Grapefruit IPA

[jimjam1973]

Hi, had a good search and can't seem to find a definite answer , I had a lovely grapefruit ipa at a recent beer festival , would adding some grapefruit concentrate juice when I make up the kit ( coopers ale) , ie 500 ml or 1 litre , substituted for the same amount of the water , would this be ok and not effect the life etc.
Basically I will make the kit up as normal and add the grapefruit juice and let it ferment out
Have done ciders with Apple concentrate and had no issues, has anyone done any thing similar ,I have dry hopped with citra and chinook etc and got lovely results but really want a nice grapefruit ale
Any help appreciated
Thanks in advance

 

[mcbar]

I think cascade hops are known to give a fairly distinct grapefruit aroma. You could also add grapefruit zest. No idea how much, or if added to boil or dry hop. I'm sure someone out there has done it

 

[Queequeg]

Ahtanum hops are even more graphfruity than cascade.

 

[rwing7486]

Ahtanum hops are even more graphfruity than cascade.

+1 on the Ahtanum

 

[beergolf]

edit...

delete.

 

[jimjam1973]

Ahtanum hops it is then , thanks ...ordered some pellets from net ,

 

[alby44]

Just had Ballast Point Sculpin Grapefruit IPA this weekend and was thinking the exact same thing! Fantastic if you can get your hands on one. Tasting it made me think of a few options as I'd like to do the same thing:

- could zest 3-4 grapefruits (no pith) then dump everything in the boil?
- after fermentation is complete, you could zest another 3-4 grapefruits, soak in vodka, then dump that in the fermenter along with your dry hop.
- If you keg, wondering if you could add some grapefruit juice, then rack into keg.

I'd like some insight as well...that Grapefruit Sculpin has me reeling to make a homebrew batch.

 

[bragona71]

cascade chinook and centennial gave my IPA a huge grapefruit aroma

 

[BlueHouseBrewhaus]

Apollo also gives a huge grapefruit aroma when used in a hop stand and dry hop.

 

[grevengrevs]

What a coincidence! I'm sitting here drinking Abita's Grapefruit IPA and was thinking of how to get something similar. I'm a huge grapefruit lover and eat lots of them when they are in season.

 

[WayFrae]

I think that grapefruit zest would be better than juice. I have read that fermented orange juice smells/tastes like vomit so I would be scared that grapefruit juice would have a similar flavor.

 

[jimjam1973]

Well I have orders the Ahtanum pellet hops and maybe I need to add some grapefruit peel as well??? What is the best way to do the peel , do o need to zest a few grapefruit sand then chuck in the brew with hops, or do I need to boil them in water to sanitise ...or will the alcohol kill off any nasties ?? Any help appreciated

Alby44 didn't see your post before I posted , thinking maybe as the brew is on the way I'm going to zest the peel and soak in vodka, not a lot though

 

[plankbr]

You could also use Citra and Mosaic (2:1 ratio)

 

[bja]

Columbus has more grape fruit flavor than all the others.

 

[Canuck137]

This sounds good, might have to give it a go too

 

[KeninMN]

In addition to the right hops, the right yeast makes a difference. For example I've brewed two batches of Northern Brewer's Kama Citra Session IPA, which features Cascade, Centennial and Citra hops. The first time I brewed it I used Wyeast 1056 yeast (because that's what I had on hand) and added the zest of two large ruby red grapefruit that had been soaked in vodka for two weeks to the dry hops. It turned out fantastic, with big grapefruit aroma and detectable grapefruit flavor. The second time I brewed it I used the recommended Wyeast 1272, and did not use grapefruit zest. The second brew, far and away, had more grapefruit flavor and aroma than the first.

 

[KeninMN]

Just had Ballast Point Sculpin Grapefruit IPA this weekend and was thinking the exact same thing! Fantastic if you can get your hands on one. Tasting it made me think of a few options as I'd like to do the same thing:

- could zest 3-4 grapefruits (no pith) then dump everything in the boil?
- after fermentation is complete, you could zest another 3-4 grapefruits, soak in vodka, then dump that in the fermenter along with your dry hop.
- If you keg, wondering if you could add some grapefruit juice, then rack into keg.

I'd like some insight as well...that Grapefruit Sculpin has me reeling to make a homebrew batch.

Yes, Grapefruit Sculpin is amazing!

Boiling grapefruit zest may be a waste of time. I think all of the aromatics would be driven off, if not by the boil then most likely carried away by C02 generated by primary fermentation.

 

[edco76]

I have a pack of Brewer's Best Grapefruit Peel

I plan on doing a cascade/centennial/citra/mosaic

Gonna add these to the dry hop.

I have no idea what will happen

 

[Canuck137]

How did this work????

I have a pack of Brewer's Best Grapefruit Peel

I plan on doing a cascade/centennial/citra/mosaic

Gonna add these to the dry hop.

I have no idea what will happen