Imperial IPA Success!

[darknova306]

A couple weeks ago I tried my hand at an IIPA for the first time. Wasn't sure if I was overdoing it on the hops or not. Racked it to secondary last night and added the dry hops. The gravity sample was delicious!

IIPA:
5 Gallons

13.0 lb Maris Otter
2.0 lb Vienna
1.0 lb Crystal 60L
1.0 lb Turbinado

0.50 oz Columbus (16.5%AA, 60 min)
1.00 oz Simcoe (12.2%AA, 60 min)
1.00 oz Amarillo (7.5%AA, 30 min)
1.00 oz Simcoe (15 min)
2.00 oz Amarillo (10 min)
1.00 oz Simcoe (5 min)
2.00 oz Amarillo (Flameout)
2.00 oz Amarillo (DH)
2.00 oz Simcoe (DH)

Mash at 150F for 75 minutes.

My efficiency was a bit lower than normal, but it still came in at a solid 1.080. As of last night it's at 1.014.

 

[StunnedMonkey]

Is it possible to overdo the hops in an IIPA? Seriously though, beat me up and call me Lucy but I really like the Amarillo/Simcoe combination for flavor/aroma.

What yeast did you use?

 

[darknova306]

Good point. Yeah, I'm really digging the Amarillo/Simcoe combination based on the gravity sample.

Yeast was an activator pack of Wyeast 1056 in a 1L starter on a stir plate. The jug the blowoff tube was venting into for this batch was bubbling like crazy within an hour of pitching.

 

[xiang]

Looks like it will be a fine IIPA. Of all the IPA's and IIPA's I have brewed, I still think amarillo/simcoe is my favorite hop combination. Although columbus/citra and columbus/simcoe is quickly gaining some ground.

 

[darknova306]

I've been hearing a lot about Citra recently. Never tried them, maybe that should change.

 

[wrestler63]

Looks like it will be a fine IIPA. Of all the IPA's and IIPA's I have brewed, I still think amarillo/simcoe is my favorite hop combination. Although columbus/citra and columbus/simcoe is quickly gaining some ground.

Just did a Columbus / amarillo IIPA using Safale -05........1.086 OG beer. Used about 25% Munich in the grain bill and hopped every 10 minutes using 5 oz. of hops and dry hopped with 1.5 oz more. ....It is yummy.
Cheers

 

[humann_brewing]

looks like a great beer

 

[tdoft]

So how about columbus/amarillo/simcoe? Is that amazing or too busy?

 

[tdoft]

I should have been a bit more specific. I love the looks of the recipe at the beginning of this thread. Columbus amarillo and simcoe are my new favs. What I'm wondering is should I brew this recipe as is or use columbus for some of the flavoring/dry hop additions as well? I know there's no right/wrong answer so I'll probably just do it-especially since I have extra columbus in the freezer. Also, I've never heard of turbinado. What does that add?

 

[darknova306]

Turbinado is sugar that's only been partially refined. It adds the extra dryness you get from table sugar, but the impurities left from the lack of refining add a little bit of complexity to the beer. I personally love using it. It's in the natural/organic/etc food aisle at my local grocery store.

I've only ever used Columbus as a bittering hop, and used it in this recipe just to bump up the 60 minute IBUs. I'd say, if you want to modify it and use Columbus in some of the later additions, go for it. If you brew this and modify it, post your recipe and let me know how it turns out.

 

[tdoft]

Thanks Dark Nova! It'll be awhile before brewday but here's my initial Plan:

I'm a terminal mini-mash wuss.

Grain Bill:

6Lbs Pale liquid extract
3lbs Maris Otter
2lbs Vienna
1lb Caramel 60L
1lb Turbinado

Hop Bill:

1oz Columbus 60min
1oz Each of Amarillo Columbus and Simcoe 15min
1oz Each A,C and S 10min
1oz Each A,C and S 5min
1oz Each A,C and S Flameout
1oz Each A,C and S Dry Hop

Thanks for the inspiration. Any thoughts?

 

[darknova306]

Nothing wrong with the mini-mash. It took me a while to get to where I wanted to invest the money in all-grain.

Your hop schedule looks delicious. I say go for it.

 

[tdoft]

Well,
I tweaked my recipe minimally (bittered with Chinook instead of Columbus) and I have to say WOW! Delicious, balanced complex. Excellent! Thanks again for to the help Darknova.

 

[darknova306]

Excellent, tdoft. What was original/final gravity on yours?

The original recipe I posted wound up at 1.080 and dropped to 1.014. I tapped it about 3 weeks ago and it came out beautifully. Nice solid hop aroma, great up front bitterness, and balanced enough to go down dangerously quick.