Entering my first competition- need a GREAT IPA idea!

[mrdauber64]

My schedule for a great IPA(in my opinion anyways) has been:
100% Golden Promise
1 oz flavor hop FWH(I've done Cascade, Citra or Mosiac)
1 oz Bitter hop 60 min.(Columbus)
2 oz aroma/flavor hops 10 min.(Mosiac and Citra are an awesome combo)
2 oz aroma hop 5 min.(again, Mosiac and Citra)
2 oz aroma hop 30 min whirlpool starting at 175 degrees ending around 145 degrees(Mosiac and Citra again)
3 oz Dry hop in keg, or 5 days in Fermenter(2 oz Citra 1 oz Mosiac)

SG: 1.070
FG: 1.010 (mash low)

The Golden Promise lends just enough of a malt profile to back up the hops and the combo of Citra and Mosiac is outstanding! The FWH and and bittering addition provide a nice strong bitter bite, while the late hops give the flavor and aroma I want in an IPA. Probably not the pine notes you are looking for. But you could replace Citra and Mosiac with Simcoe and Amarillo. I just really like this schedule.

This is similar to one of my favorite commercial IPA's on the market, Todd the Axeman by Surly.

 

[m00ps]

Anyone ever used NZ Rakua, or any of the Styian hops before? They were on the "hops Wheel" for piney flavor....

Which styrian? Well either way, its not really suited for IPAs. The styrian family is basically all noble-ish hops. Youd need a lot of them to not get lost amongst the IPA hops.

Rakau does have a good amount of piney flavor. Pairs well with chinook, simcoe, columbus etc. I forgot to add that to my earlier list

 

[ThinBrewLine]

OK guys- I think this is it. Gonna be a brew weekend, so I'll be getting the ingredients Friday.

Anyone have any last minute change suggestions?

What about the yeast? I was thinking about San Diego Super but since I'm in no rush to hurry fermentation, I think I vWLP-001 is good.

Thanks again for all your suggestions!


Draft #6

Grain Bill:
7# pale 2 rowUS
6# maris otter
1# Munich
8oz. FlakedWheat
5oz crystal
8 oz sugar (Fro dryness)


Hops Shedule:
@ 60min 1oz MAGNUM
@ 30min 1oz centennial
@ 15min 1 oz MOSAIC
@ 15min 1oz Simcoe
@ 5min 1oz Chinook
@ 5min 2oz Amarillo
@F/O 3 oz Cascade and whirlpool a while

Single fermentation @ 68F (low end of WLP-001)
At Fermentation day 5- dry hop 2 oz Cascade leaf, then 2 oz Chinook leaf at kegging time.

Yeast: WLP-001

Mashed @ 150-152F for 60 min
60 min boil

)

 

[tallguybrewer]

Looks pretty good.

Just as an FYI...0.8% carapils will make no perceivable difference in the beer. Just up drop it an up the crystal to 4 oz. I am of the view that you should only add ingredients to beer if it has a purpose...that is, don't create complexity for complexity sake.

 

[BigMack]

Agreed on dropping the carapils. Probably even the crystal at such a low level.

Also, maybe try WLP 051/Wyeast 1272. I think it gives a little more character to IPAs that I love.

 

[kombat]

Agreed, the grain bill looks a little busy, but it's fine.

I didn't read the whole thread, but on the first page, didn't the OP indicate he wanted a big pine presence? Why the single ounce of Simcoe at 15 minutes?

Given that it's a competition, my general advice would be to overbuild your starter (or pitch multiple vials/packs, since it looks like you're brewing this this weekend and it's too late to do a starter now), brew it such that it's very fresh just in time for judging, and go over-the-top with the dry hops. 2 oz of Cascade would be fine, but if you really want to stand out, I'd just go ridiculous with it, like 6-8 oz of Simcoe for 4-5 days, then keg it and burst carb for 2 days, having it ready just in time for the competition. You'd have HUGE piney hop aroma. Control your fermentation temperatures carefully, aerate well.

 

[ThinBrewLine]

Awesome ideas-
I edited the above (draft 6) to reflect, and added some plain old sugar for dryness.

Anyone find that unnecessary?

 

[ThinBrewLine]

UPDATE:
It has been in the fermentor for 10 days. It has been dry hopped after 5 days, and will get an additional dry hop Saturday when I keg it.
It smells like the best damn IPA I have ever smelled!

So here is another question:
If the dry hops I put in at kegging time stay in there until April 8 submission time, will it be too grassy?
If so, should I just hold the beer in the sealed & o2 purged keg, and add the final dry hops a few days before submission?

 

[kombat]

If the dry hops I put in at kegging time stay in there until April 8 submission time, will it be too grassy?

In my experience, yes. Moreover, it's pointless. Most dry hop impact is imparted in the first 3-5 days. It's not like leaving them in there for 14 days would make it REALLY hopping. It maxes out after a week or so.

If so, should I just hold the beer in the sealed & o2 purged keg, and add the final dry hops a few days before submission?

Yes and no. Again, in my experience, a generous dry hop will cause some grassiness anyway, but that will fade after a week. So I would do this:

1. Keg, purge, and carbonate the beer.
2. 2 weeks before the submission deadline, add the remaining dry hops, in a sanitized hop sock, suspended in the keg with some sanitized dental floss you thread through the lid.
3. 7 days later, remove the hops
4. 7 days later, bottle the beer and submit to competition.

That should have the hop aroma right in the sweet spot upon submission. Hopefully, the entries don't sit around for too long before being judged.

 

[mrdauber64]

UPDATE:
So here is another question:
If the dry hops I put in at kegging time stay in there until April 8 submission time, will it be too grassy?
If so, should I just hold the beer in the sealed & o2 purged keg, and add the final dry hops a few days before submission?

No, from my experience when I dry hop in the keg at serving temps I never get grassy notes. I normally keep 3+ oz. in the keg for the duration of the keg(2 months sometimes). It does take longer to get the full effects of the dry hop(10 days) but the fresh hop aroma sticks around way longer!

 

[ThinBrewLine]

OK- the results are in, and............................

Out of 78 entrants, I got 27th.

Good to very good by the judges, but one judge obviously (yes I may be a bit biased) had no business judging ANY beer.

Overall, I am happy. This IPA was judged as a double/Imperial IPA as the ABV came out to 9.2%

THANKS TO YOU FOLKS WHO HELPED AND COACHED.