First Double IPA recipe

[xpops]

Hey Guys - Fairly new to the community, and hope i posted in the right section! I have successfully brewed a few all grain kits, and looking to brew a double IPA with 2 objectives.

1 - attempt to create my own clone recipe based on a beer i like (that i cannot buy in stores)
2 - experiment with dry hopping

I was hoping to get some feedback/constructive criticism on my recipe below.

First off - i need to give recognition to the beer i would like to try and clone - Amsterdam Brewery's Fracture IIPA

http://www.amsterdambeer.com/beers/fracture/

If you're ever in Toronto, Ontario - stop by and see them - all their beer is excellent!

so - the recipe;

ABV - 9.3%
IBU - 105
OG post boil - 1,083
FG - 1,012
SRM - 12-14 (guessing)

Grain Bill;

8 lbs - Maris Otter
5 lbs - 2 Row
1 lbs - Crystal - 40L
1 lbs - Carafoam
8 oz - Flaked Barley
1.5 oz - Black Malt
1 oz - Columbus - 60 min
1 oz - Simcoe - 60 min
1 oz - Centennial - 25 min
1 oz - Citra - 5 min
12 oz - corn Sugar - post boil

Dry Hopping;

.75 oz Columbus, Simcoe, Centennial, Citra - 14 days
.25 oz Columbus, Simcoe, Centennial, Citra - 7 days

Yeast;

Wyeast American Ale 1056 (with starter)

Based on the link above for the Fracture IIPA
- I used all the same malts and hops, achieve the same ABV and IBU.
- I replaced Carahell with Crystal as i cannot get Carahell where i get all my supplies.
- I also added some flaked Barley to ensure some head retention,
- I added a small amount of black malt just to get to roughly the same looking SRM.
- The Corn sugar is being added to raise the OG.

To me, it looks alright? the only thing im not too sure of, is the mix of 2-row and MO, and my hopping schedule. whether i should add hops 1 type at a time in full Oz quantity in the boil, or should i be doing something like, .25oz of each type, at 4 different intervals (60min/45min/30min/5min)?

Sorry if this is a little long winded...i'm just really curious to get some feedback from brewers with more experience than I !

Please chime in and let me know!

cheers,

 

[peterj]

Well they list 2 row first so I would probably switch the 2 row and maris otter amounts. And I would cut back on the crystal and carafoam. If you want this to get down to 1.012 you don't need all the dextrins that crystal malts contribute. Also I wouldn't use crystal 40 as a sub for carahell. Looks like it's around 11L so I would look for something around that. Maybe a crystal 10 if you can get it. And maybe cut those back to be about 0.5-1 pound combined total.

I think the 12 oz of corn sugar will be good, but you could consider upping it to a pound if you want. You need about 85% attenuation so you need to make the wort very fermentable. You didn't mention mash temp but I would go pretty low with it. Maybe around 150 or so.

As for hops, you're going to need way more of them. The bittering is probably fine, though you could just use one type of hop since you won't get much flavor from that anyway. Then I would add at least 4-6 ounces sometime in the last 15 minutes of the boil.

14 days is a little long for a dry hop. And I would use way more hops for the dry hop as well. Probably around 3-4 oz total. Since it say a 2 stage dry hop, I would probably do 2 oz for 5-7 days and another 2 oz for 3-5 days. I would overlap them so you put in the first 2 oz, wait a couple days, then add the next 2 oz, and take them all out right before you package.

 

[wardens355]

^Pretty much what he said. The flaked barley and carafoam are redundant, so I would choose one and maybe use 8 oz. Add the corn sugar during the last 10-15 minutes of the boil to sanitize.

 

[xpops]

^Pretty much what he said. The flaked barley and carafoam are redundant, so I would choose one and maybe use 8 oz. Add the corn sugar during the last 10-15 minutes of the boil to sanitize.

goood call on sanitizing corn sugar - thanks!

 

[xpops]

Well they list 2 row first so I would probably switch the 2 row and maris otter amounts. And I would cut back on the crystal and carafoam. If you want this to get down to 1.012 you don't need all the dextrins that crystal malts contribute. Also I wouldn't use crystal 40 as a sub for carahell. Looks like it's around 11L so I would look for something around that. Maybe a crystal 10 if you can get it. And maybe cut those back to be about 0.5-1 pound combined total.

I think the 12 oz of corn sugar will be good, but you could consider upping it to a pound if you want. You need about 85% attenuation so you need to make the wort very fermentable. You didn't mention mash temp but I would go pretty low with it. Maybe around 150 or so.

As for hops, you're going to need way more of them. The bittering is probably fine, though you could just use one type of hop since you won't get much flavor from that anyway. Then I would add at least 4-6 ounces sometime in the last 15 minutes of the boil.

14 days is a little long for a dry hop. And I would use way more hops for the dry hop as well. Probably around 3-4 oz total. Since it say a 2 stage dry hop, I would probably do 2 oz for 5-7 days and another 2 oz for 3-5 days. I would overlap them so you put in the first 2 oz, wait a couple days, then add the next 2 oz, and take them all out right before you package.

thanks for the quick reply!

-i only up'd it from crystal 10 to 40 because i was trying to get that nice orange/rust colour - maybe i should stop worrying so much about trying to achieve that?

