My First American IPA Recipe

[JBistline]

This is the first IPA i have put together using BeerSmith2 and I was looking for some input from people who have more than three brews under their belt. I listed some concerns at the bottom, any advice would be greatly appreciated.


Boil Vol:2.5 Gal
Estimated OG: 1.070 SG
Estimated FG:1.020 SG
Estimated Color: 11.6 SRM
Estimated IBU: 64.7 IBUs
Estimated ABV: 6.7%

Grains:
1 lbs Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L (40.0 SRM) Steep 155 for 30min
3 lbs Light Dry Extract
3 lbs Light Dry Extract [Boil for 30 min]
2 lbs Light Dry Extract [Boil for 15 min]
5.0 oz Corn Sugar (Dextrose) [Boil for 5 min]

Hops:
0.50 oz Warrior [15.00 %] - Boil 60.0 min
0.50 oz Warrior [15.00 %] - Boil 45.0 min
0.50 oz Simcoe [13.00 %] - Boil 20.0 min
0.50 oz Simcoe [13.00 %] - Boil 15.0 min
0.50 oz Amarillo Gold [8.50 %] - Boil 10.0 min
0.50 oz Amarillo Gold [8.50 %] - Boil 5.0 min
1.00 oz Amarillo Gold [8.50 %] - Dry Hop 5.0 Day Hop

Yeast:
2.0 pkg Ringwood Ale (Wyeast Labs #1187)

Other:
0.25 tsp Irish Moss (Boil 10.0 mins)

Concerns
Corn Sugar - Tried to boost the OG without adding more DME, went the lower route to avoid creating too much of a dry profile.

Dry Hop - I was going to throw these in at the 16 day mark, than bottle at the 3 week mark. Almost seems like I am setting my self up for something here..

Yeast - Chosen for the high flocculation and clarity (websites words), requires a diacetyl rest. Will I need two packs due to the high OG?

Irish Moss - I'm looking for a good clarity on this beer, but I have read that Irish Moss can be a bad idea when using extract recipes. Would I be better off with isinglass

 

[14thstreet]

70+ batches here so I might qualify to give some advice.

1) corn sugar - The corn sugar might help shift the balance of your beer between malt and hops. Dryness in an IPA helps as I've found with that much crystal malt (and perhaps extract) you get a candy-like sweetness and body. By adding more sugar (0.5 lb total or double) and maybe reducing the crystal by half you might be able to get more hop character as well as reducing your FG below 1.020. Some people would say your hopping levels for flavor and aroma are a bit light too, more "pale ale" than IPA. You might consider adding more sugar to counteract Ringwood's lower attenuation too. You may not need to add more hops but shift more of what you have towards the end or to dryhopping. It depends on what type of IPA you want!

2) Dry hop - I'm of the camp that advises to wait until fermentation is done and then add hops. Take hydrometer samples to mark the progress of fermentation, not by watching an airlock. If you go by a preset schedule you may find yourself in trouble, such as a fermentation that isn't quite done. You don't want yeast CO2 blowing off the precious aroma or to leave residual sugar to make your beer sweet or over-carbonated if you're bottling.

3) yeast - Several things. If you want to use Ringwood, take extra note about its qualities because it won't be as foolproof as something like US-05/WLP001/1056, common IPA strains. Generally, yeast with high flocculation will tend to strip the beer of hop bitterness and flavor so you may need to compensate. The description says it accentuates malts. I personally would not worry about your bitterness except to add all your Warrior as one addition (keep it simple). I think Ringwood is also a good top-cropper, meaning a lot of yeast remains at the top during your fermentation allowing for easy collection for your next batch. In my experience, this can mean that it may be unclear to you visually as to when fermentation is over because there is still foam on top. On the other hand, Ringwood flocculates so even slight decreases in temperature may influence the yeast to stop fermentation before final gravity is reached. Maintain your temperature best you can and rouse every so often to keep the yeast active. Again, hydrometer readings are helpful during this process to gauge the progress of fermentation and are good for tasting/smelling diacetyl. No harm in drinking your fermenting beer! Ringwood can make a good IPA but if this seems too much work or worry, then selecting another strain might be for you.

Why? You don't want a beer sitting at 1.020-1.025 (too high for an IPA) looking like its done only to rack the beer to another carboy for dry hopping (if that is your choice) only to restart fermentation and have CO2 blow-off your aromatic dry hops. Or...bottle early and have additional fermentation in bottles and create over-carbonated beer. This has been common for me while using english strains like Ringwood. I don't want to worry you more than necessary but if anything, all these suggestions should point you towards being patient and watchful and not go on some predetermined schedule.

