First Time Recipe...IPA

[heyitsmark]

Hey Everyone,

Working on my first IPA recipe...let me know what you guys think.

Briess Gold LME 6lbs
Briess Amber LME 3.3 lbs
Carmel 60L and 40L 1/2 lb each

Hops:
Warrior 1oz - Bittering 60min
US Northern Brewer 1oz - 45min
Glacier 1oz - 30min
Cascade 1oz - 15min

Dry Hop: Cascade leaf hops 1oz for two weeks in secondary

Irish Moss 1 teaspoon 15 minutes boil


After reading some of the threads on here, I'm not sold on the 1lb of carmel, I got the idea for a 1lb from another recipe that actually called for 1 1/2 lbs. I'm also not set in those times for the hops.

Let me know if anybody has any tweaks or suggestions for this recipe, I'd really appreciate it!

 

[heyitsmark]

Forgot to put in that I planned on using: Safeale US-05

 

[mfraier]

If its a 60 minute boil with those extracts its going to be dark. I might move some hops to boil out or the last 5 minutes.

 

[heyitsmark]

Would you suggest a shorter boil, or just use less extract?

 

[mfraier]

I would use extra pale or pale lme, or extra light dme......the rest should be fine.

 

[BendBrewer]

You're going to need more hops and that's a lot of Caramel. I use 1.5#s in 10 AG batches and you already have some in your Extract. I would cut it to .25 pounds of each.

For hops I would add an ounce of Cascades at 10, 5 and Flameout in addition to what you have.

 

[mfraier]

You're going to need more hops and that's a lot of Caramel. I use 1.5#s in 10 AG batches and you already have some in your Extract. I would cut it to .25 pounds of each.

For hops I would add an ounce of Cascades at 10, 5 and Flameout in addition to what you have.

Very good point.

 

[devilishprune]

I agree with less caramel; 4-8oz should be good. I made a batch (5 gals) with 12 oz and I thought that it was too much. Are you doing a full or partial boil? You need more late hops, and also a dry hop is pretty much necessitated by an american IPA.

 

[StarCityBrewMaster]

Also keep in mind (general rule of thumb) that hops added between 60mins - 30mins are going to add a lot more bitterness than flavor and hops added from 15mins to flame out are going to add a lot more flavor and aroma (but still some bitterness).

That being said I would try to to hit about 60-80% of the total IBUs you want to hit with your 60 minute hops and then add the rest within the final 15 mins. This will give you a smoother bitterness without the harsh bite of all the early addition hops.

 

[heyitsmark]

I appreciate all the input so far...I've altered my recipe to this now...

Briess Gold LME 6lbs
Briess Amber LME 3.3 lbs
Carmel 60L and 40L .25 lbs each

Hops:
Warrior 1oz - Bittering 60min
US Northern Brewer 1oz - 45min
Glacier 1oz - 15 min
Cascade 1oz - Flameout

Dry Hop: Cascade leaf hops 1oz for two weeks in secondary

Irish Moss 1 teaspoon 15 minutes boil


I've already ordered these supplies prior to posting this recipe (dumb, I know) but I'm going to check my LHBS this weekend to see if I can grab some more Cascades to add late in the boil. Or maybe use .5 oz of the leaf hops I planned on using for dry hopping. Would .5 oz be sufficent for dry hopping? Or should I stick to 1oz? This is my first attempt at dry hopping, so I'm fairly new to the whole concept.

Thanks again everyone!

 

[Yooper]

I still don't like the amber LME, as it's dark and has crystal malt in it already. I'd get rid of that and use pale LME or light DME. If you already have it, you could use it in a brown ale or stout so you don't waste it.

I don't care for the hopping. I'd use the bittering hops at 60 minutes, and then do only late addtions: at 15 minutes, 10 minutes, 5 minutes, 0 minutes and dryhopping.

45 minute hops additions will provide bitterness, but not that great hoppy flavor and aroma that I think IPAs need.

In short, I'd rework the whole recipe.

I'd do this:

9 pounds pale LME

Carmel 60L and 40L .25 lbs each

Hops:
Warrior 1oz - Bittering 60min

Cascade .5 ounce 15 minutes
Northern brewer .5 ounce 10 minutes
Cascade 1 ounce 5 minutes
Cascade 1 ounce 0 minutes

I don't think northern brewer, or glacier have particularly good flavor in late additions but the northern brewer would be fine at 10 minutes or so.

For dryhopping, or for the cascades listed above at 5 minutes and 0 minutes, other hops like centennial, amarillo, or even citra would work well.

 

[heyitsmark]

I still don't like the amber LME, as it's dark and has crystal malt in it already. I'd get rid of that and use pale LME or light DME.

The reason I chose the extracts I did was because of this recipe kit from Midwest Supplies:

http://www.midwestsupplies.com/octane-ipa.html


Also thanks for the advice on the hops, this is my first time selecting hops. I think I'll take your advice and move the Northern Brewer hops to later in the boil.

 

[Yooper]

That makes sense, I guess. It looks like an English IPA but with some cascade hops added to it.

If you want an English style IPA (which tends to be not as citrusy/hoppy), that could be one way to do it. I'm not much of a fan of the way they did it but if you used the same hops (willamette, EKG, cascades) it might be ok.

 

[kable]

You should look into late extract additions as a process for using your extract. Maybe you can leave out the amber extract and buy some light DME to use at the start and add the rest of your LME at flame out. Makes for a slightly lighter colored beer with less carmalization/melanoiden.