IPA recipe feedback

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.

tomwhit19

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 4, 2017
Messages
87
Reaction score
18
Location
South Jersey
not sure if this is in the right spot but posting it here as im still in the beginning stages of homebrewing, i have 3 brews under my belt 2 extracts and 1 all grain which was a saison me and a nuddy put the recipe together for

looking for some feedback on this ipa recipe i put together here

grain - 10#white wheat malt
1# caramel 60
hops - citra - 1oz boil 90 min
citra - .5oz boil 45 min
citra - 3oz day 7 of primary
citra - 3oz day 10 of primary
move to secondary at day 14 -----no additional dry hopping
yeast - american ale ii - wyeast #1272

mash time - 75 min finsihing at 150F
boil time - 90 min

estimated o.g - 1.066
estimated f.g - 1.014
ibus - 60
estimated abv - 6.8%

any and all feedback is welcomed
 
I don't think there's a need to transfer. Most mash at 60 minutes too. Also, why the 90 minute boil? Are you just trying to increase IBU?
 
I do the transfer to help eliminate trub from the final product, and yes to the second part there too, also looking at recipes it seemed like a lot of IPA brews were 90 min boils so I was just emulating that going with 90 min
 
A few questions on this one-- why all the wheat malt?
I see bittering additions with the hops but no flavor additions at all.
What's your goal for the end product?
 
I've never used that much wheat but I normally have about a 15% efficacy loss if my recipe is 50% wheat. It seems like a common issue due to the wheat being smaller and more likely to fall through a mill uncrushed and it tends to become gummy during the mash. For those reasons I'd look at going with 50% pale and 50% wheat.
 
I do the transfer to help eliminate trub from the final product, and yes to the second part there too, also looking at recipes it seemed like a lot of IPA brews were 90 min boils so I was just emulating that going with 90 min

There really won't be any difference between a 60 minute boil and a 90 minute boil in this recipe. IPAs like Dogfish Head use a 90 minute boil to continuously hop over that 90 minutes, a little at a time.

If you want more of the citra flavor, you should keep that 1oz 60 minute addition, and then have a few late additions, and maybe a whirlpool as well.
 
Would normally be a little less direct - but here it goes.

I like the yeast - the rest confuses me

try this - 80% 2-row, 15% wheat, 5% crystal (I prefer flaked oat here, but lets say crystal for now) I like wheat, but would really suggest keeping the % lower that what is there.

Hops:

1 oz bittering hop of your choice at 60 min

.75 oz Citra @ 20

.5 oz Citra @ 2

3 oz Citra in hop stand - temp somewhere in the 170°F range - between 20 amd 30 min in hopstand

3 oz Dryhop 5 days prior to end of fermentation

Roughly the same hop quantity as before, but probably a lot more of that yummy Citra flavor.
 
Don't do the secondary. Not necessary. Search these forums. It's a waste of time for an IPA. It won't be in the fermenter long enough to develop these mythical off Flavors from the trub.
 
A few questions on this one-- why all the wheat malt?
I see bittering additions with the hops but no flavor additions at all.
What's your goal for the end product?

was looking at doing something different honestly, was just sitting there thinking of an all wheat ipa thats about it, thats why i asked for and advice cause i havent seen one of just all wheat
 
Would normally be a little less direct - but here it goes.

I like the yeast - the rest confuses me

try this - 80% 2-row, 15% wheat, 5% crystal (I prefer flaked oat here, but lets say crystal for now) I like wheat, but would really suggest keeping the % lower that what is there.

Hops:

1 oz bittering hop of your choice at 60 min

.75 oz Citra @ 20

.5 oz Citra @ 2

3 oz Citra in hop stand - temp somewhere in the 170°F range - between 20 amd 30 min in hopstand

3 oz Dryhop 5 days prior to end of fermentation

Roughly the same hop quantity as before, but probably a lot more of that yummy Citra flavor.

revamped the recipe and took the hop additions into consideration for it, still comes out to 60 ibus which is what i was aiming for, i appreciate the input, just curious what do you mean by the first 3oz hop addition where you say "in hop stand"
 
Hop stand = chill your wort to 80 Celsius, add hops and stir or whirlpool with pump, let it sit at that temp for 20-30 minutes. You get some really nice steeping aromatics/flavors from fragile hop oils that burn off above that temperature. Yummy! Shorter dry hop also is more pungent (3-4 days). Not sure what your process is, but you'll probably want to use an assload of rice hulls mixed into your mash to avoid a 3-hour sparge ;). They'll compensate for the fact that you're using a grain without husks.
 
I recommend adding 1 to 2 more good hop strains! I love citra was my favorite for a while and ive brewed with all the meta hops lately. Citra is actually a little 1 dimensional and doesn't pop in flavor or aroma alone IMO. But when its supported properly it carries the flavor/aroma and can take front and center.
 
was looking at doing something different honestly, was just sitting there thinking of an all wheat ipa thats about it, thats why i asked for and advice cause i havent seen one of just all wheat

There's a reason why you haven't seen an all-wheat IPA (or all-wheat anything else). It's such a sticky mess that it doesn't work with conventional brewing, and is still a slow and messy PITA with BIAB. You can add rice hulls, but IME it's still not the same as having some barley in the mix. I'd suggest limiting the wheat to 50% without rice hulls, or 70% with some rice hulls. You can go a bit higher with BIAB.

