Specialty IPA: Black IPA Heavenly Scourge Black IIPA

[Malric]

So this thing is a monster beer. By far, the worst brew day that I've ever experienced. I ground the carafa III in a coffee grinder and tossed it in at the last 15 minutes of the mash. No real reason other than "I've done a bunch of stouts, let's see if it makes a difference". Stuck mash HARD. I emptied the entire thing into buckets to clean the false bottom.

OG ended up at 1.072.

Sampled throughout a staggered hop schedule over a few days. Initially, it was a little grassy/vegetative, but it cleaned up. Very tasty, but I think I would go with a lower OG version next time. Way too easy drinking.

 

[brrman]

I assume that by grinding the carafa in the coffee grinder you got a fairly fine grind and this si what gave your false bottom the issue. I don't know if even rice hulls would fix that.

I always use rice hulls when I make this recipe, though. I've had the mash stick before...

 

[hopzicle]

Brewing this up as I post this. This will be my second time brewing this recipe and I didn't change a thing. The first batch was excellent. I found a bottle of it hidden with a bunch of other beers. It was over a year old and the profile was completely changed but still really good.

This batch is going in the keg. Will report back with taste notes.

 

[brrman]

I noticed this recipe made the top 100 on Homebrewtalk! (it was in 100th place) LOL.

 

[Joesl8]

Sounds like a nice Black IPA. I've only made a few, the first was a partial mash kit from Seven Bridges. Anyone have a grain bill for a 5 gallon AG brew day?
Thanks!

 

[mblanks2]

Sounds like a nice Black IPA. I've only made a few, the first was a partial mash kit from Seven Bridges. Anyone have a grain bill for a 5 gallon AG brew day?
Thanks!

5.5 gallon beersmith file on the original post.

 

[seehuusen]

Brewing this up today, boiling as I type actually

I've brewed plenty of normal IPAs but this is my first black IIPA, the wort smells fantastic, even without the hop!
Body appears thin on first taste, which is what I'd want in a black IIPA, rather than a stout-ish mouth feel.

Really looking forward to pouring one of these in a month's time or so, thanks for the recipe

 

[Joesl8]

Picture of the finished product: the head on this thing is like a pastry and sticks around forever.

That is a nice looking beer! I know it's been awhile but any idea what sugar was used during bottling? I've been using table sugar recently, but I think the bubbles are too round and big, not foamy like the pic. It works for a regular IPA but I think for a black IPA I'd want the head to be foamier. Definitely my next brew!

 

[brrman]

If I recall I think I used Coopers Carb Drops for that beer.

I normally force carb into kegs, so I keep Carb Drops around to bottle a few separately while I am racking to the keg. No calculations needed on how much sugar needed that way.

 

[brrman]

Brewing this up today, boiling as I type actually

I've brewed plenty of normal IPAs but this is my first black IIPA, the wort smells fantastic, even without the hop!
Body appears thin on first taste, which is what I'd want in a black IIPA, rather than a stout-ish mouth feel.

Really looking forward to pouring one of these in a month's time or so, thanks for the recipe

Awesome, dude. report back on how you like it. I am in the middle of building my new brew rig so no brewing for me til mid-Oct.

 

[seehuusen]

Certainly will mate

You know your IIPA is fermenting when you find yeast splatter from the blow off valve, on the ceiling of your fridge!! LOL

 

[seehuusen]

Got this into bottles today, straight out of the fermenter it is a great beer
I really look forward to cracking one of these!

 

[brrman]

Got this into bottles today, straight out of the fermenter it is a great beer
I really look forward to cracking one of these!

Have you popped open one of those bottle yet, seehuusen?

 

[seehuusen]

Have you popped open one of those bottle yet, seehuusen?

Yes, in fact I've quaffed most of them, contemplating what, if anything I'd do different in the next batch.
My batch poured a lovely, slightly tanned, velvet head.
On the nose, i got a clear hoppy aroma, backed by a toasted roast of grains.
It was a funny one to drink, possibly because anything above 2 quarts of this, would knock me off my feet. Cold the hops really mad their presence known, but as the glass would heat, the caraffa made itsslf know...

Changes id consider would be to add the caraffa at the end of the mash, probably try 10-15c prior.
Another thing would be to use a belgium yeast, i think that woild go down a treat

Cheers again for the recipe
mart

 

[brrman]

Yes, in fact I've quaffed most of them, contemplating what, if anything I'd do different in the next batch.
My batch poured a lovely, slightly tanned, velvet head.
On the nose, i got a clear hoppy aroma, backed by a toasted roast of grains.
It was a funny one to drink, possibly because anything above 2 quarts of this, would knock me off my feet. Cold the hops really mad their presence known, but as the glass would heat, the caraffa made itsslf know...

