First Recipe, Brewing Tomorrow - Thoughts?

[Kris Brew]

Hi all,

Just want some opinions really... i have never created a recipe before and thought i would have a go!

https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/view/734913/fruity-monoca

That's what i have come up with based on the ingredients i have, opinions?

 

[Andrew Hodgson]

Looks like it will be tasty to me!

 

[ESBrewer]

I think that should work fine (considering that you are probably one of those American hop heads ). Single malt is an easy way to start building recipes. Just take your time and do it carefully. Take care of sanitation on the cold side and remember that the actual temperature inside the fermenter can be 10F higher than ambient temp during active fermentation.

 

[Kris Brew]

I have become a "hop head" yes!haha

This will be my second 5 gal brew and the first one has turned out nice and as far as i can tell i have had no infections as of yet (not that I would know what one would taste like and hopefully won't have to find out). Made plenty of notes on my process so I know everything I did last time to help me this on this batch and will continue to do so on each brew.

I have made a FV fridge and dry pitch us-05 on my last batch which took off fine so I thought I would just do the same this time around?

 

[IslandLizard]

Indeed, promises to be tasty.

There are many different ways to brew Pale Ales and IPAs. A more modern approach would be to move the 30' and later addition hops to either

• 10' and flameout, respectively, and let the wort sit for 10' after flameout (hop stand), before chilling down to pitching temps,
• or move the 30' hops to flameout, let steep for 10' (hop stand), before chilling down to 150F (65C) then add all the other later hops for a 2nd hop stand. Let steep for 20-30' at that temp, then chill down to pitching temps.

These are just 2 examples, many more ways with (slightly) different outcomes.

Notes:

• You may need to add a little more of your 60' (bittering) hop to keep the same IBUs.
• During hopstands, keep lid on and stir gently but thoroughly every 3-5 minutes.
• Count on 80-90% hop utilization (adding IBUs/bittering) during hopstands directly after flameout (before chilling down), and 10-30% at around 150F (65C).

The lower the temps the less IBUs but the more flavor and aroma is retained.

BTW, what exactly do you have in mind with 0-day dry hops?

 

[Kris Brew]

Well the 0 day dry hop was a typo!ha
I have changed it to 7 days now.

I like the sounds of the second hop addition timings that you listed so I might just give it a try..

I'm trying to setup the calculator and am struggling to achieve the IBU results that I should be getting. If I put the utilisation to 80% on whirlpool or hopback it sends the IBU through the roof and the same with 30%... I think there must be something I am not understanding...

 

[IslandLizard]

I like the sounds of the second hop addition timings that you listed so I might just give it a try..

Which one the first or second suggestion?

I'm trying to setup the calculator and am struggling to achieve the IBU results that I should be getting. If I put the utilisation to 80% on whirlpool or hopback it sends the IBU through the roof and the same with 30%... I think there must be something I am not understanding...

Sorry, I should have been clearer.

I meant 80-90% (or 10-30%, respectively) of what a boil @210F (100C) of that duration would give you. So if boiling for 10' would yield 20 IBU, expect (or calculate) 80-90% of that (16-18 IBU) for a 10' hopstand at flameout (wort temps ~200F (93C)).
Similarly, if a boil for 30' would yield 40 IBUs expect only 10-30% of that at 150F (65C).

The lower the wort temps, the lower the isomerization (bittering, IBUs) and according to some reputable sources, none below 140F. Don't expect a linear relationship either, it's a curve.

Now at those lower temps more flavor and aroma are retained in the wort since less gets isomerized (less bittering), blown off with evaporation, and escape other ways. You do need longer steeping/whirlpool times the cooler its gets to extract all the goodness, say 20-60 minutes. I often do first whirlpool addition for 20' at ~160F followed by a 2nd whirlpool charge for 30' at 140-150F. The first whirlpool hops stay in the wort all that time as well as any other hops that were added earlier and during the boil. Then I quickly chill to pitching/ferm temps.

I'm not familiar with Brewer's Friend's recipe formulation software and not sure how it calculates or how correctly it estimates IBUs for whirlpool/hopstand hops IBU contributions at much lower temps (especially far below boiling). Does the [?] explain what kind of values to input in the [Util] boxes?