Designing my first IPA from scratch

[Sematary]

So, I think after doing many recipes - from full grain to partial and even all DME/LME kits that I sort of have a handle on what I want to do. Of course, I'm going to have to do a lot of tweaking going forward to get it exactly where I want it but I figured I'd throw this out there and see if any of you had any ideas on how I could tweak it (keep in mind I already purchased the supplies.). I have 1 lb of Chateau Cara Blond, 2 cans of CBW RYE LME and 1 lb of Breiss Golden Light DME. For yeast I have America West Coast Ale yeast and My hops are 2 oz. of Citra, 2 oz of Cascade and 1 oz of Amarillo

So I want to steep the 1 Lb of Chateau Cara blond till it reaches 170 degrees and then let it continue to steep for an additional 20 minutes. So adding it in a steeping bag as soon as I turn on the flame. At that point, remove it, shut the flame off and add the 6.6 lbs of LME and ensure it's completely dissolved into the water then turning the flame back on and bringing to a boil. Add the DME at the beginning of the boil.

Hop schedule (currently planned) (boil time planned is 1 hour)
1 oz Citra at 60 minutes (beginning of boil)
1 oz Cascade at 30 minutes to flameout and 1 oz of Cascade at 15 minutes to flameout
1 Oz Citra at flameout
1 oz Amarillo added when the wort has been placed in the fermenter.

Add yeast when wort is 70 degrees.

Fermentation time - 2 weeks (single fermenter)

Bottle - wait 2 weeks

Enjoy.

I'm hoping for a pretty hoppy brew and I think this will get me there. I considered adding 2 oz of the Citra pellets at 60 minutes but
I'm thinking that might make it too bitter. So not sure on that. If I do that, it would, of course change the rest of my schedule.

Edit: 5 gallon batch starting with 3 gallons of water.

 

[NewFranconiaBrewing]

Good call on reducing the 60 minute addition to 1 oz. IDK what your Citra AA% is, but you’ll get a lot of hop bitterness adding 1 oz. so early. Based on the amount of hops you plan on adding and the time they’ll boil, you’re likely to get a 70+ IBU beer. Depending on your water, that could come across as a strong, astringent bitterness. Consider adding most of your hops in the last 20 minutes of the boil or later; you’ll get more hop flavor and less bitterness.
Also, for your next batch, consider using “cheap alpha” hops like Magnum for bitterness, as Citra at 60 minutes won’t impart any flavor.

Also, consider adding your dry hop addition towards the end of the fermentation, as you don’t want hops sitting in your beer too long. 7 day dry hop should give you plenty of flavor.

 

[Sematary]

Good call on reducing the 60 minute addition to 1 oz. IDK what your Citra AA% is, but you’ll get a lot of hop bitterness adding 1 oz. so early. Based on the amount of hops you plan on adding and the time they’ll boil, you’re likely to get a 70+ IBU beer. Depending on your water, that could come across as a strong, astringent bitterness. Consider adding most of your hops in the last 20 minutes of the boil or later; you’ll get more hop flavor and less bitterness.
Also, for your next batch, consider using “cheap alpha” hops like Magnum for bitterness, as Citra at 60 minutes won’t impart any flavor.

Also, consider adding your dry hop addition towards the end of the fermentation, as you don’t want hops sitting in your beer too long. 7 day dry hop should give you plenty of flavor.

My only concern is opening the ferment at the 7 day mark and possibly getting an infection. But since I've never done that - why not? lol

 

[NewFranconiaBrewing]

My only concern is opening the ferment at the 7 day mark and possibly getting an infection. But since I've never done that - why not? lol

The risk is minimal if you re-sanitize your airlock. Airborne bacteria and yeast can’t fall into your brew during fermentation, as the CO2 pushes air out. Hops won’t infect your beer either...they inhibit bacteria and the risk of wild yeast is near zero.

 

[Sematary]

The risk is minimal if you re-sanitize your airlock. Airborne bacteria and yeast can’t fall into your brew during fermentation, as the CO2 pushes air out. Hops won’t infect your beer either...they inhibit bacteria and the risk of wild yeast is near zero.

