"Random Stuff" IPA

[TheJasonT]

Greetings all,

Trying to clear out some excess hops and such and do a medium strength IPA. I have a bag with the C60 and roasted barley in together which is why they are in there.

OG: 1.072
FG: 1.015
IBU: 68
SRM: 16
ABV: 7.5%
Efficiency: 85%

Grist:
12# Rahr 2-row
1# C60
5oz Roasted Barley

Hops:
1oz Apollo 17.8% FWH 18IBU
1oz Amarillo 10.6% 15min 14 IBU
1oz Simcoe 12.7% 10min 12IBU
1oz Amarillo 10.6% 10min 10 IBU
1oz Amarillo 10.6% 6min 6 IBU
1oz Simcoe 12.7% 6min 8 IBU

Dry Hop:
1oz Simcoe
1oz Mosaic

Yeast:
WLP090 Super San Diego

Thoughts? Thank you!

 

[meltroha]

Looks nice, sweet and hoppy, with a little roast in there to balance it all, reply with tasting notes when done. Only thing I would change is move the 6 min additions to fo

 

[TheJasonT]

Brewed this up last night. The wort had a very nice hoppy flavor with a roasty punch reminiscent of a Rye IPA.

I took your advice and moved the 6min additions to flameout. I'm also changing the yeast to 1098 British Ale, it's just what I have available. It's in my ferm fridge right now waiting for me to get my lazy butt out of bed and pitch it!

Oh, and I'm adding Amarillo to the dry hop. I'm splitting the additions into two doses, one at the beginning of the cold crash and the other once I've reached final cold temp, where it'll rest for 10 days.

 

[meltroha]

Should be amazing! Can't wait to hear the results, Cheers. Btw, I'm jealous you got all that amarillo

 

[Brew-ta-sauraus]

I too have a pound of amarillo hops looking forward to your tasting notes as I may burn my amarillo in a 10 gal batch of this.

 

[peterj]

Looks like a delicious brew! I wish I could put together such a good looking recipe from stuff I had laying around!

My only concern is your FWH addition. In my experience FWH adds as much bitterness as a 60 or 70 minute addition, because that's really what it is. I calculate it at about 75 IBUs from that one addition. It will probably be fine in such a big IPA though. The crystal, roasted barley, high gravity, and late hop additions should balance it out pretty well.

Let us know how it turns out!

 

[TheJasonT]

Yeah, I've found FWH can replace my 60min addition with an appropriate level of bitterness yet it's a lot smoother and less harsh. With a hop as high in AA as Apollo, it would be my only bittering addition.

 

[meltroha]

I disagree, I have not found fwh additions add as much bitterness as a 60 or 90. The science behind it says that it increases hop efficiency, so it will increase bitterness of all the other additions. If you only go with a fwh, a 15-20 and a fo, you will not get additional bitterness, perceived, or otherwise.

 

[peterj]

I disagree, I have not found fwh additions add as much bitterness as a 60 or 90. The science behind it says that it increases hop efficiency, so it will increase bitterness of all the other additions. If you only go with a fwh, a 15-20 and a fo, you will not get additional bitterness, perceived, or otherwise.

Huh? Why would FWH affect the utilization of any of the other additions? I've never heard that before and that doesn't make sense to me. With FWH you're just adding hops to the runnings, but you're still boiling the hops for the full 60 minutes plus a little more. Logically it would have the same amount of isomerization as a bittering hop (actually a little more) and all of the flavor and aroma would be boiled off just like a bittering hop. Can you explain the science you were talking about?

 

[meltroha]

I read it in a byo article, I'm not sure which one. And I have a girlfriend in Canada, lol. Seriously, Google fwh, I do not know the science, just read it, I am a homebrewer.

 

[meltroha]

Here ya go:

First Wort Hopping is not a new method, but is in fact an old one from Germany that was largely forgotten until Priess, Neuremburg and Mitter published an article on it in 1995 (Brauwelt International, Vol IV, p 308). The method was originally used by brewers at the beginning of the century to enhance bitterness rather than overall flavor. Adding hops to the wort early in the sparging process reduced the Ph of the mash, which enhanced isomerization of later hop additions, increasing overall hop utilization during the boil.

 

[peterj]

Wow that's the first explanation of FWH I've ever heard that actually makes sense. A lot of people that do it always say it only adds IBUs equivalent to a 20 minute addition and adds flavor equivalent to a 20 minute addition which doesn't make sense. According to that article (and the article they reference) it actually increases the overall IBUs by 10% but it adds a smoothness and harmony to the bitterness, flavor, and aroma aspects. There's no flavor or aroma from that addition, but it helps to enhance the flavor and aroma of the late hop additions I guess.

Hmm, that's interesting. I'll have to read up more about it and maybe do some experiments of my own.

 

[TheJasonT]

Unless I'm making a DIPA where a punchy bitterness is appropriate, I only use FWH on my APA's and IPA's. I use iBrewMaster2 and I set my FWH to 10min instead of the default 20 and I've found that to give me an IBU level close to what it actually tastes like. 75 IBUs is definitely not what this tasted like.

 

[TheJasonT]

Wow. Just took a 6-day hydrometer reading/sample. This is FANTASTIC. It definitely has that roasted quality but that seems to give it a nice, balancing, malty punch. Hop flavor is the near perfect combo of Simcoe and Amarillo and the bitterness is spot on.

If you don't make this beer, I shall be sad. It's delicious!

I fermented at 65 with 1098, no appreciable esters that I'm picking up warm. Maybe a touch of fruitiness.

 

[TheJasonT]

Wow, just wow. After a total of 13 days in secondary, eight of them at 33F, this beer is absolutely awesome. I could drink this all day. I'd be sloshed by the end of said day, but this is a great freaking beer.

If I had to judge on 14B: (with a touch of personal bias, lol)

Aroma: Sweet citrus, slight tropical notes, and a touch of dank pine from the Simcoe (8/12)

Appearance: Very clear, almost brilliantly so, with a bright white head that stands very well (3/3)

Flavor: Unexpected flavors, in a good way. Clean bitterness, nice hop flavor that's not too intense. A dry malty finish, with an interesting roast barley flavor. More flavor hops would be welcome. (15/20)

Mouthfeel: A nice smooth mouthfeel appropriate to style. Crisp from the carbonation, quite dry on the palate. A slight astrigency keeps this from a perfect 5. (4/5)

Overall Impression: A very nice beer, but the roasted notes are a bit on the high side for an American IPA. This is more of a mix between an American Amber, Irish Red, and an American IPA. However, well done on this beer. More flavor hops would be welcome. (8/10)

Total: 38/50

Stylistic Accuracy:
Classic Example |--O--| Not To Style

Technical Merit:
Flawless |-O---| Significant Flaws

Intangibles:
Wonderful |-O---| Lifeless

I hope you guys will brew this beer, it would be a great beer to try!

 

[TheJasonT]

Cheers!!