-yes - i planned on mashing around 150-152

-i'll change up schedule to use more of a single hop for initial bittering, and crank it up towards the end of boil with the other varieties - thanks!

-for dry hopping - they never mention anywhere 2 stage hopping - i just figured it would be a good way to get some good layer flavouring?

Should i dry hop with all 4 types in both stages, or do 1 stage with 2 types, and the second stage with the other 2 types??


one other question - if they're using primarily base malts, and a low crystal 10 - how are they getting that nice colour (see the link). Even with me adding small amount of black malt, it seems like my SRM doesnt match them?

thank you!

 

[peterj]

thanks for the quick reply!

-i only up'd it from crystal 10 to 40 because i was trying to get that nice orange/rust colour - maybe i should stop worrying so much about trying to achieve that?

-yes - i planned on mashing around 150-152

-i'll change up schedule to use more of a single hop for initial bittering, and crank it up towards the end of boil with the other varieties - thanks!

-for dry hopping - they never mention anywhere 2 stage hopping - i just figured it would be a good way to get some good layer flavouring?

Should i dry hop with all 4 types in both stages, or do 1 stage with 2 types, and the second stage with the other 2 types??


one other question - if they're using primarily base malts, and a low crystal 10 - how are they getting that nice colour (see the link). Even with me adding small amount of black malt, it seems like my SRM doesnt match them?

thank you!

A 40L crystal is going to give you a different flavor than a 10L crystal or carahell. Since they didn't use a crystal 40 in the original, you might end up with a flavor that doesn't match.

I saw the 2 dry hops on their website under the description. It says, "Our ode to hops! Fracture Imperial India Ale is brewed with Centennial Citra, Columbus & Simcoe Hops, then dry hopped twice for aroma." So you got that right without even knowing! Nice!

For the dry hopping, I think either way you go it should be about the same. I might just keep it simple and add 2 types each stage so you wouldn't have to open a bunch of packs of hops and reseal and reopen.

As for the color, I'm not sure how they're getting it that dark. Maris otter is a little darker than 2 row, so maybe you could go half and half. But even then it seems like it would be lighter than that picture. You could add 1-2 oz of black malt or carafa III or something to darken it up. That wouldn't be a problem.

 

[xpops]

A 40L crystal is going to give you a different flavor than a 10L crystal or carahell. Since they didn't use a crystal 40 in the original, you might end up with a flavor that doesn't match.

I saw the 2 dry hops on their website under the description. It says, "Our ode to hops! Fracture Imperial India Ale is brewed with Centennial Citra, Columbus & Simcoe Hops, then dry hopped twice for aroma." So you got that right without even knowing! Nice!

For the dry hopping, I think either way you go it should be about the same. I might just keep it simple and add 2 types each stage so you wouldn't have to open a bunch of packs of hops and reseal and reopen.

As for the color, I'm not sure how they're getting it that dark. Maris otter is a little darker than 2 row, so maybe you could go half and half. But even then it seems like it would be lighter than that picture. You could add 1-2 oz of black malt or carafa III or something to darken it up. That wouldn't be a problem.

i had planned on adding about 1.5oz of black malt, so maybe when i drop it down to crystal 10, i'll up that to 2-2.5oz - at least we're on the same page as to how they're getting that colour...secret ingredient maybe?!

haha - i just noticed the description as well...i suppose i should have read all of it before i started directing people to their webiste!...i just figured if i was going to dry hop for the first time, why not go all the way and do a multistage dry hop! glad to hear this is the right beer to try it with...

thanks again for the input!

cheers,

 

[HopHound12]

I use about the same amount of hops in my APA crank it up my friend!!

 

[HopHound12]

In my opinion a IIPA should have at least a 3-4 oz dry hop you want hop aroma to be bursting out of your finished beer.

 

[xpops]

I use about the same amount of hops in my APA crank it up my friend!!

i'm a huge fan - i've just never dry hopped before so was playing it safe - looks like i'll be going big !

thanks,

 

[sgraham602]

Personally I've always gotten better results from big drops for short time periods, as opposed to dry hopping for a week plus on end. Seems to be less grassy. I like to follow John Kimmich's (The Alchemist) rule of "at least 4 days, but never more than 5". I like to do the last 4 days of primary and then the last 4 days of secondary on my DIPAs.

 

[sgraham602]

In my opinion a IIPA should have at least a 3-4 oz dry hop you want hop aroma to be bursting out of your finished beer.

Agreed! I do 3oz in primary and 3 oz in secondary for 4 days each. It'll be bursting with hop flavor!

 

[ABVIBUSRM]

too many grains IMO..i like to keep DIPA grain bills simple..just enough to stand up against the hops

 

[peterj]

too many grains IMO..i like to keep DIPA grain bills simple..just enough to stand up against the hops

He's trying to clone that beer, and that's what they list for their grains...

 

[ABVIBUSRM]

He's trying to clone that beer, and that's what they list for their grains...

ahhhhh in that case forget what i said.

 

[xpops]

Thanks to all those who replied! i took all the tidbits of info and retool'ed my recipe last night, and much more confident in regards to what my results may be!

the only thing still throwing me off is my colour vs theirs - but i've also read in a couple places not to put too much weight on the SRM value in beersmith...so i'll make it, and it is what it is!

thanks again!