First time brewing my own recipe

[brewandgrow]

Hi all,

Thanks for reading this post. For the first time yesterday I brewed my own recipe and wanted to post it to get some feedback on it.

Style: Imperial IPA

Ingredients:
Munton's Crystal 60L Malt - 1 lb.
CBW Bavarian Wheat DME - 3lbs.
CBW Bavarian Wheat LME - 6.6 lbs.

Hops:
UK Admiral - 1 oz. @ 60 min.
Horizon - 1 oz. @ 40 min
Horizon - 1 oz. @ 20 min
Cascade - 1 oz. @ 20 min
Cascade - 1 oz. @ 5 min

O.G. = 1.060 estimated IBU = 97+, est. ABV 7.3%

Outdoor brew using simple wort chiller, pitched basic ale yeast from Muntons (what i had at home). Pitched yeast at 72F, next morning temp is at 68F and fermentation began within 12 hours.

I was shooting for an OG of 1.074, but 1.060 should be OK.

Any thoughts? My local brew shop (actually the local hardware store is the only place to get brew equipment within a 45 min drive from me) doesn't have much of a selection when it comes to extracts and grains, so I used what i could find that i thought was best.

What are some tricks to getting a higher OG. Corn syrup?

Thanks for reading and commenting!

-brewNgrow

 

[cyanmonkey]

I wouldn't do a 40 minute. I would move it to 20 or 15 and then keep everything else for 0-5 minute, personally. You have an of old school IPA recipe, not that that's a bad thing, you just won't get much flavor from 40 minute as it will be mostly isomerized for bitterness. I would also save something for dry hop for aroma. Say, 3 ounces minimum.

You can use any kind of sugar, really to boost abv. A lot of brewers use corn sugar, but I personally just use table sugar. You can throw a lb in now if you wanted. Just boil a pound for 10 minutes with a bit of water, let it cool and drop it in.

The obvious "trick" to higher OG is adding more extract/grains.

 

[myelo]

I'm sure it will be good. Looks like you've got a wheat IPA of sorts.

Assuming this is 5 gallons, the OG is not as high as most IIPAs and I'm surprised the IBU is that hight with that hop schedule -- I would have thought more like 2 oz Admiral at 60 min. With that much crystal and that yeast, it's probably going to finish around 1.020, which will probably put your ABV closer to 6% -- 6.5%

The main way to get a higher OG is to use more malt. You can also add some sugar -- but that will also dry the beer out a bit, which is not a bad thing for an IPA. And yeah, it you want a lot of hop flavor/aroma you might want more late addition hops or dry hops.

I would see how you like it when it's done and then go from there.

 

[Calder]

If you made 5 gallons, your gravity was 1.074 - 1.077. You really can't get it wrong with extract.

If it was 6 gallons, you would have about 1.061.

Sometime sugars just don't want to mix, and you get bad readings. Don't worry, the yeast will mix it all up for you.

Muntons yeast, all- extract plus Crystal; I would not expect it to get much below 1.020.

 

[brewandgrow]

Thanks. And I did end up with about 6 gallons so gravity of 1.060 makes perfect sense. I did repitch more yeast e491, fresher pack, as fermentation stopped after 48 hrs or so, I was hoping I could get FG closer to 1.012 but maybe not I guess.

Thanks to everyone so far, great tips!!

 

[douglasbarbin]

I don't like any Crystal malt at all in my IPAs. I definitely think a pound of C60 is too much, even if you like crystal malt.

Like the others said, the 40-minute hop addition is kind of a waste. Personally, I don't do 20-minute additions, either. I have found that I get the best results when doing a bittering addition (FWH or 60-minutes) and then the rest of the hops at the end (15 minutes or less). My process is usually only 2 additions - bittering/FWH and a giant addition after flameout when I start whirlpooling.

You can add simple sugars or syrups (corn, cane, beet, etc.) to give a boost to the OG, and it will also give you better attentuation than the extract since it is more fermentable. Since your recipe is all extract and Crystal malt, I don't think that you will see anything close to 1.012 for final gravity. Next time, if you swap some or all of the Crystal malt for cane sugar (or some other simple sugar) then you will end up with a lower FG than your current recipe. Pitching enough healthy yeast is extremely important. Oxygenating your wort usually helps, also.

 

[brewandgrow]

Thanks! After initial pitch, fermenter stopped bubbling at 48 hrs, so I repitched and nothing happened for another 48 hrs. I did a gravity check last night and I got 1.022, right about what you all have been saying. It tastes great, I think I'll bottle it tonight unless someone else has any suggestions.

Thank you all, oh, and I did end up with 6 gallons after boil so SG of 1.060 was right on target!

I will post a link to my revised recipe later, thanks again this is great!!

 

[douglasbarbin]

You can't use airlock bubbling as an indicator of fermentation. Check the gravity again tonight and see if it has changed. If not, check it again tomorrow night, and if it is still the same, then you should bottle.

 

[brewandgrow]

That's true, excitingly overlooked that part. Will do, thanks for the tip