IPA beer plan?

[dfouty]

Hello everyone,

I'm new to brewing and am wondering if my plan for my current brew sounds okay and if anyone has any tips for me!

I'm brewing an extract IPA. Right now I have it in its primary. I'm planning on keeping it there for 2 weeks and then racking onto an ounce of hops for dry hopping in the secondary. Then from there I'd move the secondary to the fridge for a week long cold crash. And finally from there rack it into the keg.

Any tips or advice would be great.

-Dave

 

[Pie_Man]

That sounds reasonable.

A few things to add, I ferment my beers according to the fermentation, not a timeilne. In general, two weeks is enough, but if things are still working, or you detect yeast byproduct flavors (green apple, buttery/butterscotch), leaving the beer on the primary a little longer is a good thing as it gives the yeast time to clean things up.

Additionally, you can easily dry hop in the primary once fermentation subsides, if you choose. I prefer this method as I avoid a secondary and the risks of transferring (I am mostly worried about oxidation). Plus, there is one less vessel to clean with this technique. You do what you want, both methods are acceptable.

 

[Chadwick]

I need to ask a few questions before I make any comments.

What kind of extract did you use?
What size is this batch?
What kind of hop additions did you do during the boil and at what amounts/times?
What was your original gravity?
Which strain of yeast are you using and what are your fermentation temps?
How much yeast did you use?

Lots of questions, I know. But it is important to have a record of these things for us to have any idea of how to advise you or share feedback on your brew.

 

[dfouty]

Thank you for your replies.

9.15 lbs of gold lme
A hair over 5 gal
1 oz centennial (60)
1 oz centennial (20)
2 oz centennial (5)
1.060 OG
Safale US-05 11.5 g dry yeast.
I rehydrated before pitching
The optimal says 58-70 and I'm using a swamp cooler to keep it around 63 (fermometer)

 

[dfouty]

And 1 oz centennial dry hop

This is the dead ringer extract kit from Northern Brewer

 

[hogwash]

I would up the dry hop to 2 oz. to really hit it with aroma. Also, I "secondary" and dry hop (in a tied off section of a woman's stocking/pantyhose weighed down by marbles and tied to a keg handle with non-flavored dental floss) in the keg for about a week at room temp, then put the keg in the kegerator and hook it up to the gas. Sometimes I'll pull the hops and sometimes I'll leave them in. Eliminating the secondary tank and the extra transfer saves me time and cleaning and saves the beer from an extra chance at oxygen exposure.

But there's more than one way to skin a cat so your method will work well also. Just be sure to dry hop at room temp and then cold crash.

 

[solbes]

I don't think you need to rack it to secondary AND cold crash to drop the yeast. Either one will work fine for a style that works pretty well with a little yeast in suspension.

Agree Hog above that 2 oz dry hop gives you something closer to 2HA. My first one was lacking with the 1 oz, and my subsequent two have had 2 oz of dry hop. I have grown more fond of dry hopping in the chilled keg, as you have the fresh hop aroma all along. The colder temps mean you can leave it there for weeks or months without any grassy flavors. The disadvantage is that it can take up to 1-1.5 weeks in the keg before the hop aroma shows up, but generally a beer improves over this time anyway to lessen the carbonic bite from the gas.

 

[Chadwick]

I agree with the above statements.

Sounds like this brew is coming along nicely. You seem to be doing everything right. Great recipe too. I will repeat what has been said before. Don't bother with the secondary, do it all in the primary. Don't bother with the cold crash either. US-05 never tends to need cold crashing. They fall out of solution pretty good on their own.

I love Centennial hops. This will be a good beer.

 

[RonPopeil]

I agree with the guys. It seems like you're moving it around too much. To streamline your process skip secondary. Cold crash your primary in the fridge to drop the yeast. After 48 hours or so bring it out of the fridge and dry hop. Rack straight to keg and carb.