Double IPA Pliny the Elder Clone

[mhot55]

Brewed this feb 9 with 2 changes. First only had 1 oz Columbus. Split it between bittering and whirlpool addition. Used chinook (had a pound of it) to sub the rest . Also instead of all centennial i subbed some Amarillo with centennial. Probably best ipa I have made to date. Can't believe how deceptively smooth this is- this should be a bitter bomb, but isn't. Especially considering how simplistic the grain bill is. Hop flavor and aroma are substantial, and awesome. Great mix of floral, citrus/ grapefruit and pine. In 1 word- awesome

I see someone posted about subbing chinook for Columbus as possibly not desirable because of possible harshness. I had whole leaf chinook, not pellet, and the harshness did not seem present. Maybe because I used whole leaf, not sure. But I love arrogant bastard (which I'm pretty sure is all chinook) so didn't see it being an issue. Next time I will make sure I have enough Columbus- like to see if there's a huge difference or not.

 

[brew2enjoy]

Brewed this feb 9 with 2 changes. First only had 1 oz Columbus. Split it between bittering and whirlpool addition. Used chinook (had a pound of it) to sub the rest . Also instead of all centennial i subbed some Amarillo with centennial. Probably best ipa I have made to date. Can't believe how deceptively smooth this is- this should be a bitter bomb, but isn't. Especially considering how simplistic the grain bill is. Hop flavor and aroma are substantial, and awesome. Great mix of floral, citrus/ grapefruit and pine. In 1 word- awesome

I see someone posted about subbing chinook for Columbus as possibly not desirable because of possible harshness. I had whole leaf chinook, not pellet, and the harshness did not seem present. Maybe because I used whole leaf, not sure. But I love arrogant bastard (which I'm pretty sure is all chinook) so didn't see it being an issue. Next time I will make sure I have enough Columbus- like to see if there's a huge difference or not.

That was me asking about using Chinook. Glad to see someone tried it and got good results. I actually just re-brewed this one today but didn't use Chinook. I stuck to the original recipe. Hopefully I won't have to dump this batch. That was painful

 

[kylefalhaber]

I brewed this a couple weeks ago and it is in the secondary now. It looks and smells great. I can't wait to give it a try in a couple of weeks! I am doing a little book keeping and I'm having trouble matching the IBU in the OP (IBU = 95). I changed the hops a little bit, but even with the original bill it doesn't seem to match. I am using the Tinsenth method as described in How to Brew by Palmer:

3.5 oz of Columbus (15% AA) = 52.5 AAU; Boil time of 90 and OG of 1.07 = utilization of 0.2062; Volume of 5 gallons; These give an IBU of 162.

0.75 oz of Columbus (15% AA) = 11.25 AAU; Boil time of 45 and OG of 1.07 = utilization of 0.1769; Volume of 5 gallons; These give an IBU of 30.

1oz of Simcoe (12.7% AA) = 12.7 AAU; Boil time of 30 and OG of 1.07 = utilization of 0.1481; Volume of 5 gallons; These give an IBU of 28.

Add these three together for a total IBU of 220. Does anyone know why/how I am so far off from the original OP? Thanks!

 

[Tcl1999]

I think the difference is theoretical versus actual. My Brew Log software calculated something like 193 IBUs. I think the upper threshold for what we can actually taste is in the 100 range, so I guess an IBU of 95 is saying it is close to as bitter as it gets?


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[Tcl1999]

By the way, I brewed this again about a week ago with some changes. I shifted the balance of hops away from bittering and more towards flavor/aroma. Instead of 3.5oz Columbus, I used 2. Then added a 2 oz addition of centennial at 30 minutes.

I also used 1lb British crystal 55 and added a little more corn sugar. I wanted a slightly darker color and more ABV.

It is in the secondary now with 3 oz of dry hops. Smells great already. Hopefully my tweaks were good changes!


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[Tcl1999]

On a side note, I have brewed this twice now. Both times I have ended with a FG of 1.007 (adjusted for temp). The brew software was estimating 1.017 at 75% attenuation.

So the first batch started with an OG around 1.069, which would equate to a roughly 90% attenuation, which seems unrealistic. Are my OG readings off somehow? When is the best time to take an OG measurement?


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[BWE]

Sorry if this has already been answered, but what is the secondary time on this? I know this type of IPA is best young, so once you hit your FG and rack and dryhop, how long are you guys leaving it the the secondary before kegging/bottling.

 

[kylefalhaber]

I think the difference is theoretical versus actual. My Brew Log software calculated something like 193 IBUs. I think the upper threshold for what we can actually taste is in the 100 range, so I guess an IBU of 95 is saying it is close to as bitter as it gets?


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Yeah, that makes sense to me, but how can you calculate the actual compared to the theoretical?

Also, regarding your other post, my OG was 1.071 and FG was 1.008 so about the same as yours.

 

[Tcl1999]

The first time I gave it about 10 days total for dry hopping after around 10 days of primary/secondary phases


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[jnacey]

i brewed a variation of the recipes posted here and elsewhere that I found online. I posted it to my blog. I'll let you know how it comes out.

