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IPA Recipe Repeat with Changes - Opinions Please

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Boiling now, mash held at 150 for 60min. Pre boil .054. Coming up on 15 min add of Simcoe. So far so good. Have a 1 litre starter of my conan. Will post back later when all done with the details..
 
I was supposed to have a post boil Gravity of 1.061 - came in slightly low at 1.056. 5 gallon into ferm. Not sure why/what, but I am not going to sweat it. Pitched yeast at 68deg. Otherwise, all went according to plan. Stuck to my schedule, numbers for the most part were on the $$.

Used bru n water for my adjustments - weighed my water to be as close to exact as I could be. Used only gypsum and CaCI with 50% distilled water.
 
Mash at 150deg 60min

8.5 lb 2 row
2 lb White Wheat
8oz Flaked oats
8oz Vienna

.5 Apollo FWH
1oz Simcoe 15min
1oz Mosaic Flame out (let steep for 20min, temp drop from 212 to 175)

Start Whirlpool
2.5oz Citra
.75oz Mosaic
Ran both in whirlpool for 20min (temp drop from 175 to 155)

2.5oz Citra
.75 Mosaic
Again 20min (temp drop from 155 to 138)

Cooled to 68 deg into ferm and pitch starter.

Will dry hop on day 4 (this Friday) with 1.5oz Simcoe and 2oz Citra, and then repeat same 4 days later, let that go 3 days and into keg/cold crash.

Debating on keg hopping.. Possibly with the same mix just cut in half? Thoughts?

I threw in the vienna because it has worked well for me in the past on some other ipa recipes adding a smooth mouthfeel and a nice orange color. But had to back off the 2 row a bit, shooting for the lower FG. Still should put this around 6.3% or so. Being all about the hops I upped the whirlpool numbers a bit.

Now its the wait and see. Hoping my little Conan buddies do work! But as a good omen for the day, just after I finished my brew and clean up, made a trade with a guy locally for some heady and focal banger. So maybe the alchemist is on my side for this one. lol..
 
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I have no doubt this will be a complete hop bomb

hop bomb.GIF
 
Mash at 150deg 60min

8.5 lb 2 row
2 lb White Wheat
8oz Flaked oats
8oz Vienna

.5 Apollo FWH
1oz Simcoe 15min
1oz Mosaic Flame out (let steep for 20min, temp drop from 212 to 175)

Start Whirlpool
2.5oz Citra
.75oz Mosaic
Ran both in whirlpool for 20min (temp drop from 175 to 155)

2.5oz Citra
.75 Mosaic
Again 20min (temp drop from 155 to 138)

Cooled to 68 deg into ferm and pitch starter.

Will dry hop on day 4 (this Friday) with 1.5oz Simcoe and 2oz Citra, and then repeat same 4 days later, let that go 3 days and into keg/cold crash.

Debating on keg hopping.. Possibly with the same mix just cut in half? Thoughts?

Man, this really landed! Final recipe looks outrageously good. Can't wait to hear your verdict!
 
Taste and smell before keg hopping. I have never had any luck with keg hopping. I all ways get an astringent bitterness/flavor, that eventually mellows out after I pull the hops out. Many people talk about leaving the hops in the keg until it kicks with great success so I'm not sure if maybe that's the flavor they're going for?
 
At 18 hour mark this am I had a bit of activity in the airlock. Now at 30 hours I have a very vigorous ferm going on, non stop air lock bubbles, but temp is holding 68 deg. My last batch conan spiked ferm temp by 8 deg to 74 (66-74) during heavy ferm action. This is Conans 3rd generation I guess, at least 3rd 5 gallon batch. I have read it seems to improve and peak batches 5-8 or something like that.

I will attach a pic of my last 10 gallon, S04 will be the left, and the conan right. Same batch split into 2 5 gallon buckets. Kind of wish I did this batch like that, but man brewing a 5 is so much less work than a 10!

