IPL hop schedule critique.

[Justdrumin]

I'm very new to writing recipes and would like some help. I've never made an IPA let alone an IPL. I like the idea of a lager with the hop punch of an IPA, hence the IPL. This is what I have so far with the hops I have. Any and all advice is much appreciated.

Edit: tweaked it a little bit nod I feel like this is now pretty solid. It rings in at 72 IBU's.

1 oz - Summit, Type: Pellet, AA: 14.2, Use: Boil for 60 min, IBU: 49.82
0.5 oz - Cascade, Type: Pellet, AA: 7.3, Use: Boil for 15 min, IBU: 6.35
0.5 oz - Simcoe, Type: Pellet, AA: 13.2, Use: Boil for 15 min, IBU: 11.49
0.5 oz - Willamette, Type: Pellet, AA: 4.7, Use: Aroma for 15 min, IBU: 4.09
0.5 oz - Cascade, Type: Pellet, AA: 7.3, Use: Aroma for 0 min
0.5 oz - Simcoe, Type: Pellet, AA: 13.2, Use: Aroma for 0 min
0.5 oz - Willamette, Type: Pellet, AA: 4.7, Use: Aroma for 0 min
1 oz - Amarillo, Type: Leaf/Whole, AA: 8.9, Use: Dry Hop for 3 days
1 oz - Cascade, Type: Pellet, AA: 7.3, Use: Dry Hop for 3 days
1 oz - Centennial, Type: Pellet, AA: 8.9, Use: Dry Hop for 3 days

 

[Calichusetts]

When are you dry hopping? During D-rest? After lagering?

Here is a great article from the leading IPL makers:

http://byo.com/stories/issue/item/2875-india-pale-lager-roundtable

I would even consider emailing Jack's Abbey here in MA. They are easily the best IMO. They have started winning some awards lately, but there IPLs are better than most IPAs

 

[Justdrumin]

When are you dry hopping? During D-rest? After lagering?

Here is a great article from the leading IPL makers:

http://byo.com/stories/issue/item/2875-india-pale-lager-roundtable

I would even consider emailing Jack's Abbey here in MA. They are easily the best IMO. They have started winning some awards lately, but there IPLs are better than most IPAs

I actually have that issue and was my inspiration for brewing an IPL. I was planning to dry hop after lagering. I was going to ramp up to around 60 or so for 3 days dry hop, then back down to serving temps. I've heard of dry hopping during d rest as well, but I feel like after lagering would be best. I think after this, I may not make and IPA's. Im a very huge fan of lagers and I really enjoy brewing them. Like I said though, I've never brewed an IPA and I'm a big noob when it comes to writing recipes.

 

[sumbrewindude]

When are you dry hopping? During D-rest? After lagering?

Here is a great article from the leading IPL makers:

http://byo.com/stories/issue/item/2875-india-pale-lager-roundtable

I would even consider emailing Jack's Abbey here in MA. They are easily the best IMO. They have started winning some awards lately, but there IPLs are better than most IPAs

Nice article! Tons of good info in there to catalog.

 

[Justdrumin]

Nice article! Tons of good info in there to catalog.

It really was a fantastic article! Very informative. I enjoyed it so much I just had to brew one! I'm very excited about it, but I'm still concerned about my hop schedule. For fermentables I have 6lb light LME, 2lbs Munich 10, 2lbs Vienna, 1/2lb of carapils. I'm using mangrove jacks bohemian lager yeast. I'm pretty confident about the hops working well together, but I'm not too sure about the rest. It's some what of a special brew too. I'm brewing it to be done for my fire academy graduation on July third. My father in law will be flying out from Cali to watch me graduate and he really like Michelob Amber Bock if anyone has any suggestions for something he would like.

 

[Justdrumin]

No bites on my hop schedule? I'm brewin tomorrow, so if I don't have advice on it I guess I'll just go for it and see what happens.

 

[LakeErieMonster]

What is your target OG? The hop schedule looks like it will provide a nice, west coast, citrusy flavor/aroma. Should be pretty nice.

 

[Justdrumin]

What is your target OG? The hop schedule looks like it will provide a nice, west coast, citrusy flavor/aroma. Should be pretty nice.

Sweet!! My OG is estimated at 1.062. That's at 50% because I got super low efficiency on my last batch. I'm still doin PM and I'm trying to nail my process down. Last time I tried pouring my sparge on the grain through a strainer and my efficiency sucked compared to a dunk sparge. So I'm hoping to get a little better this time.

I'm a huge fan of stone and ballast point. So a nice west coast, citrusy IPL is exactly what I was goin for. I'm using a bohemian lager yeast as well. I'm pretty excited. I'm just a little worried about the IBU's being too much. I'm def a hop head, but I'm not sure how balanced it will be as a nice crisp lager. Thanks for the opinion! It sounds like I hit what I wanted right on the head.

