IPA adjustments

[DanOmite]

I need help adjusting an old recipe. A little over a month ago I brewed the following IPA recipe:

Ingredients

Malt
• 4.8 lb Extra Light DME
Specialty Grains
• 1.2 lb (19.2 oz) Vienna Malt
• 0.3 lb (4.8 oz) Crystal 20L
• 0.3 lb (4.8oz) Cara-Pils / Dextrine
Extra Stuff
• 1 tablespoon Irish Moss
Hops
• 0.6 oz Columbus (60 minutes)
• 0.4 oz Amarillo (60 minutes)

• 0.2 oz Columbus (30 minutes)
• 0.4 oz Amarillo (30 minutes)

• 0.2 oz Columbus (15 minutes)
• 0.4 oz Amarillo (15 minutes)

• 0.2 oz Columbus (5 minutes)
• 0.4 oz Amarillo (5 minutes)

• 0.2 oz Columbus (1 minutes)
• 0.4 oz Amarillo (1 minutes)
Dry Hop
• 0.6 oz Amarillo (5 days)
Yeast
• White Labs California Ale

It turned out great. I really enjoyed it, but I think it could have used some more bittering and maybe a little more hop flavoring. So, I have been trying to adjust the recipe accordingly.

I was thinking about maybe moving the 30-minute hops to the 20-minute mark, because in another thread I was told the 30 minute addition doesn't add much flavor. Furthermore, many IPA recipes I have found online seem to start the second hop addition at the 20-15 minute mark. Also, to enhance aroma, I was thinking about adding an addition at the 10-minute mark as well. This is what have so far:

Hops
• 0.9 oz Columbus (60 minutes)

• 0.2 oz Columbus (20 minutes)
• 0.4 oz Amarillo (20 minutes)

• 0.2 oz Columbus (15 minutes)
• 0.4 oz Amarillo (15 minutes)

• 0.2 oz Columbus (10 minutes)
• 0.4 oz Amarillo (10 minutes)

• 0.2 oz Columbus (5 minutes)
• 0.4 oz Amarillo (5 minutes)

• 0.2 oz Columbus (flame out)
• 0.4 oz Amarillo (flame out)

Dry Hop
• 0.6 oz Amarillo (5 days)
• 0.6 oz Columbus (5 days)


As you can see, I threw out the Amarillo hops at the 60-minute mark, because I don't think it is necassary to blend when no flavor is coming through. Also, the 0.9 oz bumps the initial IBU's up to 60 rather than the low 50's. Moreover, I think the continuous hopping in the last 20 minutes will create a nice clean flavor and aroma profile.

Ultimately, I do not want to drastically alter the recipe, because I really enjoyed it over all. I just want to make it that much better.

What do you guys think?

 

[dirty_martini]

I would personally combine your 10, 5, and KO and use them at KO only. I would also combine your 20 and 15 and use them together at 15. Then add as needed to your 60 min addition to get the IBUs you wanted. I think doing it this way, you get a much more aromatic beer and an easier one to recreate. I think recipes should be simple, because every pro brewer I've spoken to uses simpler recipes with less step than most homebrewers.

 

[DanOmite]

I would personally combine your 10, 5, and KO and use them at KO only. I would also combine your 20 and 15 and use them together at 15. Then add as needed to your 60 min addition to get the IBUs you wanted. I think doing it this way, you get a much more aromatic beer and an easier one to recreate. I think recipes should be simple, because every pro brewer I've spoken to uses simpler recipes with less step than most homebrewers.

Is "KO" the same as "flame out" or, in other words, the end of the boil?

Thanks for the suggestion. I think I may try it out on my next batch to see if there is a real difference. If you think it will be more aromatic, it may be exactly what I want. I got a nice hop taste from the beer, but I wanted it to be more pronounced. Also, the aroma lacked, which I think took away from the overall experience.

 

[Yooper]

I would personally combine your 10, 5, and KO and use them at KO only. I would also combine your 20 and 15 and use them together at 15. Then add as needed to your 60 min addition to get the IBUs you wanted. I think doing it this way, you get a much more aromatic beer and an easier one to recreate. I think recipes should be simple, because every pro brewer I've spoken to uses simpler recipes with less step than most homebrewers.

Haha- I would do the exact opposite! I LOVE IPAs, and I feel that 10, 5, and 0 additions all play a part and make the hop flavor and aroma "pop". I would never use a 15 minute only, or a KO only, addition.

I agree that you don't need all those 20, 15, 10, 5, 0 additions. But there isn't anything wrong with them. I'd probably go with 15, 5, 0, though, for simplicity. Or even 20, 10, 5. Three is sufficient, and you can experiment with the differences as you get more comfortable with hopping.

 

[strat_thru_marshall]

1.2 oz is not enough dry hops!! crank it up to 2, 3 or even 4 oz if you want some serious hop aroma.

Also, I agree with dirty martini about combining the 20 and 15 additions at 15 and the 5 and 10 at flameout. Or, if you whirlpool/chill your could combine the 10 and 5 minute additions at 5 minutes, then double your flameout addition and add it when whirlpooling begins.

 

[dirty_martini]

Is "KO" the same as "flame out" or, in other words, the end of the boil?

one and the same

 

[DanOmite]

I should mention this is a 3 gallon recipe.

Thanks for the advice. Here is what I am thinking now:

Hops
• 0.46 oz Columbus (60 minutes) 60 IBU
• 0.80 oz Amarillo (60 minutes)

• 0.40 oz Columbus (15 minutes) 21 IBU
• 0.80 oz Amarillo (15 minutes)

• 0.40 oz Columbus (5 minutes) 10 IBU
• 0.80 oz Amarillo (5 minutes)

• 0.40 oz Columbus (flame out) 3 IBU
• 0.80 oz Amarillo (flame out)

Dry Hop
• 1.0 oz Amarillo (5-7 days)
• 1.0 oz Columbus (5-7 days)

So, I am hitting about 95 IBU, which seems like a good number to me.

 

[Yooper]

I like the hopping schedule. I think 95 IBUs is a bit much for many beers, but that's really up to you. I like my IPAs to be in the 45-65 IBU range. For a IIPA, 95 IBUs would be ok. If you want to go into IIPA territory, make sure you have enough malt to support all the hops. For an IIPA, I'd start with an OG of 1.070-1.090 or so. Make sure you pitch enough yeast so it attenuates well!

 

[DanOmite]

I like the hopping schedule. I think 95 IBUs is a bit much for many beers, but that's really up to you. I like my IPAs to be in the 45-65 IBU range. For a IIPA, 95 IBUs would be ok. If you want to go into IIPA territory, make sure you have enough malt to support all the hops. For an IIPA, I'd start with an OG of 1.070-1.090 or so. Make sure you pitch enough yeast so it attenuates well!

Yeah, 90-95 IBUs is a little bit high, but when I orginally brewed this recipe there seemed to be room for more hops. The malt back ground held its own and I think it will be able to support more hops. The malts in the beer where a little sweet and created a very nice mouth feel.