Grain addition ideas for IPA?

[drums09]

So I am still pretty new to brewing... Decided to go a lil furthur this time and am trying an IPA (extract kit) this time. The 3 previous brews I've done all had some form of grain addition along with malt extract, but I noticed this kit just has DME and LME. Here is the ingredient list I've got. Any thoughts on grain additions? Qty needed?

2 lbs Briess Golden Light DME
6.6 lbs Briess Pilsen Light LME

1 oz Centennial - 60min
1 oz Zythos - 30min
1 oz Cascade - 1min

Wyeast 1056 American Ale

Thanks for all the great help so far!

 

[hercher]

I would consider adding up to a lb of Munich, steeped at 150 for 30 minutes. It will add a little color, provide some more fermentables, and give your beer a fuller malt flavor to balance out some of those hops.

 

[BassBeer]

Crystal malt is a common grain used in IPAs. Try .75-1.5 lb. of Crystal 60L steeped @ 150-160 for ~30 minutes, for a hint of caramel sweetness and golden color.

 

[jammin]

I see that you asked about grain - but I had to poke my head and suggest a good dry hopping. perhaps 2oz of cascade

also - if you brew extract, you probably have some extract laying around to make a starter with. very helpful for a good fermentation.

 

[dbsmith]

I wanted to suggest moving one of your hop additions from 30 minutes down to 20 or 15 minutes.

 

[CarnieBrew]

Couldn't agree more on the Crystal malt, either 60 or 120L, around 1lb will add greatly to your brew. Reduce your Pilsen extract by the same amount to retain a similar gravity/abv%.

 

[bobbrews]

Editing & adding onto what has been said so far...

*Munich must be mashed, not steeped. FYI - they make Munich extract, as well as wheat, English 2-row, pilsener, etc.

*3-8% Cara- / Crystal malt can be a good addition, but I would do Crystal 10,20,30,40... not 60, definitely not 120. You could also use Honey malt... Or Carafa for a Black IPA.

*Your Zythos addition would be better suited at 15-0 minutes left in the boil.

*More late hops (15-0) are needed... like double, or triple if your OG is quite high.

*A decent dryhop in an AIPA makes all the difference in the world.

*Be sure to have enough yeast cells for your given OG. Sometimes yeast starters are required.

*Full volume boils with no top off water are key for IPAs. As are late extract additions and corn sugar, if using either.

 

[Calder]

I wouldn't use the Munich. It needs to be mashed, it will not add any fermentables in a steep. It will add a little flavor, and some starch (haze).

IPAs tend to be low on crystal addition. There is already some in the Golden DME, and that is probably why they don't add any. For an IPA, I would limit any crystal addition to about 0.5 lb. For Pale Ales, I'd add more (about a pound). NOTE: Steeping crystal will get you about 18 gravity points per lb, while LME has 36 points per lb. The suggestion to replace one-for-one to maintain gravity is incorrect. To maintain gravity, replace 0.5 lbs of LME with 1 lb of Crystal. Personally, I'd just add it on top. and to hell with the balance.

I like my IPAs dry. I would add some plain sugar to help it dry out. About 10%. Especially since this is an extract beer, which tend to end up higher than all-grain beers. This beer is about 1.064. 10% in 5 gallons would be about 32 gravity points, or about 11 ozs of table sugar.

As others have said; the hopping schedule is a little weak. I'm guessing about 35 IBUs, with very little flavor. The BJCP guidelines for American IPA are: "A decidedly hoppy and bitter, moderately strong American pale ale. 40.0-70.0 IBU". And add some dry hops.

 

[dbsmith]

You can still use Munich, as Hercher suggested. If you 'steep' (technically mash) the grains at about 150-158 degrees as he suggested for 30-45 minutes. Just use about 1.5 qts of water to mash it in (per pound of munich malt). After you are finished, toss the grains out and then add more water and begin boiling and the hops additions. Near the end of your boil, add your extracts. Ta da! And you get to say that you've done your first 'mini-mash'.

 

[hercher]

You can still use Munich, as Hercher suggested. If you 'steep' (technically mash) the grains at about 150-158 degrees as he suggested for 30-45 minutes. Just use about 1.5 qts of water to mash it in (per pound of munich malt). After you are finished, toss the grains out and then add more water and begin boiling and the hops additions. Near the end of your boil, add your extracts. Ta da! And you get to say that you've done your first 'mini-mash'.

Never did understand the difference between "steeping" and "mashing"!:cross:

I agree with the poster who suggested that there likely is some crystal in the extract, so you don't really need to add any. And I do believe that C-120 would be way too dark for the style.

 

[CarnieBrew]

I disagree on avoiding Crystal 120. I'm a few bottles into my latest brew, a "Golden Ale" that's basically an American IPA with 45 IBU's and an EBC of 12.5. The ingredients were (converted to US):
3.3lb Coopers Light LME
3.3lb Coopers Wheat LME
17.5oz of Crystal 120, steeped for 30 minutes
2 gallon boil, 28oz of LME added at start of boil, rest added just before flameout
1oz Amarillo @ 60
.7oz Amarillo @ 20
1oz Amarillo @ flameout
US-05 Yeast

It is a beautiful golden colour, not at all too dark for the style. The BJCP guidelines for American IPA allow an SRM of 6-15, that's an EBC of up to 29.