4) irish moss/islinglass - I'm split on whether or not this is needed. It comes down to personal preference. I've had beers clear without them, even if I have a lot of trub go into the fermenter.

 

[Yooper]

I'd simplify a bit. First, there isn't any need at all for three separate additions of extract. Use about 1 pound of extract per gallon of water boiled, and add the rest at flame out when you turn off the heat. I'd probably use a whole pound of corn sugar, to help keep the body light and give a drier finish to the beer, and take out a pound of the extract.

Also, remember that any hops added before about 20 minutes left in the boil go primarily to bittering and won't provide flavor or aroma, so I'd simplify the hops schedule as well.

You've got a good start there. If you're going to have an OG of 1.070, then I'd try to get IBUs of 60 or so, and about 40 of those from the bittering hops.

I'd probably do this with what you have listed:

1 lbs Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L (40.0 SRM) Steep 155 for 30min
2 lbs Light Dry Extract
4 lbs Light Dry Extract (flame out)
1 lbs corn sugar (any time in the boil, flame out is fine)

Hops:
.75 Warrior [15.00 %] - Boil 60.0 min
0.50 oz Simcoe [13.00 %] - Boil 15.0 min
0.50 oz Amarillo Gold [8.50 %] - Boil 15.0 min
0.50 oz simcoe- 5 minutes
0.50 oz Amarillo Gold [8.50 %] - Boil 5.0 min

And use more amarillo and simcoe in the dryhop- an ounce of amarillo and 1/2 oz of simcoe.

For yeast, I dislike ringwood. It's good in English beers, but it's a very "fussy" yeast and sometimes is a diacetyl bomb and it's finicky to use. A much better choice would be an American ale yeast like White Labs 001. If you want a bit of English-y flavor, WLP002 would be a good choice. It clears the beer well, has a smaller amount of fruitiness than other English strains, and is pretty attenuative.

 

[JBistline]

Awesome advice guys! Didn't expect such lengthy write ups, great information in both replies.

I tweaked a few things per the input; hop additions, DME times, corn sugar amount, and decided to drop the yeast for a US-05 or WLP001 strand.

Est OG 1.068
Est FG 1.012
Est ABV 7.4% (bit of a kick)

Hopefully I will get this thing in the primary early next week. Thanks for the help/advice. I'll be sure to post about the final product a few weeks down the road!

 

[Yooper]

Awesome advice guys! Didn't expect such lengthy write ups, great information in both replies.

I tweaked a few things per the input; hop additions, DME times, corn sugar amount, and decided to drop the yeast for a US-05 or WLP001 strand.

Est OG 1.068
Est FG 1.012
Est ABV 7.4% (bit of a kick)

Hopefully I will get this thing in the primary early next week. Thanks for the help/advice. I'll be sure to post about the final product a few weeks down the road!

Yes, please let us know how you like it and how it turns out. Simcoe/amarillo IPAs are one of my favorites, as I love the combination of them.

 

[JBistline]

So I changed things up a bit before brewing it, decided to do a brew in a bag mini mash sorta thing. Hands down the best beer I have made, I don't think I will be making any changes to it. Pours with a great color, punch of hops when you get your nose in there and the flavor is very well balanced.

Boil Vol:2.5 Gal
Measured OG: 1.068 SG
Measured FG:1.016 SG
Estimated Color: 11.6 SRM
Estimated IBU: 64.7 IBUs
ABV: 6.9%

Grains:
BIAB Mini Mash 1 gal @ 155 for 50min sparged w/ 1.5 gal @ 170
2 lbs Maris Otter Pale Malt
1 lbs Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L (40.0 SRM)
1 lbs Munich Malt (9.0 SRM)

2 lbs Light Dry Extract [Boil for 60 min]
4 lbs Light Dry Extract [Boil for 15 min]


Hops:
1.00 oz Galena [13.20 %] - Boil 60.0 min
1.00 oz Simcoe [12.20 %] - Boil 20.0 min
1.00 oz Amarillo Gold [9.60 %] - Boil 10.0 min
1.00 oz Amarillo Gold [9.60 %] - Boil 5.0 min

1.00 oz Simcoe - Dry Hop 7 Day Hop
1.00 oz Amarillo Gold - Dry Hop 7 Day Hop


Yeast:
US-05

Other:
0.25 tsp Irish Moss (Boil 10.0 mins)
5.0 oz Corn Sugar (Bottling)

My "sparge" set up

Enjoying the brew