Help with my first recipe

[MDB]

I have 4 batches in, will be tasting the first for the first time this weekend, so I'm a total noob extract kit brewer at this point. I want to make my own extract recipes and decided for my first I'd try a Black IPA. I've had a number of them, I like Harpoon 100 barrel series best, so I went to the website and here's what they generally say...

"A newly released specialty malt from Briess called Midnight Wheat gives this beer an almost stout-like appearance without the overly roasty attributes often associated with traditional dark malts. Flaked barley is also used in the malt bill for head retention. An intense yet diverse hop addition schedule is executed during the boil that results in a well balanced offering.

On top of the Chinook, Simcoe, Cascade, and Citra hops is an ample addition of Ahtanum hops that provides a fruity aroma to complement the earthy, spicy bitterness of this dark ale."

7% ABV, 67 IBU, OG 18 (I take that to mean 1.080)

So where do I start???? I will call my LHBS see what he has and what he can get for the ingredients, but I have no idea how to formulate a recipe, I've been reading all over this site but I'm still pretty confused about IBUs and calculating really everything. I want to do a 5 gallon batch, partial boil. But how do I get going on this??? Thanks all

 

[MDB]

I have 4 batches in, will be tasting the first for the first time this weekend, so I'm a total noob extract kit brewer at this point. I want to make my own extract recipes and decided for my first I'd try a Black IPA. I've had a number of them, I like Harpoon 100 barrel series best, so I went to the website and here's what they generally say...

"A newly released specialty malt from Briess called Midnight Wheat gives this beer an almost stout-like appearance without the overly roasty attributes often associated with traditional dark malts. Flaked barley is also used in the malt bill for head retention. An intense yet diverse hop addition schedule is executed during the boil that results in a well balanced offering.

On top of the Chinook, Simcoe, Cascade, and Citra hops is an ample addition of Ahtanum hops that provides a fruity aroma to complement the earthy, spicy bitterness of this dark ale."

7% ABV, 67 IBU, OG 18 (I take that to mean 1.080)

So where do I start???? I will call my LHBS see what he has and what he can get for the ingredients, but I have no idea how to formulate a recipe, I've been reading all over this site but I'm still pretty confused about IBUs and calculating really everything. I want to do a 5 gallon batch, partial boil. But how do I get going on this??? Thanks all

 

[TopherM]

I wouldn't particularly try to clone the Harpoon 100 black IPA. There's so much going on that the chances of you getting it right are pretty low. There are veterans on this board with decades of brewing experience that can't quite get the Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA clone right for the same reason - the brewery provides just enough detail to get it close, but not enough to get it spot on, and there's so much going on, especially in the hop schedule, that it would take batches and batches of experimentation before you even got it close.

Anyway, what you CAN easily do is make a black IPA out of pretty much any IPA recipe. Go to the IPA section of the forum recipe board, find a solid extract IPA recipe, then just add 0.5 lbs black patent malt as a steeping grain per 5 gallon batch. That'll take the original IPA recipe, and make it a darker color with a bit of roasty aftertaste.

Hope that helps!

 

[skeezerpleezer]

I imagine the 18 OG is 18 Plato.

I just bought some of this, so try to help after I try it.

For recipe formulation, buy beersmith. Well worth the $.

 

[tennesseean_87]

Or use brewTarget for free. Look up recipes for Black IPAs and note the average color, IBU, percentage base malt/extract, percentage crystal, roast malt, etc. That will give you a start.

 

[MDB]

Thanks that does help. I don't have any fantasy about actually cloning it, I just figured I like it so start with their general ingredients and the rest is a classroom. this is more of an exercise to learn how to make my own recipe from the ground up (with some cheating using Harpoon's website), the idea being, here's my ingredients, now come up with the right proportions and try to get the right OG, IBU etc.