IIPA - rack it or not?

[dancness]

Ok guys, I know this subject has been beaten to death here, but I just wanted to get some opinions because I am a noob (2nd batch)

I'm brewing the Brewer's Best IIPA kit. There are details of it here on another post, so I won't bore you with all the ingredients etc. I'll just get right to my question:

Since this IIPA I'm making is a high OG beer, I'm wondering if I should let it sit in the primary for a month rather than rack it to a secondary. Could this cause any off flavors because it is a higher OG beer, or do you think it will improve the taste of the end product?

Basically my plan was to let it just sit on the yeast cake in the primary for 4-5 weeks and bottle it straight from there. Then let it sit at room temp in the bottles for about another month.

Does this sound like a good game plan for an IIPA?

 

[Nateo]

I'd say leave in primary for a month. You could bottle it from there or bulk condition is for a few months in secondary. What I like to do, if you're going to dry hop it, is to bulk condition for a few months, then dry hop a week before you bottle it. That way the aroma won't fade as badly as you're waiting for it to age.

 

[dancness]

I'm not going to dry hop or add anything additional. Would you still recommend bulk conditioning in a secondary?

I'm trying to produce a beer with a superior flavor, since my last batch (Blonde Ale) came out rather unimpressive. If that means waiting an extra month to drink it, I can. I have the patience to wait it out in the hopes for better flavor.

 

[jer204]

I'm doing a IIPA right now (10%). Just brewed it. I plan on letting it set in the primary for 3-4 weeks. I'm dryhopping, so I'll transfer to secondary and let it set for another 10 days. then into the bottle. I would just sit for a while in the primary.

 

[Nateo]

Pretty much every beer would benefit from bulk aging, with a few exceptions. I've never made an IPA of any kind without some dry hopping, but I've had good results on bigger beers with a 1-month primary, and 1-6 month secondary, on the short end for lower gravity beers, and high end for barleywines or very big beers, like 1.120+ OG.

 

[rjwhite41]

I would just leave it in your primary and bottle after 4 weeks. Not only will start to lose aroma with bulk conditioning but you will also start losing hop flavor. IPA's, even IIPA's are better relatively young. I make an IIPA with and OG of 1.084 and I leave it in the primary for 5-6 weeks with the last two weeks of that time for dry hopping. I am not a believer that all beers do better with extended aging. Some do and some don't. Not all beers are created equal.

 

[dancness]

Hmmm it seems the consensus is to do dry hopping with IIPAs.

After about 3 weeks in the primary can I just go out buy like an ounce of Cascade aroma pellets for example, tie it loosely in a muslin bag and just toss it in the primary for the remaining week? Think that would do the trick?

 

[ksbrain]

Yes. You could even skip the bag. Or you could even wait longer and then do the dry hop for a week or two before bottling. Even two ounces of dry hops would be fine for an IIPA.

Congratulations on your patience. It will serve you well in this hobby.

 

[JuanKenobi]

I've got to agree that bulk aging is not necessarily needed or even desirable for a double IPA. I've had great results with 3-4 weeks in primary, then dry-hop for 1-2 weeks and then condition for 3 weeks. And my DIPAs usually come at 9-10% ABV. It's all personal preference of course, but I find I like 'em fresh.

 

[mrk305]

I dry hop in the primary after a week (after the bubblys stop) and keg in 4 weeks or later if nothing is empty. Ask a question and get ten different answers.

 

[dancness]

haha well that's fine, I was just looking for ideas anyway while making sure I don't screw up my brew. the kit was $60 :O

Since I haven't graduated to kegging yet, I think I will wait until 3 weeks in the primary, throw in a couple ounces of hops, wait another 2 weeks and bottle.

Thank you all for your input. I'll let you know how it turns out in a couple months.

 

[umopepisdn]

An IPA without dry hopping? What's the worry? I tend to primary everything till bottle with the exception of dry hopping or racking some crazy mess over some crazy mess.....still....