post boil, 11 going to fermentor
OG 1.052
Final 1.014
ABV 5.05%


16 lb 2-row
2 lb Carapils/dextrine
2 lb Vienna
1 lb Crystal 60

Mash @ 152 for 60 mins
Mashout @ 169 for 10 mins


2 oz. Pacific Gem (15.4 AA) - 30 mins

1 oz. Citra (11 AA) - flameout
1 oz. Motueka (7 AA) - flameout
1 oz. Nelson Sauvin (12.5 AA) - flameout

2 oz. Citra (11 AA) - dry hop
2 oz. Motueka (7 AA) - dry hop
2 oz. Nelson Sauvin (12.5 AA) - dry hop
2 oz. Amarillo (8.6 AA) - dry hop


Wyeast 1272 @ 68


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I have been working on my session IPA recipes as well, your recipe looks good to me. I have learned that trying to go below a 1.050 to 1.052 OG does not make a session IPA that I like. I feel you need the ABV in the mid 5's to get the flavor I want.

My grain bill I've settled on looks like this for 10.5 gallons going to the fermentor (14.5 pre-boil):

18 lb. 2-row
2 lb. Vienna
1 lb. CaraPils
12 oz. Crystal 20L
12 oz. Honey Malt

I mash this at 152. I have made this several times with several hop combinations, but I concentrate on late additions. It has a good body, good head retention, and finishes dry (1.010-1.012).

My hop schedule looks like this:

0.5 oz. Magnum (or Columbus) @ 60
3 - 4 oz. Citra/Simcoe/Amarillo @ 20
3 - 4 oz. Citra/Simcoe/Amarillo @ 0 (20 min. steep)

US-05 yeast, two packs, ferment in primary for 14 days then keg.

I just brewed this again this weekend, and I am going to dry hop it with 3 oz. of Amarillo, which I have yet to try. I think the dry hops will give it that little extra something.

I make a lot of standard IPA's in the 1.065-1.072 range, with substantially more late hop and dry hop additions than above, your traditional "hop bomb."

My session recipe above I make for holidays and parties, where at least part of the crowd are decidely not hop heads, and it generally gets very good reviews, and described as balanced and "citrusy" and usually gets polished off quickly even by the non-craft beer fans. I think it fits great in that space for me.

Looks like you are on the right track to me, your recipe to me looks like it will make a fine session IPA.
 
I would cut out the C-60. Maybe its just personal preference but crystal malts IMO go terribly with IPAs even in small amounts. Vienna however, is a great choice. It gives a little bit of bready toastiness. To me that's what you want in an IPA. Malt complexity to lay a backbone for the hops instead of caramel sweetness to drown out the hops. My IPA's lately have been 5% vienna, a little maltodexrin and that's it.

1272 is good choice. Slightly less attenuative than US-05 and leaves a little bit of fruit behind. I think its key to have a little bit of yeast character in a SIPA. I think mashing a little bit higher, using 1272 and dextrin malt, is going to give you the residual sweetness and body you need to prevent the beer from being watery, so I strongly suggest dropping the crystal malts altogether.

As far as hopping goes, have you tried hop extract for bittering? Its easy to use, cheap as hell and gives the cleanest bitterness I've ever found. Magnum is a close second in my book. Finally, what about a hop stand? Instead of adding those 3 oz at flameout, where they will still lose aromatics before the wort is chilled, try throwing them in at 180F and letting the wort sit for 20 mins or so before finishing the chilling process.

Here is a great article about SIPAs http://www.themadfermentationist.com/2012/01/vienna-malt-session-ipa-recipe.html

Sorry if I came off a little professorial. I brew A LOT of IPAs.
 
I would include the IBU calculations for more through input, but I'd move some of those dryhops to flameout, and I like C60 in my hoppy beers at that ratio, but I don't think you need 2lbs of Carapils on top of it. Probably would to 1lb of each.

I'd mash it lower and longer so it finishes drier. I like session beers to be crushable, and dry finish helps.

Haven't used those hops in those combinations, but I bet it'll taste good.
 
I'd mash higher. ..I mash my session ipas at 158. You get a little more body, but with the low og, it still attenuates well.
 
I would mash high. Maybe 160. And then swap out some carapils for more vienna or maybe munich. A 1.045 SIPA with a FG around 1.014 works out nice. Go light on the bittering and heavy on whirlpool and dryhop. Can you whirlpool? I'd bump up the flameout hops a bit and whirlpool at flameout temps for 30-45 minutes and then cool and pitch.

How long is your dry hop?
 
Thanks all. Brewed the batch yesterday, and it's not going to be a session. 93% kettle efficiency this time around will result in a beer close to 6%. Im finding that efficiency on my system tends to be quite a bit higher with smaller grain bills.

I kept the crystal in, and plan to tweak over time... will reduce in further iterations if the sweetness is too much.

I mashed at 152, and relying on the Carapils for body. Although, with higher gravity than I anticipated, thinness might not even be an issue.

Switched hop schedule a bit: 2 oz pacific gem 30 mins, 2 oz Citra, 2 oz Motueka, and 2 oz Nelson Sauvin @ flameout with a 25 minute whirlpool. Will be dry hopping in secondary with 1.5 oz each of the following: Amarillo, citra, Motueka, Nelson Sauvin for a week.


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HERMS recirculating with a slow sparge yields high efficiency for me. Brew house efficiency is generally around 80%


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