Help me build my house IPA please!

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Bramstoker17

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*Edited so updated recipe appears here for easier reference. Plus I updated my setup info


Ok, so I'm currently obsessed with building my perfect IPA recipe. I've brewed quite a few in the past, but while they have been good, none have been quite right where I want them. I've looked at recipes and read some info about brewing better IPA's and I've come up with this recipe.

Quick note about my setup. I'm trying a new 8 Gallon kettle for the first time. I intend to do BIAB with a normal mash ratio, then sparge up to 7 gal in the pot. I anticipate between around 62% efficiency. I'm going to try RO water for the first time with 1.25 tsp Calcium Chloride and 2 tsp gypsum.

Here's what I've got

5.5 gal
OG: 1.065
FG: 1.012
ABV: 7%
IBU: 75
SRM: 6

NAME AMOUNT
2-Row 13.0 lb
Munich Malt 10L 2.0 lb
Caramel Malt 40L 3.5 oz
Acidulated malt 4.0 oz
Carapils 4.0 oz
Hops

NAME AMOUNT TIME
Warrior 1.0 oz 60 min
Centennial .75 oz 30 min
Cascade .75 oz 30 min
Centennial 2.0 oz 0 min
Cascade 2.0 oz 0 min

Dry Hop 1: 4 days then remove
Cascade 1.0 oz
Centennial 1.0 oz

Dry Hop 2
Cascade .75oz
Centennial .75oz
Simcoe .5 oz
Amarillo 1oz


Yeasts

NAME LAB ATTENUATION
Safale US-05 US-05 Fermentis 82.0%

Extras

NAME AMOUNT TIME USE
Whirlfloc Tablet 1.0 each 15.0 min Boil
Mash steps

Mash at 150 for 60 min, 15 min sparge at 165


Thoughts? This is obviously a hop heavy west coast style IPA. Sorry about the crappy formatting, hope everything is easy enough to read.
 
good lord man. 14oz of hops?? that's not a brew i would want to pay for on a regular basis. your strategy is on point for a big west coast IPA. realistically 14oz is DIPA territory. the pliny recipe i read was about 12oz i believe.

getting 82% from US 05 is on the optimistic side but very possible. my concern is how much unfermentables you could be adding with 2# OF dme. 1.012 is ambitious. you might want to consider some dextrose.
 
I'd move your 30 min additions to 15 (for flavor), and adjust as necessary for desired IBUs.
 
I'd move your 30 min additions to 15 (for flavor), and adjust as necessary for desired IBUs.
i know where you're coming from but this approach to the style is proven and hop flavor should not be an issue. he has something like 11 ounces of hops just for dry hopping. i don't think a flavor addition to the boil will be required.
 
good lord man. 14oz of hops?? that's not a brew i would want to pay for on a regular basis. your strategy is on point for a big west coast IPA. realistically 14oz is DIPA territory. the pliny recipe i read was about 12oz i believe.

getting 82% from US 05 is on the optimistic side but very possible. my concern is how much unfermentables you could be adding with 2# OF dme. 1.012 is ambitious. you might want to consider some dextrose.

Yea, perhaps house beer was the wrong term as constantly brewing this would break the bank. I guess I just mean my this will be my go to IPA recipe. I often get in the low 80s with 05, so I'm hoping to here. I hate using DME for the exact reason you mention, but I was hoping mashing low at 148 might compensate for that without adding dextrose. Would 145 be better or should I still add some sugar? If so, how much? As far as the amount of hops goes, its pretty similar to a hop schedule I've seen for Firestone Walker Union Jack. Its 7.5% though, while mine is 7. Where would you scale the hops back? Saving money is always welcome!
 
i know where you're coming from but this approach to the style is proven and hop flavor should not be an issue. he has something like 11 ounces of hops just for dry hopping. i don't think a flavor addition to the boil will be required.

Yea I've used 30 min additions with a ton of late hops before, and flavor has certainly never been a problem.
 
