Recipe help: A "Basic" IPA

[curtw]

Hi:

I'm at the point in my brewing where I'm trying to learn from my sessions, not just brew stuff. I decided to start with a "basic" IPA, and tweak it on subsequent brew sessions:

- different hops
- different hop schedules
- different mash temps
- different base grains
- etc.

and try to learn from small A/B comparisons between sessions. Not scientific perhaps, but better than the grab bags I've been doing in the past.

I brew 3 gal batches, BIAB. I came up with this recipe via brewersfriend, it seems to match the characteristics of the style; I'm looking for any input you might have on it.

==========================================
Style: American IPA
Boil Time: 60 min
Batch Size: 3.5 gallons (fermentor volume)
Boil Size: 4.7 gallons
Boil Gravity: 1.046 (recipe based estimate)
Efficiency: 63% (brew house)
(yes, this is low for BIAB, but it's what I've been getting the last few brews)

Original Gravity: 1.062
Final Gravity: 1.015
ABV (standard): 6.25%
IBU (tinseth): 55.08
SRM (morey): 8.52

8 lb American - Pale 2-Row
1 lb American - Munich - Light 10L
0.5 lb American - Caramel / Crystal 40L
9.5 lb Total

0.5 oz Magnum Pellet Boil 60 min
0.5 oz Amarillo Pellet Boil 15 min
0.5 oz Amarillo Pellet Boil 1 min
1 oz Amarillo Pellet Dry Hop 7 days

White Labs - California Ale Yeast WLP001
==========================================

I thought I'd start with Amarillo for late addition, no particular reason.

Thanks in advance!

 

[motorneuron]

I can't argue much with the grain bill, though you might add some carapils or flaked wheat for head retention. It's quite close to the recipe that Gordon Strong suggests for the same purpose in Brewing Better Beer.

As for the hop schedule, I don't think this one is a problem, but to really get a feel for hop types, I'd consider using a single hop for the whole beer. You could also mildly increase aroma hops (including both end of boil and pellet) if you want to emphasize your chosen hop type. And you could try first wort hopping, too.

 

[curtw]

Thanks for the feedback!

I thought I'd try (initially at least) to keep the bittering hops the same, and so I chose what I thought would be a nice neutral one. So if the next brew session I switched Amarillo for Citra, I'd keep the bittering hops unchanged.

Additional dry hopping and FWH would be follow-on brews for me, I think.