Imperial IPA

[Grinch]

Okay, I tweeked this one a bit and looking for more suggestions. thanks in advance.

13 LB 8oz Briess 2 Row Brewers Malt
3 LB Pale Malt (Maris Otter)
1 LB Corn Sugar (Dextrose)
1 LB Caramel/Crystal Malt - 20L
8oz Cara-Pils/Dextrine
8oz Gambrinus Honey Malt

first wort 60+ mins 1.0 Chinook info leaf 13.0
boil 60 mins 1.0 Magnum info leaf 14.0
boil 20 mins 1.0 Simcoe info leaf 13.0
boil 15 mins 1.0 Citra info leaf 11.0
boil 10 mins 1.0 Amarillo info leaf 7.0
boil 1 min 1.0 Citra info leaf 11.0
dry hop 7 days 1.0 Citra info leaf 11.0
dry hop 7 days 1.0 Amarillo leaf 7.0


Suggestions PLEASE! looking to order this up pronto! Thanks!

 

[Oldsock]

I'd reduce the cara and honey malts to no more than 1 lb total. I think an IIPA needs to be pretty dry to avoid tasting like a Barleywine, the corn sugar will certainly help that as well.

For hoppy beers I like to push all of the hops to the start and the end of the boil. I just don’t get much out of the mid boil additions. I'd say 3-4 oz in the last 5 minutes and dry hops would be the minimum if you really want a powerful hop aroma. Haven’t used Amarillo/Citra together before, I tend to pair a fruitier hop with something more resiny /piney (those are both pretty fruity). I really like Amarillo/Simcoe, and Citra/Chinook. That said I’ve made great beers with just Amarillo or Citra, so I think pairing them could work out well if you don’t mind not having much pine.

Hope that helps, good luck!

 

[PGHBrew]

Between the carapils, honey malt, and c20 your at about 11% of your grain bill. I would scrap the carapils and cut the honey malt in half. You don't want too many unfermentables in a big IPA like this. I say about a pound total between the C20 and honey malt is good however you want to proportion it. Just make up the difference in base malt. This thing will still have enough body.

The last one I did had a 60/40 mix of 2-row and MO which turned out good. I've never used citra so I can't help your there. Also make sure to add the corn sugar in the last 5 minutes of the boil. No need to add it at the beginning of the boil. It will only hurt your hop utilization.

My 2 cents. Good Luck!

 

[permo]

You are a tad heavy on the crystal and you could end up with a cloyingly sweet IIPA.


13 LB 8oz Briess 2 Row Brewers Malt
3 LB Pale Malt (Maris Otter)
1 LB Corn Sugar (Dextrose)
1 LB Caramel/Crystal Malt - 20L

That right there is pretty darned good for IIPA....

 

[Grinch]

Thanks everybody! I will take all this advice and adjust accordingly. This is my first really big beer and 4th all grain brew and don't want to screw it up! I do appreciate the help.

 

[Grinch]

Well, tried a variation of this yesterday and apparently didn't boil off enough cause I ended up with 6.5 gallons and OG of 1.70... Hopefully it still tastes good!

 

[toxdoc49]

Thanks everybody! I will take all this advice and adjust accordingly. This is my first really big beer and 4th all grain brew and don't want to screw it up! I do appreciate the help.

I know this thread is old too; I didn't realize that corn sugar is part of the recipe for the boil for IIPA's. Is that common? It would explain the sweet taste of some of them. Just asking as I am a beginner to all grain

 

[thehaze]

Any sugar is completely fermentable, which means the yeast will consume all of it and convert it to alcohol and CO2. The sweetness comes from other things, like a high final gravity and the extensive use of lighter coloured Crystal malts or a combination of these things together.

 

[toxdoc49]

Any sugar is completely fermentable, which means the yeast will consume all of it and convert it to alcohol and CO2. The sweetness comes from other things, like a high final gravity and the extensive use of lighter coloured Crystal malts or a combination of these things together.

Thanks; I just was curious why the corn sugar was added to the recipe in this thread near the end of the boil. I found an IIPA recipe and hopefully replicated it but it did not include corn sugar in the boil. The great thing is that one can see the potential for modifying recipes based on all grain approaches.

 

[thehaze]

You add sugar in a recipe to boost your OG ( original gravity ). A specific % of plain sugar added to a recipe to replace a portion of the malts, will thin and dry the beer out. ( specific also to some belgian style beers )

At the same time, when brewing a 8-9-10% IPA, you will get enough malt presence and maybe sweetness from the alcohol and the sheer amount of malt going in, to brew the beer. Sugar - by adding the thinness and dryness - can stop the beer from feeling/tasting too full/malty, etc. and keeping its drinkability, if such thing is even possible with a 10% IPA.

 

[toxdoc49]

You add sugar in a recipe to boost your OG ( original gravity ). A specific % of plain sugar added to a recipe to replace a portion of the malts, will thin and dry the beer out. ( specific also to some belgian style beers )

At the same time, when brewing a 8-9-10% IPA, you will get enough malt presence and maybe sweetness from the alcohol and the sheer amount of malt going in, to brew the beer. Sugar - by adding the thinness and dryness - can stop the beer from feeling/tasting too full/malty, etc. and keeping its drinkability, if such thing is even possible with a 10% IPA.

I see, thank you for the insight.