Well you could either rework the dry hopping to scrub 4 ounces off the bill or add 3-4 lbs of 2 row and modify the rest of the grain to get your percentages back in line and just shoot for 1.080+ OG. Make it a double ��
 
RonPopeil said:
i know where you're coming from but this approach to the style is proven and hop flavor should not be an issue. he has something like 11 ounces of hops just for dry hopping. i don't think a flavor addition to the boil will be required.

Sure -- I just see a lot of aroma hops (flameout & dry hop) and nothing in the 15-5 minute ranges, which is where I tend to put a lot of emphasis. Probably just comes down to personal preference. I get almost all my IBUs in the last 15 or 20 mins. A long hopstand can bring a lot of flavor, too. Personally I wouldn't go quite so crazy with the dry hopping (maybe 2 oz max), although I do like to put an ounce or so in the keg to keep the aroma up all the way through the last draw.
 
Sure -- I just see a lot of aroma hops (flameout & dry hop) and nothing in the 15-5 minute ranges, which is where I tend to put a lot of emphasis. Probably just comes down to personal preference. I get almost all my IBUs in the last 15 or 20 mins. A long hopstand can bring a lot of flavor, too. Personally I wouldn't go quite so crazy with the dry hopping (maybe 2 oz max), although I do like to put an ounce or so in the keg to keep the aroma up all the way through the last draw.
I do mine similar to your way as well. I get about 40% of my ibu from bittering additions then blast it at the end of the boil with flavor additions. Saves a lot of money but the flavor is different. When you do it the way described above the flavor is much more similar to the way the hops smell versus kettle additions allowing the hops to develop a different flavor.

It's hard to describe it. If you tasted the two techniques side by side you'd probably understand it better than what I can describe.
 
I typically do a big hopstand, so I find that gives me some good flavor and aroma instead of additions to the boil. I think I could probably cut a couple ounces out of the dry hop, I'll have to play around with the recipe a bit.

How does the grain bill look? I do think I'll take the advise and add some dextrose. Would a half pound be enough?
 
i like your grain bill. you crystal additions are low so i doubt that will be an issue. the DME is the only worry. .5# of dextrose could probably dry you out enough. when i get home i'll plug this into the software and see what happens.
 
You should double your gypsum addition. Also,I would scale way back on the dry hopping and study up on doing hop standing.
 
The recipe looks like it will be a tasty beverage. I would think about swapping around to FWH, vice doing so many dry hopping. Just my .02. Overall, I can't wait to hear how it turns out.
 
stuffed this into brewtarget. i have 1.072 down to 1.013 assuming 70% efficiency and 82% yeast attenuation for 7% ABV. no dextrose.
 
stuffed this into brewtarget. i have 1.072 down to 1.013 assuming 70% efficiency and 82% yeast attenuation for 7% ABV. no dextrose.

I use Brewtoad, and usually get pretty consistent results. With the BIAB with a batch sparge on my stove top method I use, I usually get in the low 60's with efficiency. I've hit close to 70 before, but that's rare and I tend to plug 60 in to be safe as that's where I typically end up around. I added 4 oz of acid malt to the mash, so now assuming 82% attenuation from the 05 I have an OG of 1.066 and a FG of 1.012 with an est ABV of 7.1 %. I think if I mash low at 148, even with the DME I should be able to hit my FG. Should I add dextrose to be safe here, or should I keep it as is?
 
You should double your gypsum addition. Also,I would scale way back on the dry hopping and study up on doing hop standing.

I've never played with water chem before, and this is my first time not using tap or spring water. I got the mineral addition amounts from the water primer sticky on here. What will doubling the gypsum do? I'll post the updated version of the recipe when I have it finalized, but yea I've knocked a couple ounces off of the dry hop. The 4 oz of centennial and cascade at 0 min in the recipe will be a 20 min hop stand. I've done those before and loved the results!
 
I guess my only comment is that even for a very flavorful IPA, that is quite a few different hops varieties to add. This is to your palate of course, but the multiple additions of chinook and centennial seem redundant, and mixing cascade with citra or Amarillo seems counterproductive to me. You've also thrown some random simcoe in there. can you taste the simcoe with all that citrus flavor?
 
