In my experience depending on your water hardness, Five Star 5.2 results in a mash pH between 5.2 and 5.6 without additional salts. This is the maximum conversion efficiency range. Kaiser's pH Experiment is a good read.
Help me make a good hoppy beer
- Thread starter Coastarine
- Start date
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I agree with the late addition hops to increase the flavor and aroma profile. In addition, heinz57 is right on with going as dry as possible if you really want those hops to jump out at you. My best IPAs always finish the dryest, and when they don't I'm always left wanting more kick from the hops.
korndog
Well-Known Member
Well, I agree to an extent. I have had some pale ales ferment with US05 that have gone a little too dry on me. This is the balance that is key to brewing APA's, IPA's, and DIPA's in my view. If you can get full attenuation while keeping a good malt backbone, AND get all the hop character you seek, then you have made the perfect pale in my opinion.
Sure, you definitely want to maintain some malt backbone, there's no doubt about that. But when I think of my favorite IPA's, where the hops really shine, they're pretty dry so that the malt backbone doesn't drown out the hop kick. E.g.: Avery IPA, Stone IPA, O'Dell's IPA. These all have pretty low final gravities, for example Avery's is ~1.011 (~1.4% potential abv remaining as sugars). So when I say that the dryer IPAs let the hops shine, I think getting to a final gravity somewhere between 1.011 and 1.016. That's ideal for me, at least...my best IPA had an original gravity around 1.065 and final gravity around 1.011 - ~7.4% a.b.v., fairly dry, allowing the Simcoe hops to be highlighted.
I agree. I would like an APA to finish around 1.012 and an IPA around 1.010, and the IPA will have 1-2% more ABV. That is a big difference. I have a couple of IPA recipes I haven't brewed yet, in both cases I used sugar as part of the fermentables to ensure I get predicted >80% attenuation in BeerSmith.
korndog
Well-Known Member
I just pulled a Stone IPA out of the cooler. I forgot how simply elegant this beer was. I consider this beer to be well balanced and not overly dry. I guess we are in agreement here.
OP
- Thread Starter
- #48
Brewing as I type. Ed's IPA.
OP
- Thread Starter
- #49
Using this water. If it comes out salty or chalky, oh well, lesson learned, but I wanted to do it just once where I got my water 100% by the numbers. I did a seperate mineral addition to the strike water and both sparges scaled to the correct size.
Will look forward to your results. You can't go wrong with that recipe..
OP
- Thread Starter
- #51
Well the beer should turn out great. Good efficiency, although not as good as I had planned (85 instead of 90, yeah I know, boo hoo, but my OG is just slightly low but that's ok. 1.071). 5 gallon batch in a 15 gallon kettle is great, although you CAN boil over, but you gotta really crank the flame and not pay attention. The mini fan did its job. Also, I got a really good fast chill using my pump and cfc.
However.
I had my fancy USB probe thermometer in the HLT and my laptop on my counter. I turned up the flame on the HLT and burned the wire of my probe thermometer. Maybe I can fix it by cutting out the burnt portion and splicing wires. We'll see tomorrow.
Later, after chilling by recirculating back into the kettle, I whirlpooled and waited 20 minutes. I turned the pump back on to transfer into the carboy and it sounded like normal but wasn't moving wort. I'll deal with that tomorrow.
If anyone wants to diagnose or suggest a course of action, I have a self priming pump that I put on the output (cold) side of the chiller because it doesn't handle the heat. I use a paint strainer rig to contain hops. I recirc'd the wort, then used the pump to pull the wort out of the chiller, so during the rest it had air in it, in case that helps.
However.
I had my fancy USB probe thermometer in the HLT and my laptop on my counter. I turned up the flame on the HLT and burned the wire of my probe thermometer. Maybe I can fix it by cutting out the burnt portion and splicing wires. We'll see tomorrow.
Later, after chilling by recirculating back into the kettle, I whirlpooled and waited 20 minutes. I turned the pump back on to transfer into the carboy and it sounded like normal but wasn't moving wort. I'll deal with that tomorrow.
If anyone wants to diagnose or suggest a course of action, I have a self priming pump that I put on the output (cold) side of the chiller because it doesn't handle the heat. I use a paint strainer rig to contain hops. I recirc'd the wort, then used the pump to pull the wort out of the chiller, so during the rest it had air in it, in case that helps.
korndog
Well-Known Member
Did you disconnect from CFC and try to start a gravity drain? How did you end up draining? Sounds to me like your pump wasn't priming and the wort had nowhere to go. I have small dip tubes and find tat I need to bleed the lines to get it started sometimes.
