First Recipe Attempt

[Maclean]

Hi All,

My dad and I have been brewing now for 8 months. We have made 5 AG batches. We've done Maharaja, Arrogant Bastard, Schumacher Alt, White Rascal, and Bitter Brewer clones that all turned out well. I want to get away from copying and make an IPA recipe. I used BeerSmith to create the recipe below. I am going for a very aromatic brew that isn't too dry. I would like some constructive feedback if anyone feels compelled to chime in. Thanks in advance, and thank you to the site for putting together such a great place for people to share brewing info.

OG: 1.075
FG: 1.020 (we'll see)
90 min. boil
5 gal. batch
Yeast: California Ale (WLP001)

Mash Schedule:
60 min @ 159 F
Batch Sparge @ 168 F

87% Pale Ale Malt 2-Row
9% Caramunich III
4% Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L
0.75 oz. Citra [12.00 %] - First Wort
0.50 oz. Nugget [13.00 %] - First Wort
1.50 oz. Amarillo [8.50 %] - Boil 25.0 min
1.25 oz. Cascade [5.50 %] - Boil 25.0 min
0.50 oz. Citra [12.00 %] - Boil 5.0 min
2.00 oz. Citra [12.00 %] - Dry Hop 7.0 Days

Maclean

 

[FarmBoy530]

With the caralll you may want to take the caramel down to 10L. You also might want to add a low aa hop to your dry hops. If your doing 5gal I'm showing 12lbs, 1.25lbs, and .5lbs for your grain %. at 75% eff. and 7gal pre-boil. This seems on the mark for your recipe. The only other thing you may think about is your mash temp. You can mash at 159F, but on a large beer that you want to finish fairly low. 1.015-1.019 FG. You might try mashing at 152F. This will allow the breakdown of more complex sugars making them fermentable. Thus a more fermentable wort all together.

 

[Maclean]

Thanks Farmboy for the input. I just have a few comments/questions still...

I have my equipment profile in BeerSmith dialed into the suggested set up that the BeerSmit offer...Our efficiency is more like 65%, this allows us to hit our desired pre-boil gravity using more grain.

I chose 159 F for the mash temp so that we have more complex sugars in the wort. Our beers have been coming out a little on the weak side as far as malt flavors go, so I was going to experiment with a higher mash temp. As calculated, if we start with an OG of 1.075 and end at 1.020, our apparent attenuation will be 72%. This falls in the low end of the attenuation spectrum for the WLP001...Just curious to see if we can make this work, given our previous experiences.

With regards to the 10L replacing the 40L, is this for color and caramel flavoring. From my understanding, the higher the number (L) the more drastic the coloring and caramel flavor of the wort. Is this about right? If so, how will the end result differ in my case?

I think i'll add an oz. or two of amarillo to the dry hop. Do you think I should get rid the citra given the high aa?

Thanks again.

 

[dcp27]

159F is a really high mash, but supposedly lagunitas does it, so i guess theres no harm in it. however, thats alot of crystal going along with it. i'd cut back on the mash temp or crystal if this is supposed to be an IPA (preferably both)

Also, I'd move your 25min adds 10 mins later. 25mins is past the flavor peak and you're getting reduced dividends at that point.

You also might want to add a low aa hop to your dry hops.

Do you think I should get rid the citra given the high aa?

no, AAs have nothing to do with dry hopping, they're only relevant for bittering.

 

[Maclean]

Interesting fact about Lagunitas. (big fan of the lil' sumpin wild). I am really trying to retain malt flavors throughout fermentation and not end up with just a hoppy beer with no malt backbone. Is the way I am going about trying to achieve this logical?

Will cutting the grain % as follows seem more in line with IPA? Would using a lower L crystal also help?

91% pale 2 row
5% caramunich
4% crystal 40L

thank you!

 

[dcp27]

Under 10% crystal is a lot better, altho there are some that use more with great results so take it as you will. I'd opt for using some munich/vienna if a malty backbone is your goal, say 5-20%.

 

[FarmBoy530]

If you lower your mash temp quite a bit some munich could be good. But I agree with the panel. With the high mash temp I'm glad to see you cut that caramel down. I would still bring the mash temp down though. 1.010 to 1.018 is the style range for an IPA FG. It sounds to me like your looking to make a big amber beer. That can be very close to a IPA, I would say even border line IPA. However you still need that FG around 1.015 even for an amber. With an IPA at 1.018 even the bigger malt base IPAs are going to be in that range. Remember, an IPA isn't just about hops, its about a balance or off balance of hops and malt. long story short, your going to want to try to come down below 1.020. Bring your mash temp to 154F-155F if your worried about getting a dry beer. I would split the citra and armerillo and do 1.5oz each for a dry hop, only because I love the aroma both give! If you dry hop with high aa its fine, just a waste of aas and money that could have bittered your beer. Lots of this post was opinion based take what you will.