I guess my only comment is that even for a very flavorful IPA, that is quite a few different hops varieties to add. This is to your palate of course, but the multiple additions of chinook and centennial seem redundant, and mixing cascade with citra or Amarillo seems counterproductive to me. You've also thrown some random simcoe in there. can you taste the simcoe with all that citrus flavor?

For the most part, the hop schedule I've chosen follows a recipe I've seen for Firestone Walker Union Jack, one of my favorite IPA's. I did not want to clone the beer though as its a bit higher ABV than I wanted at 7.5, and uses an English Ale yeast where I'm a fan of a cleaner profile. The hop schedule I used here follows it pretty closely though from the clone recipe's I've seen. I'm open to changes in the schedule of course, I just used a beer I really like as a starting point. Here's what I've got right now after shaving a couple ounces off whats on the first post. Dry hop 1 goes in for four days in a hop bag then is removed. Dry hop 2 I'll just throw in commando for four days then bottle. From what I've read, apparently doing the multiple dry hops leaves some great aroma without any grassy aroma or flavor. I had considered cutting the Chinook and Citra additions, but I'm hoping to get just a bit of that tropical fruit aroma from the citrus and the nice resin aroma that Chinook can have. I want citrus aroma to be dominant with hints of floral and pine


Warrior 1.0 oz 60 min
Centennial 1.0 oz 30 min
Cascade 1.0 oz 30 min
Centennial 2.0 oz 0 min (20 min hop stand)
Cascade 2.0 oz 0 min (20 min hop stand)

Chinook 0.5 oz Dry Hop 1
Citra 0.5 oz Dry Hop 1
Centennial 0.5 oz Dry Hop 1
Cascade 0.5 oz Dry Hop 1

Simcoe 0.5 oz Dry Hop 2
Amarillo 0.5 oz Dry Hop 2
Centennial 0.5 oz Dry Hop 2
Cascade 0.5 oz Dry Hop 2


Here's the schedule for the Union Jack Clone I'm using as a starting point. Credit on this goes to bertusbrewery.com, I know he's a member on here but I can't recall his username.

1oz Apollo @ 90
.75oz ea Centennial/Cascade @ 30
2oz ea Centennial/Cascade @ 0
WLP002 - English Ale Yeast - Repitched from Bitter

Dry Hop 1: 1.5oz ea Centennial/Cascade + .25oz ea Citra/Chinook
Dry Hop 2: 1oz ea Centennial/Cascade + .5oz ea Amarillo/Simcoe
3-4 days per addition
 
Bramstoker17 said:
For the most part, the hop schedule I've chosen follows a recipe I've seen for Firestone Walker Union Jack, one of my favorite IPA's. I did not want to clone the beer though as its a bit higher ABV than I wanted at 7.5, and uses an English Ale yeast where I'm a fan of a cleaner profile. The hop schedule I used here follows it pretty closely though from the clone recipe's I've seen. I'm open to changes in the schedule of course, I just used a beer I really like as a starting point. Here's what I've got right now after shaving a couple ounces off whats on the first post. Dry hop 1 goes in for four days in a hop bag then is removed. Dry hop 2 I'll just throw in commando for four days then bottle. From what I've read, apparently doing the multiple dry hops leaves some great aroma without any grassy aroma or flavor. I had considered cutting the Chinook and Citra additions, but I'm hoping to get just a bit of that tropical fruit aroma from the citrus and the nice resin aroma that Chinook can have. I want citrus aroma to be dominant with hints of floral and pine

Sounds like a really solid plan to get you where you want to be. I'm looking forward to hearing your evaluation of the finished product.
 