Pliny The Elder Clone

 

[GatorWayne]

I brewed this on Saturday and hit everything right on. I had to stick the yeast starter in the fridge for 5 days as I planned on brewing the weekend prior. Decanted it Friday and made a step up so I had plenty of yeast. One mistake I made was putting the flame out hops in the fermenter instead of the brew kettle and whirlpooling. This is my first attempt at a happy brew. Fermenting at 67 to 69 degrees. I opened the fermenter today to remove the hops with a sanitized tea strainer. Checked gravity and it is already down to 10.12 with airlock activity every 13 to 15 seconds.
Should I add the first dry hops now since it is already so low in gravity or wait another 5 or 6 days. I want to give the yeast time to clean up but not sure how much lower the gravity will go. It smells and tastes great and I do not want to mess it up.

 

[mattrh]

This is 3 days in the primary and it looks really thick and cloudy. Does this look normal?

 

[Tcl1999]

Yup, looks like it should. In another 5 days or so it will clear up well.


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[mattrh]

Cool thanks. This is my first attempt at an all grain recipe. Doing it biab style

 

[jnacey]

Gator, you could probably do either. I'd recommend just waiting until the gravity is stable. If its still fermenting a little bit you technically can gas off some of the volatile aroma compounds from the dry hop, so its technically better to do it once the fermentation has stopped.

 

[Beer-lord]

Mine's been in the keg for a few weeks and the aroma is amazing but I'm not completely satisfied with the taste. It's good, but I don't think it's anywhere near as good as Pliny. If it were anything else, I'd rave about it but I don't think it's balanced enough.
Maybe a little more time will help.

 

[jnacey]

Beer lord, what did your recipe look like?


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[GatorWayne]

Gator, you could probably do either. I'd recommend just waiting until the gravity is stable. If its still fermenting a little bit you technically can gas off some of the volatile aroma compounds from the dry hop, so its technically better to do it once the fermentation has stopped.

Thanks. I was already leaning towards letting it continue in the primary until the air lock shows almost no activity and then I'll start checking the gravity over a few days to make sure it is done.

 

[Tcl1999]

Ok, so I just got to brew this for a second time except I made some modifications and I have to say, this is easily the best recipe I have ever brewed, mods or not. I even compared this to a couple other IPAs I had in the fridge and the aroma and taste of mine blew away the commercial brews.

You want to brew this. Now.




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[Tcl1999]

By the way, the picture looks a lot darker than it really is. Poor lighting and camera. It is very orange.


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[juggabrew]

Any difference if I used Wyeast 1272 instead of the cali yeast 001 or 1056? I have 1272 washed from two hearted batch and would like to use this up to save money.

 

[jnacey]

It should be more or less fine. 1056 is generally a little cleaner, but 1272 will still make great beer.


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[GatorWayne]

Bottled my batch today and it went smoothly. Sample tasted something like a grapefruit grown on a pine tree. I can't to try it out once it carbs up.

 

[juggabrew]

could I sub the 45min columbus for magnum? I have 3/4 left in freezer but not sure if this would be a good sub for columbus...

 

[brewski09]

I don't think it would change it too much at a 45 minute addition, but it will a little. If you are trying to clone the original, then I would say no. If you just want to make a really good beer, then go for it.


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[stretcheagle]

Finally read through this entire thread. So from what I can gather, if I'm planning on brewing the extract version of this recipe (which I am), it probably won't attenuate as well as the AG version. So what's the best way to compensate? The 2-row bill converts to 7.2 lbs of DME, so should I up that to 8 or 9 lbs? Up the corn sugar to 1 or 1.5 lbs? Any advice is appreciated. Thanks!


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[Whattawort]

Forgive me for not reading through all 33 pages but has anyone subbed MO as the base malt? I still have a fair bit of it left and would rather not add more to my inventory as storage space is at a premium.

 

[Mofoa]

I was finally able to try the real Pliny The Elder last week. To me, this has lived up to the hype. I went in expecting this to be such a great beer--and it is certainly that.

My question is for those who have had Pliny the Elder, have you since been able to taste another beer that is just as great--or...even better?

By the way, I just kegg'd my PTE clone two days ago...if it tastes anything like the real stuff...holy $*^! I cannot wait.

 

[brewski09]

I was finally able to try the real Pliny The Elder last week. To me, this has lived up to the hype. I went in expecting this to be such a great beer--and it is certainly that.

My question is for those who have had Pliny the Elder, have you since been able to taste another beer that is just as great--or...even better?

By the way, I just kegg'd my PTE clone two days ago...if it tastes anything like the real stuff...holy $*^! I cannot wait.

Heady topper

 

[GatorWayne]

Mine turned out great and I am certainly enjoying drinking it. I followed the recipe which came from the doubleipa.pdf. Fantastic beer that I will some day brew again. Only 16 left. I need to find more bottles!