Changes id consider would be to add the caraffa at the end of the mash, probably try 10-15c prior.
Another thing would be to use a belgium yeast, i think that woild go down a treat

Cheers again for the recipe
mart

awesome, dude. Glad it came out well for you!

 

[brrman]

Brew a batch of Heavenly Scourge this past Sunday as the first batch on my new eHERMS rig. Been a year building this and it feels great to be brewing beer again!

I upped the bittering Magnum to 4oz but otherwise kept the recipe the same.

 

[sejasba]

Nice. I brewed this last weekend as well. Looking forward to it.

 

[brrman]

Sp apparently, I dunno what I was thinking when I went up to 4 oz of Magnum to bitter! LOL. The beer is very bitter, not undrinkable, but you have to really be in the mood for a punch in the face...

I will not make that mistake again. :smack:

 

[D_Nyholm]

Lol, when you said 4 Oz, wasn't sure if it was a typo or not. Pretty high AA in magnum!

Though I forgot the original was 3 Oz. You must have come out close to 150 ibu with that one though.

 

[jzimpleman]

I have been interested in this recipe for a while. Thinking of brewing next weekend, but the LHBS was sold out of liquid American Ale yeasts and only had S-04 dry yeast available. Will that do, or should I order a 1056 online? Probably a dumb question, but this will only be my second AG and sixth overall brew, so still learning tons.

 

[Duffman870727]

Well the S-04 being an english strain will put out more esters than the american ale yeast. Whether you'll be able to pick up on that in a beer like this I can't say for sure it has alot going on for hop and malt aromas. It will finish a little higher final gravity lending to a slightly sweeter, fuller bodied taste. It will certainly make beer, and probably good beer! This is a good recipe to work with I'd say give it a shot with the S-04 you may well really like it, then next time try it with the American Ale. That's the beauty of this hobby, the artistic freedom to try all kinds of things. Don't be afraid to brew outside the box!

 

[brrman]

Duffman speak the truth. Just make sure you use 2 packs of s-04 for 5 gallons so you don't under pitch. This is a massive beer.

 

[jzimpleman]

Thanks y'all. I had picked up a second pack of 04. But I decided to go ahead and order and American Ale yeast. I opted for the 1272, though. It seems to have a slightly better attenuation, drops a cleaner grub, and leads to a little cleaner final product. Curious if anyone's tried it instead of 1056?

I'm also thinking about dropping in some bourbon barrel chips during secondary fermentation. I've had these chips since I started and have been waiting to try a beer that could handle the extra flavor. Thoughts?

 

[Duffman870727]

I personally can't recommend adding the bourbon chips though I am a little biased in that I don't like those bourbon barrel aged beers. Not my cup of tea. Given that I don't brew using that technique I can't tell you what it might do to the beer. I would suggest brewing the recipe as is before doing something drastic like adding the bourbon chips. Just get a feel for what the recipe tastes like so you'll know next time if you like the changes or can envision liking certain changes.

On the yeast, typically we seek out clean profiles in beer styles such as cream ale, pale ale, blonde ale, lager etc. Of course, no hard and fast rules do what suits your tastes. I'm actually inclined to brew this again myself using an english yeast now that you've brought it up haha!

 

[brrman]

1272 should be fine with this beer as long as you pitch enough - it will need a big starter.

I am not a fan of bourbon flavor but I can't speak to whether the beer will or will not be good. Just keep in mind that this beer is not of the new trendy west coast "all hops at end of boil" variety. This beer has some real bitterness to balance the malt. I have no idea what adding a bourbon flavor will do to it.

 

[jzimpleman]

Thanks for the advice. I'll save the bourbon barrel chips. The yeast is supposed to be here tomorrow, so I'll have time to do a double starter by Saturday.

I'm looking forward to this beer. I thought my first AG brew day was a disaster, but just opened the first bottle and it was better than I could have dreamed.

That just got me more fired up to get this in the kettle!

 

[brrman]

sounds good, man! Good luck and let us know how it turns out!

 

[jzimpleman]

Well - brew day is done and it's already building a good foam in the fermenter. Didn't get the OG I hoped for - 1.073. It's only my second AG brew and I'm still trying to figure out mash temp control. I over shot to 160 twice as I tried to warm the mash. It could be due to a larger boil, too. I've got 6 gallons in the fermenter - with a blow off tube!

It smells great and the sample I took the gravity reading from tastes pretty good!

 

[Citizen86]

Second AG BIAB batch. I had made a galaxy-hopped beer starter and needed a big beer for it.

I got pretty decent efficiency on the Nut Brown I did last week, however it seems like this one will need some tweaking next time, probably a sparge as well. Or possibly I just need to have the LHBS mill much finer. But yeah, right around 5 gallons and 1.070 OG. Brewers Friend put my house efficiency on this batch at 55% ipe:

That most likely means the hops are going to shine through even more I'm pretty happy with the color, the sample is very dark black. The LHBS actually only had Carafa II so we upped it to 1.2 pounds. Still used it in the last 10 minutes of the mash.

