My first IPA recipe - hoping for feedback

[Beerisnom]

I'm looking to make a nice, bitter IPA and have spent some time reading the forums and also taking notes from the kits I've been using so far. I've been doing extract kits for awhile now and wanted to create something original. Please let me know what you think.

5 Gallon batch - 3 gallon boil

7 pounds ultra-light Muntons DME
2 pounds corn sugar

8 oz 40L Crystal
1 oz German Acid Malt

2 oz Columbus hops - 60 min

1 oz Simcoe - 15 min
1 oz Mosaic - 15 min
1 tsp Irish Moss - 15 min

1 oz Simcoe - 5 min
1 oz Mosaic - 5 min

1 oz Simcoe - flameout
1 oz Mosaic - flameout

1 oz Simcoe - dryhop after 7 days
1 oz Mosaic - dryhop after 7 days

US-Safale-05 yeast

 

[Onkel_Udo]

How many gallons? What yeast?

That is almost 20% sugar for your fermentables. It will be very dry which is OK if that is you goal (basically no malt flavor). this could be counteracted somewhat by using a very English yeast like S-04 if you can keep you temps down in the low 60's.

Not really understanding the acid malt in this application.

 

[m00ps]

I think that looks great for a first IPA attempt. Most ones I see have like 20% crystal, wasted 30 and 45min hops and its just a mess. Have you heard of a hopstand? Its when you cut the flame off, but leave the lid on and let it sit for a while before chilling. It gets a lot fo flavor and aroma from the hops with almost no bitterness added. Its the single best thing i've done to improve my IPAs

I would move the 5min additions to the flameout and do a hopstand. I started doing this with my IPAs and I've never looked back since. Its impossible to go overboard with the hopstand hops and it gives you such a rich juicy hop chcracter that I cant find in commerical IPAs

I would cut the corn sugar back a bit though. I assume this is a 5gal batch right? I like my IPAs bone dry, but still usually only use 1lb sugar. This may make to too thin. I have had good results with a touch of acid malt in my IPAs. I feel like that plus 1tsp of gypsum helps the hops pop

 

[Beerisnom]

I buy my supplies from a local homebrew store, and when I was there I asked for a review of my recipe. He indicated that all of their IPA's include a small amount of German Acid Malt to counteract some of the sweetness and make the "hops shine". And he threw it in for free, counteracting my suspicions.

 

[Beerisnom]

mOOps I'll move the 5 min to flameout and do the hopstand - that sounds like a really good idea.

 

[m00ps]

Its a slippery slope. I started doing like a few ounces at flameout but this quickly escalated. Cut to me throwing in 13oz after flameout on July 4th. cant wait to take the FG reading and sample that one

 

[Vamptrump]

The one thing I see a lot with IPAs recently is (in my opinion) the over use of bittering hops in a 60 min boil. I just tossed the numbers into Brewer's Friend and pulled out about 126.17 - 141.08 IBU (excluding any bitterness from the hopstand). That's pretty big for what appears to be an OG of 1.073. Dropping the Columbus down to 1 oz on a 60 still leaves you around the 81 IBU mark.

Granted you did say you wanted a bitter IPA though.

To add more to the hopstand/whirlpool hopping. If you throw in right at flame out you will extract more bitterness/flavors, if you wait until 175F-180F you will extract flavors/aroma. This has to do with how/when the alpha acids in hops are broken down.

 

[eric19312]

I like to be to 80-100% of my gravity units from my bittering addition on IPAs. Your starting gravity comes out to 1.064 and the bittering addition according to brewers friend is contributing about 50 IBUs (if your Columbus hops are 13 AA). That puts you at a BU:GU ration of 0.78 before considering impact of your later addtions. I think you are right on the money.