First try - Pacific Coast IPA

[cristinikol]

Hi guys,

This is my first post on the forum. :rockin:

I am preparing to start with an IPA as this is my favourite style of beer. Hopefully I will have all ingredients needed and I will start this weekend.
I want to ask you guys what type of yeast you recommend for this recipe. (I cannot order the kit as I am located in Europe and the delivery price is very high; i will buy the ingredients from a local store)
They do not specify the type of yeast in the recipe so I have no clue what to add. I am also open to upgrade to a better quality yeast if works with it.

http://www.brewersbestkits.com/pdf/1061 2016 Pacific Coast IPA Recipe.pdf

Tks a lot!
Cristian

 

[GPP33]

Something clean. If you want a dry yeast US-05 is popular, liquid go with a California Ale (i.e. WLP001) if you can get it. An English or British ale would work as well.

 

[kev211]

I am a big fan of White Labs (if you can get it in Vienna). The California Ale yeast WLP001 is a great yeast for IPA's. A lot of people like the safale US-05 strain from fermintis. I never use it, but its a good yeast.

Since you arent buying the kit and will be purchasing the ingredients individually I would add a little more DME and subtract some of the corn sugar. Thats a lot of corn sugar for an IPA. I dont even like to put a pound in DIPA's.

Also, one other thing to note. The directions saay to secondary ferment, or "two-stage ferment". I wouldnt worry about that. Just leave it in the same fermenter the whole time. No need to transfer.

Good luck!

 

[GPP33]

Never done a partial mash, is that recommended temp actually workable? I know it's a hell of a range for AG. I usually target either 150 or 152 for my AG IPAs (depending on exact brew). 150 and 165 will make very different beers, actually I'd think 165 would be more like a soda.

 

[kev211]

Never done a partial mash, is that recommended temp actually workable? I know it's a hell of a range for AG. I usually target either 150 or 152 for my AG IPAs (depending on exact brew). 150 and 165 will make very different beers, actually I'd think 165 would be more like a soda.

Ya thats a good point. At 165 I feel like you would even risk killing conversion. I would shoot for 152 as well. Maybe a little lower if you want a dryer IPA. They also say not to squeeze the bag. Im not a BIABer but I was under the impression that it was ok to squeeze

 

[cristinikol]

Thank you very much for your tips and advices! i will take care about the temperature and keep it around 150. I will not use the 2 stage ferment as nobody is pointing adv.

 

[cristinikol]

the recipe is with LME. better to replace with DME? i also think is strange to add so much sugar. what should be the DME\LME and sugar quantities in your oppinion?

 

[cristinikol]

the recipe is with LME. better to replace with DME? i also think is strange to add so much sugar. what should be the DME\LME and sugar quantities in your oppinion?

I am a big fan of White Labs (if you can get it in Vienna). The California Ale yeast WLP001 is a great yeast for IPA's. A lot of people like the safale US-05 strain from fermintis. I never use it, but its a good yeast.

Since you arent buying the kit and will be purchasing the ingredients individually I would add a little more DME and subtract some of the corn sugar. Thats a lot of corn sugar for an IPA. I dont even like to put a pound in DIPA's.

Also, one other thing to note. The directions saay to secondary ferment, or "two-stage ferment". I wouldnt worry about that. Just leave it in the same fermenter the whole time. No need to transfer.

Good luck!

 

[kev211]

the recipe is with LME. better to replace with DME? i also think is strange to add so much sugar. what should be the DME\LME and sugar quantities in your oppinion?

Oh my bad. I wrote DME but forgot that its LME. You could use either. Keep in mind that they are not interchangeable. So if your shop doesnt have one you cant just sub the other one without some math.

1 DME = ~1.25 LME

I would use the grains listed plus ~7.5Lbs LME and about .5lbs Corn sugar.

That will give you a nice dry beer without making it taste like green apples. With a full pound of corn sugar in a 1.055-1.060 IPA it could end up having a tart/green apple taste.

 

[PADave]

They also say not to squeeze the bag. Im not a BIABer but I was under the impression that it was ok to squeeze

Perfectly fine to squeeze the bag as much as you want.

 

[cristinikol]

Unfortunately i could not start this weekend as the supply store is out of any kind of malt extract. i hope to have everything and start next weekend.
Is it fine to work only with DME? as a lot of people say it's easier to store and also to to weight the required amount. (according to conversion 1=1.25) or to combine LME with DME?
As i found multiple option for DME and LME, what do you think is best for IPA style?
LME light, Extra light etc. same for LME: amber, light, extra light.
i suppose spray malt extract = DME with same conversion numbers to LME.

 

[dwhite60]

Wondering what the availability of home brewing supplies in Europe overall is like? Care to tell us?

One thing I'll give LME, it's NOT powdery. DME can get everywhere if you're not careful with it. I think DME does give better flavor though.

US-05, Wyeast 1056, would be good yeast choices.

As you're steeping grains more to extract flavor than any kind of starch conversion up to 165F should be fine. Been there, done that.

Hope everything works out well for you. Let us know how it turns out.

All the Best,
D. White

 

[cristinikol]

Wondering what the availability of home brewing supplies in Europe overall is like? Care to tell us?

One thing I'll give LME, it's NOT powdery. DME can get everywhere if you're not careful with it. I think DME does give better flavor though.

US-05, Wyeast 1056, would be good yeast choices.

As you're steeping grains more to extract flavor than any kind of starch conversion up to 165F should be fine. Been there, done that.

Hope everything works out well for you. Let us know how it turns out.