Easily the best beer i've made so far. Terrific mouthfeel, tons of hops, a head that never dies. As an aside, the only thing i'll change on this brew for next time is dropping the 1oz of Amarillo hops at flameout down to around half an ounce...it's a bit full on, although i'm sure it will age very, very well. YMMV.

 

[peterj]

I agree with hercher about adding the Munich as long as you up the hop bill. If you "steeped" as he suggested (at 150 for ~30 minutes) you would essentially be mashing them, which is necessary for Munich. Also, I would add about 0.5 lbs of Crystal 60L (or any other crystal). Extract does already have carapils in it but thats not going to get you any cara flavor, just body and mouthfeel. And definitely replace 1 lb of DME with 1 lb of corn sugar. Extract brews tend to finish with a high FG because of all the unfermentables in the extract so the sugar will counteract that and dry the beer out

If you are doing a half boil and topping off I would double all of your hop amounts and move the 30 minute addition to 20 or 15. If you are doing a full boil I would just add 0.5-1 oz each to the Zythos and Cascade and move the Zythos to 15. And definitely dry hop! Use about 2 or 3 oz of any or all of the hops you are using in the boil.

Here is what I would do for a full boil (which you should definitely do if you can):

Batch Size: 5.5 g
Boil Volume: 7.25 g
Original Gravity: 1.065
Final Gravity: 1.016
ABV (standard): 6.4%
IBU (tinseth): 74.82
SRM (morey): 8.11

FERMENTABLES:
6.6 lb - Liquid Malt Extract - Light (65.3%)
1 lb - Dry Malt Extract - Pilsen (9.9%)
1 lb - Belgian - Munich (9.9%)
0.5 lb - American - Caramel / Crystal 60L (5%)
1 lb - Corn Sugar - Dextrose (9.9%)

HOPS:
1 oz - Centennial for 60 min, Type: Pellet, Use: Boil (AA 10, IBU: 34.77)
2 oz - Zythos for 15 min, Type: Pellet, Use: Boil (AA 11, IBU: 37.95)
2 oz - Cascade for 1 min, Type: Pellet, Use: Boil (AA 7, IBU: 2.1)
1 oz - Centennial for 7 days, Type: Pellet, Use: Dry Hop (AA 10)
1 oz - Zythos for 7 days, Type: Pellet, Use: Dry Hop (AA 11)

Hope this helps!

 

[solbes]

I agree that your LME will already have a little crystal in it, so you don't want to oversweeten it. I would say 10-12 oz of Crystal 40 OR 8-10 oz of Crystal 60 OR 6-8 oz of Crystal 80 will give you a sweet backbone to contrast against the hops. Each of these crystal malts has a slightly different taste, so look em up online to see which one appeals to you more. Disagree a bit on adding over a lb of Crystal 120, I think this would be too heavy/sweet and would detract from the hops. But just my two pennies there.

I would save the munich for something thats malt forward, but again just my two pennies there. Adding some late hop additions (at 10, 5, and/or flameout) can really liven up a good IPA. And they will help contrast the added sweetness from the crystal steep.

You'll have to be your own judge on adding the sugar to dry out your beer. I made 4 extract brews when I first began and never had a problem with higher FG's. In fact a couple of them ended low.

 

[dbsmith]

Never did understand the difference between "steeping" and "mashing"!:cross:

I agree with the poster who suggested that there likely is some crystal in the extract, so you don't really need to add any. And I do believe that C-120 would be way too dark for the style.

Yeah, it was a bit confusing for me when I started mashing too. It's basically the same process (soaking grains in hot water), but the quantities and the purpose are different. The mash actually has enzyme activity for breaking down sugars, while steeping doesn't involve any sugar conversions, just dissolution.

Also, I agree that Crystal 120L is much too dark and roasty. If you do add any crystal, I wouldn't go any higher than 60L, though I don't think you should bother.

 

[sweetcell]

IPAs are hop-focused, not malt-focused. DME and LME already have crystal malts included in them, so i'd go light on any additional crystal additions... 0.5-0.75 max. also, IPAs are dry. adding crystal = adding unfermentable sugars, so too much will result in a sweet beer.

if you want to add maltiness and not sweetness, look into mashing (holding the grains at 150-154*F for 30-60 mins). it requires more vigilance since you need to monitor the temps regularly and add heat to your pot (unless you use a a mash-tun, AKA a cooler or any other properly insulated vessel that will hold the heat). this is called doing a partial mash - getting some of your fermentables from crushed grains, and some from extracts. use a mesh bag to hold/filter the grains, also know as brew-in-a-bag (BIAB).

if you're looking for easy ways to improve an IPA kit, get more hops. add them late in the boil, like last 10 minutes or even just as you turn off the heat at the end of the boil (flameout). then add some more after fermentation, AKA dry-hopping. these steps will do more to improve your IPAs as compared to adding malts.

 

[CarnieBrew]

Sorry everyone, it's just occurred to me that our numbering system is different for specialty grain color. When i'm suggesting Crystal 120, i'm talking EBC, not Lovibond. So it would be Crystal 60L in the US. Apologies.