My first "Big" IPA

[acidrain23]

I'm trying to get some friends into brewing so I've had them help me conceptualize some beers to brew. One friend suggested a big, bitter IPA (most of my buddies aren't IPA fans, so the two IPA's I've made so far have been low on bitterness but high on aroma). Anyway, here is what we came up with, it is dripping with juicy fruity hops. (a good way to use up some of the delicious hops I've been hoarding in my freezer) Does this look good?

6 lbs Light DME
1 lb American Wheat Malt
1 lb German Munich
.5 Lbs American Crystal
(Optional, some sucrose to dry this one out a little)

Yeast: S-05

60M: 1 oz Green bullet (74 IBU’s!) or cut to ½ oz for 54 IBU’s (more likely)

20M: .25 oz Amarillo
20M: .25 oz Citra
20M: .25 oz Motueka
20M: .25 oz Summit

10M: .25 oz Amarillo
10M: .25 oz Citra
10M: .25 oz Motueka
10M: .25 oz Summit

5M: .25 oz Amarillo
5M: .25 oz Citra
5M: .25 oz Motueka
5M: .25 oz Summit

Flameout: .25 oz Amarillo
Flameout: .25 oz Citra
Flameout: .25 oz Motueka
Flameout: .25 oz Summit

Dry Hop: 1 oz each Summit, Citra, Amarillo

Predicted ABV: 5.4%

 

[kingwood-kid]

Your recipe isn't really a "big" ipa, gravity-wise. It's right on the border between apa and ipa; to get into DIPA territory you'd need another 2-3lbs of DME. That's not a criticism; I'm no gravity junkie and it looks good the way you have it. If you want it substantially bigger, use the full oz of Green Bullet. If you leave it as is, just use 1/2.

If you want to dry it out, I would drop the crystal and add another lb of munich, vienna or maybe even biscuit. You'd keep most of the mouthfeel, but lose the sweetness.

 

[acidrain23]

Oh, yes- "big" in hoppiness, not alcohol. Thank you for the feedback!

And I realize this is not an excessive amount of hops by the standards around these parts! Haha. This will be the most hops I've added to beer to date. I'm looking forward to it!

 

[slarkin712]

Wheat and Munich malt need to be mashed. Are you doing a mini-mash?

 

[acidrain23]

Yes, partial mashing BIAB style. Its been working well for me so far!

 

[acidrain23]

These hops will play nicely together, no? Summit and Motueka are new ones for me.

 

[strambo]

I'd definitely cut the 60 min down and get more of the IBUs from the late flavor additions.

 

[acidrain23]

MORE late flavor additions?? I have four onces in the last 20 minutes of the boil. + three oz of dry hops. No good?
Hmm, I might have an extra once each of citra and amarillo that could be added possibly...

 

[RCBIV]

Here's a warning: Summit won't exactly play nice with the rest of those hops.

Have you ever had Oskar Blues' Gubna? That's hopped exclusively with Summit. It comes out oniony and garlicy -- delicious, really. A fantastic IPA.

However, when you're combining Summit with other hops it can really overpower anything it surrounds. I brewed an IPA with Summit and Citra and the Summit really takes control. It's essentially half and half and I'm not quite sure where the Citra comes out in it...

So I'd be careful to use the Summit. It might come out more with that oniony taste than that fruity taste you're looking for. If I was making this recipe, I'd cut out the Summit completely, but that's just me.

With that said, I have really grown on this IPA. However, I'd probably cut the Citra next time I brew it and make it a "Gubna's Little Brother." One hop and let Summit really stand out. It's almost a waste of Citra, in my opinion.

 

[acidrain23]

Intersting. Yeah, oniony is not a flavor I want in my brew- I may save those for another batch! Maybe I'll replace that one with Sorachi Ace if I can source them.

 

[acidrain23]

I ditched the Summit, and bought MORE hops! Added more Amarillo and Motueka, and subbed Centennial for the Summit. How is this looking now?

20M: .25 oz Centenial
20M: .25 oz Citra
20M: .5 oz Motueka
20M: .75 oz Amarillo

10M: .25 oz Centenial
10M: .25 oz Citra
10M: .5 oz Motueka
10M: .75 oz Amarillo

5M: .25 oz Centenial
5M: .25 oz Citra
5M: .5 oz Motueka
5M: .75 oz Amarillo

Flameout: .25 oz Centenial
Flameout: .25 oz Citra
Flameout: .5 oz Motueka
Flameout: .75 oz Amarillo

Dry Hop: 1 oz each Motueka, Citra, Amarillo

 

[RCBIV]

I ditched the Summit, and bought MORE hops! Added more Amarillo and Motueka, and subbed Centennial for the Summit. How is this looking now?

20M: .25 oz Centenial
20M: .25 oz Citra
20M: .5 oz Motueka
20M: .75 oz Amarillo

10M: .25 oz Centenial
10M: .25 oz Citra
10M: .5 oz Motueka
10M: .75 oz Amarillo

5M: .25 oz Centenial
5M: .25 oz Citra
5M: .5 oz Motueka
5M: .75 oz Amarillo

Flameout: .25 oz Centenial
Flameout: .25 oz Citra
Flameout: .5 oz Motueka
Flameout: .75 oz Amarillo

Dry Hop: 1 oz each Motueka, Citra, Amarillo

I like this better than the Summit version. Nothing against Summit — it just may not jive with your other hops. (With that said, brew an all-Summit IPA!)

One of my favorite brews is a Motueka Pale Ale by Hill Farmstead Brewery. Motueka is a fantastic hop. I just brewed my own MPA 2.5g version last week and I bottled a Hefe today with Motueka and Sorachi Ace.

For what I know — which isn't much — I like your hop schedule.

 

[Petekiteworld]

Summit is sometimes onion, sometimes epic tangerine. Depends in the crop. 2010 seemed great, not sure about 2011 crop

 

[acidrain23]

Question, if I move all of the 20M additions to flamout, (thus doubling them), will this give a bigger hop flavor?

 

[mclamb6]

Question, if I move all of the 20M additions to flamout, (thus doubling them), will this give a bigger hop flavor?

More aroma than flavor, although the two really overlap. If you want more flavor, you might consider adding them to the 10/5 minute additions.

 

[acidrain23]

More aroma than flavor, although the two really overlap. If you want more flavor, you might consider adding them to the 10/5 minute additions.

Hmm, yes, maybe I'll do 10M, 7.5M, 5M, Flameout.

 

[acidrain23]

Report! I tried one last night, with only three days in the bottle, and it is AMAZING!!!!! Perhaps a little sweeter than I was expecting. It is exploding with citrus- lemon, lime, tangerine and grapefruit with tropical fruit tones, mango, etc. It is almost like a glass of fruit juice, but the bitterness balances it out nicely. I now see the merrit of dropping three quarters of a lb of hops into a five gallon batch. Cheers hopheads!