All the Best,
D. White

sorry for my late reply.
sure i can share.

http://www.beerstorevienna.at/wp-co...0928_Preisliste-Homebrewing-inkl.-Speidel.pdf
(this is from the only supply store in Vienna- Austria for the moment). it's in german only

http://www.hobbybrauerversand.de/
(this one is from Germany - quite a lot of options but low stocks.)

As I was told, in Germany and Austria they are naming some of the grains differently.

 

[cristinikol]

Oh my bad. I wrote DME but forgot that its LME. You could use either. Keep in mind that they are not interchangeable. So if your shop doesnt have one you cant just sub the other one without some math.

1 DME = ~1.25 LME

I would use the grains listed plus ~7.5Lbs LME and about .5lbs Corn sugar.

That will give you a nice dry beer without making it taste like green apples. With a full pound of corn sugar in a 1.055-1.060 IPA it could end up having a tart/green apple taste.

should i target for the same OG and FG if i add more LME and substract from the sugar?

 

[Chiller_ale]

Have you looked at the online recipe calculators like on Brewer's Friend? You can change around the fermentables and see the changes in OG, FG and others. I am new so don't know how accurate it is but it is fun to play around with different ingredients. (looks like they use 1 dme = ~1.20 lme)

 

[kev211]

should i target for the same OG and FG if i add more LME and substract from the sugar?

Yup! Still the same beer. Just more grain based and less sugar based

 

[dwhite60]

sorry for my late reply.
sure i can share.

http://www.beerstorevienna.at/wp-co...0928_Preisliste-Homebrewing-inkl.-Speidel.pdf
(this is from the only supply store in Vienna- Austria for the moment). it's in german only

http://www.hobbybrauerversand.de/
(this one is from Germany - quite a lot of options but low stocks.)

As I was told, in Germany and Austria they are naming some of the grains differently.

Thanks for the reply!

Looking at "Beer Store Vienna". Nice web site. GREAT looking store.

1.8 Euro for kilo of malt is about a dollar a pound. Much cheaper there. The "sackware" bulk price of 1.5 Euro per kilo is very inexpensive.

Hop prices are comparable to what I pay locally.

Yeast is about the same.

VAT is pretty steep! The U.S. has not implemented a VAT, yet.

They seem to have a VERY good selection of everything.

Thanks again for sharing!

All the Best,
D. White

 

[cristinikol]

Final feedback regarding my brew:

I had some problems with my brew just after pitching the yeast beacause the fermentation was not visible. after 4 days of no visible activity i aerate the wort to put the yeast in action even if the krausen was present- now i know that this was a mistake. at the end the beer is more then great.. i am just amased of the result.. im not sure if i was lucky or this beer is realy great
lessons learnt:

- if you boil on the stove, use the cover to bring the wort to boil. (no chance without cover. it's good to have a girlfriend to teach you some basic cooking principles)
- do not underastimate steam.. i uncovered the pot to check the boil and a burned my arm (3cm diameter) in a fraction of a second. (tatoo of my first brew )
- cooling in the sink with cold water is efficient but manufaturing a wort chiller is better.
- top up water is the best option for cooling wort and meet OG (and also the batch size)

thank you very much for your tips. now i understand that going homebrew has no coming back...
thank you very much and i will keep you updated on my second batch. brewdog- elvis juice clone.

 

[tjm02c]

When you're talking about the sugar you're just taking about adding it before bottling to carb it, right? Or do you actually add it in the boil with the LME?

 

[cristinikol]

Hi! I was adding 0,5 lbs of sugar cane into the boil and then for carb i used 1 sugar pill for small bottle (0,33 liters) and 2 for 0,5 liters bottle.

The carb. Is great! ( for my taste - medium high level)

 

[tjm02c]

What's the benefit of adding sugar to the boil? Just to increase OG?

 

[cristinikol]

I think so but somebody with experience should confirm

 

[cristinikol]

What's the benefit of adding sugar to the boil? Just to increase OG?

i found something useful for you regarding your question:

" Sugar adjuncts are 100% fermentable, which means they boost wort strength (original gravity) without adding to the beer's body. The end effect is to create a drier, thinner beer than would result from using more malt in the grist. Some sugars also add flavor and color. Some of the most commonly used brewing sugars include:

Belgian candi sugar
British invert sugar
Corn sugar (dextrose) or plain table sugar (sucrose)
Brown sugar
Honey or molasses

Do not be afraid of sugar adjuncts in your Belgian brewing. Drinkability is key to Belgian styles, which means they go down surprisingly easy for such strong beers. Making a Belgian dark strong ale from an all-malt wort is likely to result in a syrupy, cloying malt bomb. Don’t be afraid to use as much as 30 percent sugar in worts for Belgian styles.

Sugar is commonly included in double IPAs for the same reason: Higher original gravity for the same final gravity.

Extract brewers may also need to include a certain amount of simple sugars to boost the fermentability of their wort. Extract-based wort is almost always less fermentable than an equivalent home mashed wort. Substituting sugar for some of the extract, especially in stronger styles, can boost attenuation."

Source: Beerandbrewing.com

 

[tjm02c]

Interesting, never knew that before. Good find and thanks!

 

[tjm02c]

Anyone know a way to calculate sugar needed in conjunction with malt extract to hit a OG target?

 

[cristinikol]

I think the easiest way is to use a receipt calculator and to adjust sugar addition. This way the OG will be adjusted considering all parts of your receipt.
I prefer http://www.brewersfriend.com/ because it’s free, online and has a modern interface. Also http://beersmith.com/ is a very good option.
Me as a beginner I took an already made receipt and adjust here and there on my preference.

 

[tjm02c]

Cool, I'll check it out