Will review/rethink the keg hopping. I am dealing with a bit of temp control in my keg fridge. Its in my garage, and temps around here have been in the 30's. And cant keep my keg fridge much above that. 35 or so lately. I had a session pale in the fridge as of yesterday, 3.5% - keg was frozen solid. So obviously the night temps have gotten it cold enough to freeze. We where in the mid to low single digits a few weeks ago. Even hitting negative numbers for a few days. Fridge is part of my new brewery redo being moved into the basement as soon as electrical and remodeling is done. (venting, water, sinks etc)
 
S04 left, Conan right. Same batch, split. Ferm temps consistent less the major rise the conan created. Started these 2 at 60deg for 48 hours, moved to 68 deg for 10days. What a change, and 2 completely different beers.

Unreal. Hard to believe that yeast will have that effect
 
Added my 1st dry hop addition today, and took a quick sample. Refractometer corrected puts me at a .017 growing slightly concerned with the attenuation of my conan. I'm hoping for a .012. Hopefully it gets there. I didn't sniff taste or anything. Just popped open ferm and quickly hopped sampled and closed. Minimizing oxygen as much as possible.
 
Good bet is that only the most educated palate will be able to tell the difference at that point. Also has not been in there that long. Jack the temp to between 60 and 70 for two or three days and see what happens.
 
Added my second dry hop today, took another sample for the refractometer. Came up at 8 brix - Same story corrected to .017 - So I missed my target OG by .010, and I am missing my FG by .005. Its still holding at 66-68deg. Beersmith putting my measured eff at 60%. Not unerstanding this one, my last 2 batches were 72% measured eff. My real reason to pay attention to numbers on this batch is my yeast. My conan is coming in at 65.6% attenuation. Not that this matters a whole bunch to anyone else, since I am the only one using this yeast.. But just keeping with the thread and sharing all I can from my experience with this one..
 
Realizing that one guy said he didn't like keg hopping I think its a game changer. Put equal amounts citra/mosaic directly in the keg and let it sit warm for three days. Use hops straight from nitrogen flushed bags, not vacuum sealed stuff. Might try 72 degrees and rousing the yeast to see if you squeeze out a couple more points. I recently had a Conan ferm get too hot as well and it doesn't taste very good, almost bland for lack of a better description.
 
Added my second dry hop today, took another sample for the refractometer. Came up at 8 brix - Same story corrected to .017 - So I missed my target OG by .010, and I am missing my FG by .005. Its still holding at 66-68deg. Beersmith putting my measured eff at 60%. Not unerstanding this one, my last 2 batches were 72% measured eff. My real reason to pay attention to numbers on this batch is my yeast. My conan is coming in at 65.6% attenuation. Not that this matters a whole bunch to anyone else, since I am the only one using this yeast.. But just keeping with the thread and sharing all I can from my experience with this one..

did you correct for alcohol?
A hydrometer is much more accurate after fermentation starts.
 
Realizing that one guy said he didn't like keg hopping I think its a game changer. Put equal amounts citra/mosaic directly in the keg and let it sit warm for three days. Use hops straight from nitrogen flushed bags, not vacuum sealed stuff. Might try 72 degrees and rousing the yeast to see if you squeeze out a couple more points. I recently had a Conan ferm get too hot as well and it doesn't taste very good, almost bland for lack of a better description.

Ive keg hopped my last 4 batches. No issues yet. But I havnt come up with a good way to remove them if wanted. I tried to tie off a piece of fishing line but couldnt get my keg to seal. So just like the other batches, the hop sacks are sitting in the bottom of the keg.

I have seen the mention of leaving kegs warm for a few days with hops. Do you pressurize the keg after filling/hopping then remove the c02 line? My c02 tank and keg fridge is in my garage, and its only about 40deg at best out there this time of year, somedays colder..
 
Ive keg hopped my last 4 batches. No issues yet. But I havnt come up with a good way to remove them if wanted. I tried to tie off a piece of fishing line but couldnt get my keg to seal. So just like the other batches, the hop sacks are sitting in the bottom of the keg.

unflavored dental floss works better.

I have seen the mention of leaving kegs warm for a few days with hops. Do you pressurize the keg after filling/hopping then remove the c02 line? My c02 tank and keg fridge is in my garage, and its only about 40deg at best out there this time of year, somedays colder..

you can do it either way.
its its warm enough you can disconnect but at 40 F your probably better off leaving it pressurised.
 
Ive keg hopped my last 4 batches. No issues yet. But I havnt come up with a good way to remove them if wanted. I tried to tie off a piece of fishing line but couldnt get my keg to seal. So just like the other batches, the hop sacks are sitting in the bottom of the keg.

