Imperial IPA Recipe

[citylights]

I'm writing my first beer recipe from scratch and had one big question that's bugging me. First off, the general recipe is row 2 pale malt, crystal 40l, victory, and wheat. Hopped with citra, amarillo, centenniel, and simcoe. I'm thinking that it would be a good deal to add some sort of sugar to cut down on the grain a little while still producing the high alcohol. I don't want to throw off the flavor either. What's everyone's opinion? corn sugar or light brown sugar?
Thank you

 

[A4J]

Light brown sugar (just like white cane sugar) will impart a slight flavor to your IPA. Depending on how sensitive your palette is and how much brown sugar you use, you may not be able to tell at all. Corn sugar would be best but be careful on how much you use as it will thin out your beer.

 

[Pie_Man]

Corn sugar is relatively flavorless and the brown sugar will probably add a touch of sweetness compared to the corn sugar due to the molasses in the brown sugar.

What percentage of sugar are you intending to add (as a percentage of the fermentables)?

 

[Wig]

I have gone up to a pound of brown sugar (in an ESB). I used 'dark' and didn't notice the flavor much, I suppose my pallette was not sensitive to it like A4J said or it was buried bwith the crystal.

I suppose the real question is how much grain are you trying to cut back on? Have you considered malt extract? A pound of dry extract is relatively equal to 1.6 pounds of base malt if i recall correctly.

 

[user 98891]

I recommend honey. Put a pound of honey in at flameout, it gives a nice flavor to go with the hops and is basically 100% fermentable sugar. If you don't want the flavor, put it in early in the boil.

 

[mdawson9]

Time for a noob question? What is reason behind behind cutting down on the amount of grain in a recipe? This has puzzled me for awhile and I keep forgetting to ask.
Thanks!!

 

[Wig]

Can't speak for the OP, but i have subbed extract for grain when the grain bill got uncomfortably close to, or exceeded, my equipment capacity.

 

[Glynn]

Time for a noob question? What is reason behind behind cutting down on the amount of grain in a recipe? This has puzzled me for awhile and I keep forgetting to ask.
Thanks!!

We don't add sugar necessarily to just help cut down on the grain bill. it helps in the drying out of an ipa or dipa. my last dipa had 15 lb 2 row + 1 lb sugar

 

[citylights]

Pale malt is sitting at 19 pounds currently and another two pounds of other grain. If it'll bring out the hops more I'm a big fan...I was thinking of adding one pound if sugar and maybe cutting the pale to 17.5.

 

[Pie_Man]

Wow, this is a really big beer even for an IIPA. I'm estimating your OG will be something like 1.108 (with 19 lbs of pale malt). I defintely think you can drop the pale malt down some and the sugar content can probably be up to about 10% if you'd like. Personally, an original gravity in the 1.080s seems more appropriate. With an OG of 1.108, it will be difficult to get the hop flavor and bitterness balance for an IIPA.

A BU:GU ratio greater than 1.25 is typically used for this style. it's my understanding that the bitterness units (BU) are limited to around 100, maybe up to 120. There is simply a limit to how many IBUs can be in solution and that the human palette can detect. With that said, the high OG of this beer limits the IBU potential and it might not taste as hoppy as you'd like.

Suggestions for getting the most hop flavor out of your beer:
- lower the OG to allow the hops to comprise more of the flavor
- Use a lot of late hop editions (last 10 minutes or so)
- Dry hop