So since I'm using a 5 gallon plastic fermenter, what would you suggest as the best way to open/introduce the hops at the 7 mark? Pull the airlock and drop them in and reintroduce the airlock? Pop a corner of the lid and just drop them in ? Something else?

 

[NewFranconiaBrewing]

So since I'm using a 5 gallon plastic fermenter, what would you suggest as the best way to open/introduce the hops at the 7 mark? Pull the airlock and drop them in and reintroduce the airlock? Pop a corner of the lid and just drop them in ? Something else?

I haven’t used a bucket fermenter, but if you can just drop them in through the airlock hole, that would work, just like you said. Try for the least amount of exposure.

 

[Sematary]

I haven’t used a bucket fermenter, but if you can just drop them in through the airlock hole, that would work, just like you said. Try for the least amount of exposure.

Fair enough. Thanks for the input. Will definitely give it a try and have a spare/sterilized airlock at the ready.

 

[NewFranconiaBrewing]

Fair enough. Thanks for the input. Will definitely give it a try and have a spare/sterilized airlock at the ready.

Good luck, let me know how it turns out!

 

[Sematary]

Good luck, let me know how it turns out!

Roger that!

 

[Alecholic]

Ive found that building your hop schedule backwards for IPA’s works great. I second the dry hopping and with a bucket I would make the addition at maybe day 3 or 4. Reasoning is you don’t risk oxidation due to fermentation still being vigorous enough to expel any air that gets in.

 

[Sematary]

Ive found that building your hop schedule backwards for IPA’s works great. I second the dry hopping and with a bucket I would make the addition at maybe day 3 or 4. Reasoning is you don’t risk oxidation due to fermentation still being vigorous enough to expel any air that gets in.

Won't that sort of defeat the purpose of waiting till day 7 to get the flavor?

 

[Alecholic]

Won't that sort of defeat the purpose of waiting till day 7 to get the flavor?

Not that I’ve noticed, generally fermentation is very close to FG by the end of dry hopping. Dry hopping at day 7 works just as fine, just more risk of oxidation

 

[Sematary]

So, did this up on Saturday. OG is 1.060 The airlock started doing it's thing this morning. I was hoping I didn't screw it up as I "may" have had a little too much to drink while I was doing it. ;-)

 

[DolemiteGK]

Looks good! For future reference- don't waste that awesome Citra as a 60 min addition. Use something cheaper and save the Citra for those awesome later additions.

 

[Sematary]

Looks good! For future reference- don't waste that awesome Citra as a 60 min addition. Use something cheaper and save the Citra for those awesome later additions.

It is hopping along nicely now. I can smell the hops too. ummm, it's making me thirsty. I've got the AC on and it's 57 in the room but the fermenter is at 72 so those yeast are BUSY. lol

 

[NewFranconiaBrewing]

It is hopping along nicely now. I can smell the hops too. ummm, it's making me thirsty. I've got the AC on and it's 57 in the room but the fermenter is at 72 so those yeast are BUSY. lol

If you're looking to improve your temp control, check out the Brew Cooler. Its not much bigger than a carboy and works really well. I've been able to keep my batches 10-15 below ambient temp consistently by changing ice once or twice a day.

 

[Sematary]

If you're looking to improve your temp control, check out the Brew Cooler. Its not much bigger than a carboy and works really well. I've been able to keep my batches 10-15 below ambient temp consistently by changing ice once or twice a day.

That's pretty cool. How much ice do you go through?

 

[NewFranconiaBrewing]

That's pretty cool. How much ice do you go through?

I have 4 x 20oz bottles that I fill with water and freeze. I use 2 every 12 hours, and the temperature of the beer is stable (+- 1 degree over 7 days).

I make 3 gallons at a time, so you'll need more ice with 5 gallon batches.

 

[Sematary]

Ended up doing the dry hop of 1 oz Amarillo at the 5 day mark. Can't wait to taste this one. lol

 

[Sematary]

OG was 1.060. FG is 1.014. ABV = 6.04. and oh such a good aroma.