OP
- Thread Starter
- #53
Well since it was cooled I just poured the five gallons into a bottling bucket and then just let that drain into the carboy. Any aeration at that point could only help.
As I think about what I saw the pump doing the "pump out" line had filled with wort on the uphill portion to the kettle, but the "pump in" line was empty. It seemed to just be churning the wort in the out line. I wonder if the backpressure of the wort in the out line somehow kept it from priming. I really don't know the inner workings of a self primping pump, but I want to say that this isn't a clog.
As I think about what I saw the pump doing the "pump out" line had filled with wort on the uphill portion to the kettle, but the "pump in" line was empty. It seemed to just be churning the wort in the out line. I wonder if the backpressure of the wort in the out line somehow kept it from priming. I really don't know the inner workings of a self primping pump, but I want to say that this isn't a clog.
OP
- Thread Starter
- #54
The good news is that the pump is fine. I gravity-fed it some water this morning and once it got a bite of that it went like normal. I don't know why it wouldn't self-prime, but once I got it working again it was able to self prime. I think from now on I'll leave wort in the chiller/pump while I whirlpool to make sure it'll start up again.
Later I'll see about the probe thermometer.
Later I'll see about the probe thermometer.
korndog
Well-Known Member
Sounds right. Or you could put a bleeder valve somewhere in the line.
OP
- Thread Starter
- #56
Just took a gravity after 9 days in primary at 66 F, it came out 1.018 down from 1.071, right where I predicted. 73% apparent attenuation so that's good.
Color is sort of a dull gold, still very cloudy, not very attractive yet.
But D*** that is some serious hop bitterness! Thank you gypsum! It has some tangyness, alcohol and hop harshness, and yeastiness typical of green beer, but I think it is going to come out great. I can't wait to dry hop it. Still going to give it a few more days before cold crash for a week, then keg.
Color is sort of a dull gold, still very cloudy, not very attractive yet.
But D*** that is some serious hop bitterness! Thank you gypsum! It has some tangyness, alcohol and hop harshness, and yeastiness typical of green beer, but I think it is going to come out great. I can't wait to dry hop it. Still going to give it a few more days before cold crash for a week, then keg.
OP
- Thread Starter
- #57
Holy bitter.
Not real great. Maybe after plenty of age.
Not real great. Maybe after plenty of age.
s3n8
Well-Known Member
It will be much more mellow after a month in the bottle. This beer is like 2 weeks old? Its still way green. For IPAs, I do 2 - 3 week primary, 2 week dry hop, month in the bottle before I even taste it. Its usually best about 3 - 6 months after bottling.
TeleTwanger
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^^^+1 on aging...I've been drinking my IPA that was bottled 1.5 weeks ago and it has angina causing bitterness that will mellow eventually.
OP
- Thread Starter
- #60
It spent 12 days in primary at 68, then cold crashed for a week. It has only been a couple days in the keg. Once it is carb'd I'll probably pull it out of the keezer and age it at room temp to help it along.
korndog
Well-Known Member
I think it depends on the beer, but two to three months seems about right IMO. You can age bigger beers longer and dry hop in the keg of course.
But generally speaking I agree that you want to enjoy them relatively young. As Vinnie says on his Pliny The Elder botlles. "Do Not Age This Beer".
OP - If your beer is too bitter, you are likely stuck with it if you are going to enjoy the aroma component in the near future. I have not made this recipe but I assume you calculated your AA's correctly and arrived at the intended IBU.
KD
OP
- Thread Starter
- #63
Well this baby sat in the keg for almost 15 weeks with the first 12 at room temp and the last three at 40F. I kicked my peach wheat today and the IPA is now on tap, and it tastes great! It is VERY bitter, but no longer in an unpleasant way! It's a darn good IPA! It still managed to keep a pretty nice aroma too!
Hawgbranch
Well-Known Member
West, have you brewed the Bee Cave Rye IPA? I am brewing it Saturday. It'll be my 2nd AG brew. Got everything plugged into Beersmith but the Sparge profile is stumping me.
Just wondering how the IBUs and bitterness turned out.....
Try one next time after 5 weeks instead of 15 and the aroma will slap you not "still managed"
I've kicked 2 kegs of IPA in the past 15 weeks(brew time included)
If Denny has kegged a RyePA at day 11 so can I, and if you don't you'll miss some wonderful flavors
OP
- Thread Starter
- #66
Sure, just not this one. You might have liked how it smelled but you wouldn't have liked how it tasted.
No, I bet I would have. While I would not want to I could Chug a Ruination. I love bitter beers
OP
- Thread Starter
- #68
I love ruination too, but this was too bitter because of too much sodium in the presence of high sulfates. It was not just a harsh hop bitterness.