 

[chickypad]

Yep, looks good to me too. If you're worried about the IBU's you could bump down the summit a bit but I like it as is.
I brew a ton of IPA's, but an IPL is definitely on my list for the year.

 

[Justdrumin]

Yep, looks good to me too. If you're worried about the IBU's you could bump down the summit a bit but I like it as is.
I brew a ton of IPA's, but an IPL is definitely on my list for the year.

Awesome!! I love me some IPA's, and an IPL sounds even better!! I'm also a big time hop head. So I'm gonna trust you on this one if you brew IPAs a lot. I'll report back and let everyone know how it goes.

Another thing is the dry hop...I was originally thinking about raising temps at the end, dry hopping, then kegging. Now I'm thinking I want to lager and carb it in the keg at the same time. So now I'm thinking about dry hopping at the d-rest. What do you think?

 

[chickypad]

If I ever get around to brewing one I was planning to dry hop at the d-rest also. I suppose dry hopping in the keg after lagering is an option too. The dry hop is actually my biggest question about IPLs as well, my IPA's are usually gone by the time a typical lagering phase would be completed. Maybe someone with experience will chime in.

 

[Justdrumin]

Well...it is in the fermentor! The sample tastes fantastic! I'm very excited about this one. I think I've decided on dry hopping during the d-rest as well. I'm thinking I'll transfer to my carboy for a d-rest and raise to about 62*F until I hit F.G. Then while it's at 62 I'll dry hop in the carboy for 3-4 days. Then I'll transfer to a keg for lagering and conditioning.

Thanks for the help everyone! I'll be sure to report back when I take another sample

 

[Calichusetts]

Take a sample after lagering. If its not up to par, transfer again and add a dry hop in the keg. Excited to here your results! Good luck.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[Justdrumin]

Take a sample after layering. If its not up to par, transfer again and add a dry hop in the keg. Excited to here your results! Good luck.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

Not a bad idea! I'll have to remember that. I've been meaning to get one of those stainless steel hop balls. Maybe I'll pull the trigger for that if need be.

 

[Justdrumin]

I'm a little lost here guys. I transferred to secondary today for a d-rest and dry hop. My OG was 1.062, projected FG is 1.016, and it's now at 1.030 or so. It was hard to get an accurate reading. I raised the temp to 62*F, I transferred as usual, put my hops in a sanitized bag and tied a sanitized string to it for the dry hop. When I went to put the hop bags in I turned around and there was a ton of foam comin out of my carboy!! It was goin nuts!! I didn't have a blow off either. So I put my hop bags in, then I remembered about shoving the siphon tubing into a three piece airlock and it worked. So now it's in my ferm chamber at 62*F with the blow off in a 1/2g jug with a lil bit of sanitizer.

Is this a bad thing?!? Did I do something wrong here? Also I'm not familiar with dry hopping, is it ok for them to be on top or should I something in them to make it sink? Thanks for the help!!

 

[Justdrumin]

I dry hopped and everything has settled down. The aromas from the airlock are absolutely fantastic. So excited about this brew!! Another few days of dry hop, cold crash for a week or so to drop out as much as I can, then it's off to lager in the keg. I have high hopes for this one. Terrapin just recently came out with a great west coast ipa called hi 5. That beer is fantastic and is extremely similar to the last sample I took. I looked on their website and they actually used 4 of the same hops I did. I'll keep everyone posted about the progress.

 

[Justdrumin]

Alright guys. It's about done so I poured a sample glass. It is VERY good, but not quite what I was lookin for. It has a very piney punch and I was going for more of the west coast citrus type. Any suggestions for the next time I decide to brew this one? I was considering using some Columbus in place of simcoe or williamette.

Edit: Here's the original hop schedule. It rings in at 72 IBU's.

1 oz - Summit, Type: Pellet, AA: 14.2, Use: Boil for 60 min, IBU: 49.82
0.5 oz - Cascade, Type: Pellet, AA: 7.3, Use: Boil for 15 min, IBU: 6.35
0.5 oz - Simcoe, Type: Pellet, AA: 13.2, Use: Boil for 15 min, IBU: 11.49
0.5 oz - Willamette, Type: Pellet, AA: 4.7, Use: Aroma for 15 min, IBU: 4.09
0.5 oz - Cascade, Type: Pellet, AA: 7.3, Use: Aroma for 0 min
0.5 oz - Simcoe, Type: Pellet, AA: 13.2, Use: Aroma for 0 min
0.5 oz - Willamette, Type: Pellet, AA: 4.7, Use: Aroma for 0 min
1 oz - Amarillo, Type: Leaf/Whole, AA: 8.9, Use: Dry Hop for 3 days
1 oz - Cascade, Type: Pellet, AA: 7.3, Use: Dry Hop for 3 days
1 oz - Centennial, Type: Pellet, AA: 8.9, Use: Dry Hop for 3 days