IPA questions

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Scrow

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 16, 2009
Messages
103
Reaction score
0
So, I tried an IPA from a local brewery, which was phenomenal, and I would like to try recreating it or something similar. I have been brewing mostly from kits, since I am still new to this, and I noticed that many of the kits I buy have Cascade as the hops, which I don't really care for. Hence the lack of IPA in my collection.

All I can really say about the IPA I tried (I think the guy may have said it was an Imperial) was that the hops were amazing (the LHBS guy said he thinks it may have been Summit?) and it had a flavor that was very similar to almost a breakfast cereal. It was somewhat sweet and malty, with a nice strong hops flavor. This probably doesn't help much at all.

Help!! I wish I could be more precise or helpful. I guess basically I need a recipe for some good IPA. What hops are good for an IPA and what characteristics make them different?

Thanks so much everyone!!
 
American style IPA's would have hops like Chinook, Amarillo, Centennial, Columbus, Summit, Simcoe and Cascade to name a few. These all have a citrus component but some more than others (Amarillo, Centennial, Cascade and Summit are very citrusy). Some are piney (Simcoe) and some are earthy/spicy (Columbus). Combining these American style hops can give your IPA a very complex, citrusy character commonly found in this type of beer. They key is to find the specific hop characteristics your looking for and find the hops to match your preference.
 
this might be overly basic, but quit using kits. 2 oz of cascades and 7 lbs of extra light dry malt extract are a good basis for an IPA recipe, keep it simple so that you can get a feel for what each ingredient brings to to the flavor. when you use a flavored can you really don't know if it was even labeled correctly. if you think your beer is not hoppy enough you can adjust the basic recipe by looking back at its individual ingredients and slightly tweak just one thing to get the flavor you want!
happy brewing
 
I too love IPAs, but am a little weary of Cascades. I do love Simcoes, Chinooks, Centennials, and Amarillos though. I'd start with a high AA hop as your bittering (60 min), and then have the bulk of the rest of your additions be within the last 15 minutes of the boil. This will let them really exhibit their flavor. Dry hopping after the primary fermentation is over is a must as well for IPAs. My preference is feeling as if someone stuck a pine cone dipped in grapefruit juice up my nose.
 
Well I tried another, called "Amarillo IPA" which I assume means they used Amarillo hops. I am a little unsure of how to tell what hops I want to use. Just mess around and test different recipes I guess? Also, how do I leave a note of malt flavor in the beer after fermentation?
 
Someone HAS to have an idea for what I am looking for. I am looking for an IPA with a punch in the mouth of light-flavored hops, with a strong malty finish. I am fairly certain the hops used were Summit, if that helps at all.

The key here is that the hops came out strong and bright, but the drink was backed with a nice, almost sweet and caramel malty flavor at the end. I need that malty flavor to remain at the end.

HELP!
 
First, are you an extract, PM or AG brewer? We can help you formulate a recipe if we know what type of recipe's your setup for.
 
What was the IPA you tried that you liked so much in the first place?


Oh yeah, maybe you should try some of the more traditional English IPA hops like Fuggles & Kent Goldings. They're not so citrusy, more floral & Northern Brewer maybe fo bittering.
 
What is it that you don't like about Cascade? If we knew it might be easier to point you in the right direction.
 
Thank you, I will look for that and try it. As to the other questions, I am an extract brewer, hence the post in the extract forums. I don't know exactly what it is about Cascade hops... I guess it seems almost generic to me.

As for the beer I had, I don't know what it was. I just liked the hops that were used (again, the guy said he thought it was summit) and the malty flavor it left.
 
Thank you, I will look for that and try it. As to the other questions, I am an extract brewer, hence the post in the extract forums. I don't know exactly what it is about Cascade hops... I guess it seems almost generic to me.

As for the beer I had, I don't know what it was. I just liked the hops that were used (again, the guy said he thought it was summit) and the malty flavor it left.