For the rest of the recipe - the hop advice already given is spot on.
Unless you want a sweetish finish (which you might - some people like it), get rid of the crystal - an all-malt IPA in that gravity range with WY1272 (sweeter finish than WY1056) already has quite a bit of residual sweetness. If you really want some crystal in there, replace a bit of the base malt with dextrose to dry it out a bit. I really like layering different base malts for IPAs - something like 50% 2-row, 25% wheat, 25% vienna would be quite tasty.
 
Would normally be a little less direct - but here it goes.

I like the yeast - the rest confuses me

try this - 80% 2-row, 15% wheat, 5% crystal (I prefer flaked oat here, but lets say crystal for now) I like wheat, but would really suggest keeping the % lower that what is there.

Hops:

1 oz bittering hop of your choice at 60 min

.75 oz Citra @ 20

.5 oz Citra @ 2

3 oz Citra in hop stand - temp somewhere in the 170°F range - between 20 amd 30 min in hopstand

3 oz Dryhop 5 days prior to end of fermentation

Roughly the same hop quantity as before, but probably a lot more of that yummy Citra flavor.

Much, much better!
Make that Crystal 10L or 20L and you're golden! You could substitute half of the 2-row with Maris Otter or Golden Promise.

If anything, I would change the 20' Citra addition to .5 oz (to keep the total in whole oz) and add it at 5' instead. 20' is too early IMO.

Bitter with Magnum, Warrior, or Apollo. There are others.

To the OP, @tomwhit19, if you plan to brew more than one IPA in the foreseeable future buy your hops by the pound, or at least 8oz bags from one of the Hop Vendors, such as Yakima Valley Hops (2oz, 8oz, 1lb, they have other brew stuff and ingredients too) or HopsDirect (pounds only, shipping is $$) or from another online source (e.g., RiteBrew, Farmhouse Brewing, etc.).

Buying that much hops by the ounce from your local homebrew store (LHBS) will cost a small fortune (Citra runs $3.50 an ounce here!), especially if you plan to brew a few IPAs. Some LHBS will sell by the pound or half pound at a better price if you really push them for it, but they rarely beat the online pricing, even with modest shipping added.

When buying hops in bulk, freeze them in the original package. After opening, roll up tightly squeezing all air out and tape well shut. Return to freezer. They can last a few years stored that way.

WY1272 is a great yeast for IPAs. Please make a 2 liter starter, so it will ferment well. Keep the ferm temps controlled at around 68F until it's almost done. Then add the dry hops (to the primary), and raise to 71F. Do not secondary. Try to avoid air exposure as much as possible.
 
I recommend adding 1 to 2 more good hop strains! I love citra was my favorite for a while and ive brewed with all the meta hops lately. Citra is actually a little 1 dimensional and doesn't pop in flavor or aroma alone IMO. But when its supported properly it carries the flavor/aroma and can take front and center.


A great starting place with simething like this is to add Mosaic - been done all over the place, but that is for a good reason. As stated above, reduce the 20 min to .5 Citra, and add .5 oz Citra AND .5 Mosaic at 2 min.

In hopstand and dryhop, add 1 oz of Mosaic in hopstand (2 oz Citra, 1 oz Mosaic) and 1.5 oz in dryhop (2 oz Citra, 1.5 oz Mosaic)

Citra and Mosaic are amazing together - my preference is to use just a bit more Citra as Mosaic can come over the top of it somewhat.
 
wow, a lot of info to take in, thanks everyone definitely gonna utilize some of this info now and save some for later on- another ipa or tweaking this recipe
 
@IslandLizard ---- are you able to provide any more info on doing a starter? I understand the point of it, to get more yeast going for when you pitch into the fermenter, but I cant find anything on here about how to actually do a starter, as Ive never done one before
 
Not IslandLizard, but a starter is simple enough to do.

Basically, you get a 2L Erlenmeyer flask, and make 2L of wort with some Light DME. Shoot for 1.030-1.040 gravity. I boil it for ~10mins, then let it cool, and transfer to the sanitized flask. Aerate and pitch, and then spray some StarSan on some foil and cover the flask. I don't have a stir plate, so I leave it on the kitchen island, and whenever the wife or I walk past, we give it a swirl. After a day or 2, I cool it down in the fridge overnight and decant (poor off the wort on top of the yeast). Let it come up to room temp, and swirl before pitching.

If you google how to make a yeast starter, there is plenty of info out there.
 
Not IslandLizard, but a starter is simple enough to do.