I have seen the mention of leaving kegs warm for a few days with hops. Do you pressurize the keg after filling/hopping then remove the c02 line? My c02 tank and keg fridge is in my garage, and its only about 40deg at best out there this time of year, somedays colder..

I would pressurize it and bring it inside then hit it with gas once a day until day 3 where it can get chilled for serving. 24psi is typically good for indoor temps.
 
Also, I just use loose pellets in the keg as I have one of those clear beer draught systems with the float and a screen on the pickup tube. I have no intention/method of retrieval. Its a great way to keg as I can take the keg to a party and there is still no sediment being poured because of the floating pick up. I have not gotten any harsh flavors from leaving the hops in too long but I think making sure pH is on the lower side helps with this.
 
I've never tried adjusting PH after the beer has fermented, maybe that's my problem with extracting that harsh mouth drying bitterness. What PH do you look for? I had really high hopes for keg hopping since in theory that would give you the freshest possible hop flavor and aroma. I might need to give this technique another try!
 
did you correct for alcohol?
A hydrometer is much more accurate after fermentation starts.

Yes I did. I didnt want to spend too much time with ferm open and grabbing a large sample for the hydrometer, so I went the quick way. I plan on transferring to keg tomorrow evening. So I will take a reading then. It will be what it will be either way. I did warm it up a bit in hopes of grabbing another point or 2. We will see.:mug:
 
I kegged tonight. Hydrometer reading came in at .011 - .012 PERFECT! I guess I cant trust the refractometer post ferm. Aroma was very grapefruit forward. Taste bitter/sweet and dry, the dryness lingered in the palette for a while. Color very NEIPA, cloudy yet clean. Some floaties. Kegged about 4.5 gallons. A bit of loss due to the amount of hopping etc.

Purged keg by filling with idofer (yesterday) and drawing out idofer via c02. Opened keg to a very cloudy mist of c02.

My primary has a opening big enough for my racking cane, so very little O2 introduced (as little as possible given my system)

Pressurized keg with 20psi to seal, then backed off to 12psi. Its about 40deg in my garage, so I wrapped the keg in blankets.

Measured Abv per beersmith 5.1% with attunuation 75.6%

To note I had a hell of a yeast cake on the bottom of ferm. First time with this conan strain I am using that I have had a true cake. I almost wish I set up to wash but with the amount of hop material it still would have been a royal PITA!

I did warm it up for 2 days into the 69deg range. Maybe it helped close in a few points. Dont know.

pics to follow.
 
will have to live vicariously through your taste buds..... Looks awesome so far
 
Nice old boy! Here's the million dollar question...how's it smell?
 
Aroma was very citrus/grapefruit upfront. Taste was juicy, yet dry with that uncarbonated sweetness. I like the color, but my conan yeast has proved the 2 times Ive used it that it darkens up after a few days conditioning. Will take a sample probably in 4 days or so. See what its looking like.

In the transfer to keg I did pick up a bit more sediment that I would have liked. So Im sure the first few pours will be chunky..
 
For me I named it Hailstorm ipa. Only because the day I brewed it we had a decent little hailstorm while I was boiling.. only seemed fitting..
 
A little back story of the original recipe I posted when this thread started regarding a name is this..

I am a mechanic, I did a job for a neighbor/friend on his truck. Waterpump on a hemi ram. Finished it up, knowing this guy has a few kids, works hard like me, all that, I gave a deal. I made a little, he saved a lot, we were all happy. I wasnt out to get rich. Either way, He picks up his truck, I wasnt home. Leaves me a envelope with some $$, he leaves a extra $80 with a note - Brew a beer, and name it Alan.. I laughed, and decided I would..

So the first round of this batch is Alan - it was with S04 yeast.. At the same time, I was working with a younger kid named Alex - Alex has a nickname - Tug Boat. Not sure why, but Tugs, Tugger, Tugboat it all stuck.. Good dude..

So I brewed it as a 10 gallon and split the yeast, S04 and wy1318..

I will be going back to a modified recipe to revisit the original, after I get this one on tap and see where it stands..

I only got into naming my beers after a good friend I kept giving growlers said "dude if you dont name these beers I will never remember which one I am drinking"

So names followed...
 
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