Yeah, somehow I missed the whole extract forum thingy. :eek:

Formulating extract recipes is relatively simple if you know what your looking for, which you seem to. You could start with light DME as a base, throw in some steeping grains for color and flavor, then create a hop schedule using all Summit hops because they are a great high alpha dual purpose hop and will give you the citrusy hop character your looking for. Here's an example:

3 lbs. extra-light DME (60 min)
4 lbs. extra-light DME (10 min)
1/2 lb. crystal 60L
1/2 lb. CaraMunich
1/2 oz. Summit (60 min)
1/2 oz. Summit (20 min)
1/2 oz. Summit (10 min)
1/2 oz. Summit (2 min)
1 oz. Summit (dryhop)
Safale US-05

I just made this recipe up, so don't necessarily run with it, but it would give you an IPA with malt sweetness and a nice citrusy hop flavor/aroma and moderate bitterness. This would end up around 60 IBU, 10 SRM, and 6.3 ABV depending on AA%, yeast attenuation, boil size, etc.
 
I just started drinking my last IPA with Chinook, Centennial, Amarillo, and Golding. It came out great! Lots of depth in the hop falvor. And like you said Hooter, the gradual addition over the boil worked great! Here's my hop schedule.
US Chinook 1oz All Of Boil
US Amarillo 1oz 45 Min
US Centennial 1oz 45 Min
US Chinook 1oz 30 Min
UK Golding 1oz 30 Min
UK Golding 1oz 15 Min
US Amarillo 1oz 10 Min
US Amarillo 1oz Flameout
Dry-hopped with 1oz of Amarillo.

Light DME base with 1 1/2 lbs Crystal 25.

Good luck and cheers!
 
I just started drinking my last IPA with Chinook, Centennial, Amarillo, and Golding. It came out great! Lots of depth in the hop falvor. And like you said Hooter, the gradual addition over the boil worked great! Here's my hop schedule.
US Chinook 1oz All Of Boil
US Amarillo 1oz 45 Min
US Centennial 1oz 45 Min
US Chinook 1oz 30 Min
UK Golding 1oz 30 Min
UK Golding 1oz 15 Min
US Amarillo 1oz 10 Min
US Amarillo 1oz Flameout
Dry-hopped with 1oz of Amarillo.

Light DME base with 1 1/2 lbs Crystal 25.

Good luck and cheers!

9 oz of hops! (for a 5 gallon batch?) Wow. :ban:
 
Scrow:

I'll take a stab here, although just recently got back into brewing I have been professionally drinking IPA's for over a decade. :drunk:

First if you don't like cascade, don't use it. A few Traditional "punch in the nose" IPA hops are things like Chinnook, Centennial, Columbus. You can look up hop charts and find similiar ones. All these hops are strong bittering, so you don't need a lot to really up the bite in your IPA. Mix em up, 1-2 ounces at start of boil and 1-2 ounces with 20-30 mins left with maybe an ounce at flame out using these hops will give you a fairly agressive hop bite. Dry hopping will pick up the floral notes as well in the final product.
SnakeAnthony above has a very aggressive hop schedule more akin to a double or imperial IPA. That may be a bit aggressive for some. Don't get me wrong, I luvs me some hops but that has gotta be one hoppy brew there.
For that malt sweetness you want some steeping grains. Try 8-12 oz of Crystal malt steeped for 20 30 mins at 160 degrees. Crystal malt 60 should give you some good color and sweetness as the sugars from crystal malt are not readily feremented out of the final product by the yeast. I think swapping some liquid extract for DME may leave you with a bit more sweetness as well 4-6 oz of Malto Dextrin Powder added into the boil will also add to that sweet note and pleasant mouth feel.

Just my 2 cents
Cheers.
 
Probably the best thing you could do is to go back to where you had the beer you want to replicate and have another.
Then write down the name and who brewed it.
Someone here may be familiar enough with it to guide you, but you may be surprised if you simply ask the brewer directly.
I have yet to be denied recipe help from any professional brewer from whom I have requested help.
You will find brewers a very helpful, open lot.
Cheers.
 
There are lots of charts all over the internet that will give you guidance in selecting your hops. Personal favorites, Chinook for bittering, Centennial and Simcoe for flavor, and Simcoe and Amarillo for aroma and dry hopping.

To get that malty backing, I agree that a pound or two of a low Lovibond crystal will get you there. If it is a sweetness you're after, try some honey malt.
 
Scrow, what brewery were you drinking at?

I pour beer at a local taproom that has an Amarillo IPA, also our flagship Derailed IPA has been getting doses of summits recently, and our IIPA, Trainwreck, also had a healthy portion of Summit hops.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top