Anyway, it's in the fermenter now, we'll see how this one develops!

Thanks for the recipe brrman, really looking forward to it

 

[TheBrewGoose]

Just bottled this yesterday! Tasted awesome. A little more roasty than i would have wanted. I mashed the carafa 3 for 60 min. The bitterness is spot on and a good hoppy flavor.

I ended up with almost 6 gallons, i think the boil should have been more vigorous.

Im curious about making a Citra DIPA. Maybe i'll just use this recipe and make a Black Citra DIPA. Could be fun!

 

[Duffman870727]

Interesting how everyone's tastes are different. I actually added more carafa III to my batch and would still add a couple more ounces next time for more roasty flavour. It is a really nice interplay of roastiness and hops.

For DIPA I've had a lot of fun doing different single hop versions of this recipe: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=103410&highlight=double+simcoe

 

[jzimpleman]

Bottled my first batch today. Ended up with a FG of 1.016, but with my lower OG, it ended at a 7.5% ABV. The gravity sample tasted unbelievable!!

The hops hit me in the face but as I tasted it further, there is a crazy depth behind it. As this ages, I can only imagine how it will develop!

 

[Citizen86]

I'm thinking about dry hopping the 4 ounces in the keg, anyone else done that with this one?

 

[brrman]

Bottled my first batch today. Ended up with a FG of 1.016, but with my lower OG, it ended at a 7.5% ABV. The gravity sample tasted unbelievable!!

The hops hit me in the face but as I tasted it further, there is a crazy depth behind it. As this ages, I can only imagine how it will develop!

This beer actually ages quite well. The front hops die off after a couple months but there is a complexity in the mild roast that keeps the beer interesting.

I'm thinking about dry hopping the 4 ounces in the keg, anyone else done that with this one?

Funny you mention this because I have a batch fermenting now that I plan to dry hop in the keg. I imagine it would be pretty incredible.

 

[NickTheGreat]

I dry hopped mine in the keg. I brewed this a long time ago and still have 1.5 gallons or so in a small keg. I had some dip tube clogging issues from trub that I just couldn't shake. I ended up racking to another keg, and that solved it, thankfully.

It still tastes pretty good, really. For all the screwing around with it, and how old it is now!

 

[Citizen86]

I dry hopped mine in the keg. I brewed this a long time ago and still have 1.5 gallons or so in a small keg. I had some dip tube clogging issues from trub that I just couldn't shake. I ended up racking to another keg, and that solved it, thankfully.

It still tastes pretty good, really. For all the screwing around with it, and how old it is now!

Haha, that's good to hear.

I have a dry hop bag I got from Wilser with the BIAB stuff, so I'll probably use that. I've been reading about how a lot of people use dental floss and tie the hop bag to the keg handle. Still undecided about that, as others just drop the bag in and rack on top of it. That definitely sounds easier

 

[NickTheGreat]

Haha, that's good to hear.

I have a dry hop bag I got from Wilser with the BIAB stuff, so I'll probably use that. I've been reading about how a lot of people use dental floss and tie the hop bag to the keg handle. Still undecided about that, as others just drop the bag in and rack on top of it. That definitely sounds easier

I've had CO2 leaks using fishing line, even the thinnest stuff was too think. Never tried floss; i just tossed the bag in like you said. I'm never going to try to take the hop bag out anyways.

 

[Citizen86]

Just took a reading after 11 days in the fermenter. Reading is 1.010 (from 1.070 OG) and it tastes nice and bitter with that awesome black IPA flavor. Used a yeast cake from a 1 gallon batch so not surprised it fermented down well. Used Wyeast American ale.

I know I should probably be a good brewer and let it sit for another week or two in the fermenter. It tastes good now though, I'm tempted to cold crash it for the weekend then keg it and dry hop it.

It's only my 6th brew, I still feel the itch to drink it ASAP

 

[Citizen86]

So I decided to cold crash and keg it anyways. Glad I did. Kegged and burst carbed last night, put the 4oz of hops in and it was good. Having a pint tonight and it's fantastic. Since my OG was low at 1.070 but it fermented down to 1.010 I don't feel like I'm missing out on too much, in fact it's nice and dry like an IPA should be.

24 hours with the hops in the keg has made it amazing. Looking forward to seeing how the hops continue to evolve. And with the bitter that was supposed to be for a 1.020 FG beer it's quite bitter, but I'm really enjoying it

 

[NinjaMedic]

I've never dry/keg hopped before and after reading some of the reviews it seems that keg hopping is the way to go with this beer. I have a couple questions though. Do you use leaf hops? Once you have them in the bag in the keg do you just leave them there until the keg is done or do you pull them out after 5-6 days? Thanks!