I use Brewtoad, and usually get pretty consistent results. With the BIAB with a batch sparge on my stove top method I use, I usually get in the low 60's with efficiency. I've hit close to 70 before, but that's rare and I tend to plug 60 in to be safe as that's where I typically end up around. I added 4 oz of acid malt to the mash, so now assuming 82% attenuation from the 05 I have an OG of 1.066 and a FG of 1.012 with an est ABV of 7.1 %. I think if I mash low at 148, even with the DME I should be able to hit my FG. Should I add dextrose to be safe here, or should I keep it as is?
i have you finishing dry as well. i think you'll make it without the dextrose. give it a shot imo. :mug:
 
i hope you buy these by the pound!

if you want to incorporate that much here, you should plan on extra volume losses. you might also consider doing a flavor steep at 140F. that's around the temperature where hop oils are far less volatile. someone with more knowledge can jump in here and correct me...
 
i hope you buy these by the pound!

if you want to incorporate that much here, you should plan on extra volume losses. you might also consider doing a flavor steep at 140F. that's around the temperature where hop oils are far less volatile. someone with more knowledge can jump in here and correct me...


I do 5.5 gal to account for some of that loss so I can get close to 5 gal into my bottling bucket. I do plan to do a hop stand for sure, between 20 min and a half hour. Not sure what temp I want to do it at yet, I know there are different benefits to different temps.
 
Bramstoker17 said:
I've never played with water chem before, and this is my first time not using tap or spring water. I got the mineral addition amounts from the water primer sticky on here. What will doubling the gypsum do? I'll post the updated version of the recipe when I have it finalized, but yea I've knocked a couple ounces off of the dry hop. The 4 oz of centennial and cascade at 0 min in the recipe will be a 20 min hop stand. I've done those before and loved the results!

Will help with hop aroma and flavor since you are using so much hops. Will make it bright and crisp . Also should help the clarity of the beer too. Need that Ca and So4 up there when you use that much hops and malt. Good luck. And, btw, do what you want. These are just suggestions. Have fun with it. Overall you won't make a bad beer with the recipe you have set up.
 
OK, Here is the updated recipe I plan to brew this weekend. I'm using RO water with 1.25 tsp Calcium Chloride and 2 tsp Gypsum. I dropped the Citra and Chinook hops to simplify things a bit. I got a bigger pot so this is all grain now. I'm going to mash at 150.




5.5 gal
OG: 1.065
FG: 1.012
ABV: 7%
IBU: 75
SRM: 6

NAME AMOUNT
2-Row 13.0 lb
Munich Malt 10L 2.0 lb
Caramel Malt 40L 3.5 oz
Acidulated malt 4.0 oz
Carapils 4.0 oz
Hops

NAME AMOUNT TIME
Warrior 1.0 oz 60 min
Centennial .75 oz 30 min
Cascade .75 oz 30 min
Centennial 2.0 oz 0 min
Cascade 2.0 oz 0 min

Dry Hop 1: 4 days then remove
Cascade 1.0 oz
Centennial 1.0 oz

Dry Hop 2
Cascade .75oz
Centennial .75oz
Simcoe .5 oz
Amarillo 1oz


Yeasts

NAME LAB ATTENUATION
Safale US-05 US-05 Fermentis 82.0%

Extras

NAME AMOUNT TIME USE
Whirlfloc Tablet 1.0 each 15.0 min Boil
Mash steps

Mash at 150 for 60 min, 15 min sparge at 165




Well, how do things look?
 
I ordered my ingredients today, and had a last minute change. I hated using a half pound of Crystal 20 as I don't want much sweetness, but I needed the color. I went back with 4oz carapils and now 3.5 oz of crystal 40. I also changed the water additions to 1.25 tsp on Calcium Chloride and 2tsp Gypsum after doing a bit more research. I'll update the recipe accordingly for anyone interested. Depending how fast Northern Brewer works, I'll brew this up either this or next weekend.
 
For anyone interested, this beer turned out pretty damn good. Really big citrus and floral aroma and taste. If I was to change anything, I'll probably add more gypsum. I'd also add some Columbus at flameout and to the dryhop. I'd love to get some dank resin taste and aroma to complement the citrus.
 
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