Basically, you get a 2L Erlenmeyer flask, and make 2L of wort with some Light DME. Shoot for 1.030-1.040 gravity. I boil it for ~10mins, then let it cool, and transfer to the sanitized flask. Aerate and pitch, and then spray some StarSan on some foil and cover the flask. I don't have a stir plate, so I leave it on the kitchen island, and whenever the wife or I walk past, we give it a swirl. After a day or 2, I cool it down in the fridge overnight, and decent (poor off the wort on top of the yeast). Let it come up to room temp, and swirl before pitching.

If you google how to make a yeast starter, there is plenty of info out there.

Thanks for filling in!

I urge to add one drop of Fermcap-S to the starter wort when boiling it. It prevents excessive foaming and boil overs. Also helps (somewhat) to prevent blow off in the starter vessel (flask). If you don't have Fermcap-S, and are serious about brewing and making yeast starters, it's a good $5-6 to spend.

Keep the Fermcap vial stored in the fridge. For your first few times, you can do without it, but swirl that flask often, if possible, once or twice during the night too, to prevent losing half the yeast during a blow off.

No need to rush out and buy a flask, but they are nice though! You can use any 2 liter (2 quart) or larger sized glass jar, like half gallon growlers or gallon wine jugs ($5 or free with wine). Aside from 2l flasks I also use 1/2 gallon pickle jars. Clean and sanitize well, of course.

I fill the flask, growler, or pickle jar only with 1.6 liters of starter wort to leave ample headspace. To make 1.040 starter wort use a DME to water ratio of 1:10. e.g., 160 grams of light DME + 1.6 liters of water.
 
Last edited:
:) IPAs are considered the "Coloring Book" of the brew world. With a few basic guidelines regarding grist, hops and yeast, it is way too easy to create a tasty beverage.

Granted, true finesse comes with education and practice, but the patterns for an IPA recipe talked about in this thread should allow you to practice within a certain range and really appreciate your ability to make fun and flavorful beers.

After a while, you will venture into building your own water to really make hops pop and harvesting your yeast so you can save a few $$. (I am working the same strains of WY1056 and WY1968 that I have had for quite a while with no problems as of yet - some folks in here have a complete library)

Stay in the chat rooms, research which brew books to get and keep learning - the adventure has just begun.
 
went and bought ingredients for a weekend brew day took in the info you guys were throwing around and came up with this this

6# Pale 2 Row
3# Vienna
2.5# White Wheat
.5# Cara-Pils

1oz Centennial - 60 min boil
.5 oz Citra - 20 min boil
.5 Citra - 5 min boil
1oz Citra - hopstand 30 min
3oz Citra - dry hop 5-7 days left in fermetation

Wyeast 1272 American AleII w/starter

looking forward to brew day:mug::tank:
 
went and bought ingredients for a weekend brew day took in the info you guys were throwing around and came up with this this

6# Pale 2 Row
3# Vienna
2.5# White Wheat
.5# Cara-Pils

1oz Centennial - 60 min boil
.5 oz Citra - 20 min boil
.5 Citra - 5 min boil
1oz Citra - hopstand 30 min
3oz Citra - dry hop 5-7 days left in fermetation

Wyeast 1272 American AleII w/starter

looking forward to brew day:mug::tank:

That's a good grain bill. I've never done a Wheat IPA, might have to give it a try one of these years...
 
Brew day went pretty good id have to say, got a little bit lower of a O.G. than expected but not sweating that too much. The one thing that did come up that was extremely frustrating was transferring the wort to the fermenter after cooling it down to ideal temp, how does one deal with trub i.e. mainly all the damn hop residue? i have an 8 gal kettle with an outlet on it and a screen fitting on the inside of it, whirpooled while draining into fermenter but only made it to 3 gal or so before all the hop residue clogged up the screen. so how does one transfer the wort without having to fight the residue from the hops
 
Brew day went pretty good id have to say, got a little bit lower of a O.G. than expected but not sweating that too much. The one thing that did come up that was extremely frustrating was transferring the wort to the fermenter after cooling it down to ideal temp, how does one deal with trub i.e. mainly all the damn hop residue? i have an 8 gal kettle with an outlet on it and a screen fitting on the inside of it, whirpooled while draining into fermenter but only made it to 3 gal or so before all the hop residue clogged up the screen. so how does one transfer the wort without having to fight the residue from the hops

There are a few options. The easiest is to just dump it all in to the fermenter. That's no good if you have a plate chiller though (not sure what you're using). Another option is whirlpooling BEFORE transferring to fermenter (if you have suction while whirlpooling the heavy stuff, i.e. hops, tend to be drawn towards the suction, so whirlpool first, let it settle, then slowly and carefully transfer to fermenter). The third option is to use a hop basket or bag.
 
took a gravity reading on this today and came out to 1.011 gonna take another one in a couple days to see if it keeps going down anymore... O.G. was 1.060. gonna cold crash this before kegging im just wondering should i wait until my days are up for my dry hop or if i start cold crashing it at 2.5 days into the dry hop will that affect anything?
 
Dry hopping more than 48-72 hours won't give you any additional aroma benefits, so cold crashing at 2.5 days of dry hop is perfectly fine.
 
Back
Top