Session IPA with one type of hops

[loeks]

So here's the deal. I have never brewed an IPA of any sort, but a buddy of mine wants to brew with me so I told him to pick a style of beer. He decided on a session IPA. I have done some research, and I have found that IPAs have really complicated hopping schedules with a million different varieties of hops.

As I was researching a recipe, it occurred to me that Two Hearted only has Centennial hops, and that seems to work just fine for that. So, what would be the downside of taking a session IPA recipe and replacing all of the hop additions with Centennial? Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Psylocide]

No downside... some people say single hop beers lack "depth" but I don't find that to be the case.

1 hop variety can impart several different flavor/aroma notes... go for it.

I just did a Marris Otter/Amarillo SMaSH (single malt and single hop), a lot of people make these types of beers. Worth looking into if not just for some added info/research.

 

[drainbamage]

So here's the deal. I have never brewed an IPA of any sort, but a buddy of mine wants to brew with me so I told him to pick a style of beer. He decided on a session IPA. I have done some research, and I have found that IPAs have really complicated hopping schedules with a million different varieties of hops.

As I was researching a recipe, it occurred to me that Two Hearted only has Centennial hops, and that seems to work just fine for that. So, what would be the downside of taking a session IPA recipe and replacing all of the hop additions with Centennial? Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Go for it! IPA hop schedules don't have to contain a half-dozen different varieties, and Centennial is a solid dual-purpose (bittering and finishing) hop.

 

[gregkeller]

I've done a hop bursted session iPA that i love. all the hops (australian galaxy in this case) went in at 20 minutes or less. Basically an ounce at 20,10,5 and flameout and then 2 oz dry hop. It was a 1.045 beer that ended up being 3.8% but you wouldn't guess that from the hop flavor/aroma and solid grain bill.

 

[beergolf]

Single hop brews can be very good. Recipies do not have to be complicated to taste great. There is some strange belief that if you throw the everything but the kitchen sink in a recipe it will be good. I think sometimes the simple recipes are the best. I rarely use more than two different hops in my IPA's . Too many and the flavors can get muted.

Pick a hop you like and do a simple recipe hitting the OG you want. Do a bittering addition at 60 and then several additions from 20 to flameout. Some dry hop and you are good.

Centennial is a great hop for a single hop brew. Amarillo also comes to mind.

 

[loeks]

Thanks for the feedback y'all. I think I'll go ahead and do that then.

 

[EthanH]

Falconer's Flight is also a great single hop for an IPA.

One of my standard recipes is as follows:

10# 2-row
1# 20L
2oz magnum @60m
1oz <some other hop> @15m
1oz <some other hop> @5m
2oz <some other hop> dryhop

(...where <some other hop> is a single hop variety. So far I've done this with cascade, centennial, falconer's (twice), citra, and simcoe)

Recently I made a 1 gallon MO/Columbus SMaSH to up my yeast population (make beer not starters!) and I was surprised at how good it was.

PS: My last several IPA batches I've switched from WLP001 to WLP090 and I'm never going back.

 

[gregkeller]

Falconers flight isn't really a single hop as its a blend made by hop Union that's mix of a bunch of different hops, so they are doing the mixing for you. Really just a technicality because I think it's a great hops to use.

 

[Owly055]

Falconers flight isn't really a single hop as its a blend made by hop Union that's mix of a bunch of different hops, so they are doing the mixing for you. Really just a technicality because I think it's a great hops to use.

Falconer's flight or Zythos (another blend) can make good single hop beers, and can provide a "foundation" you can add to, to achieve a unique aroma & flavor profile of your own. You want a bit more citrus, or spice, or stone fruit, or floral, or...... Good blends stand well on their own, and you can manipulate the character by when and how much you add, and of course the malt bill and gravity, so that two beers made with the same blend may be far different.
Good blends are a great starting point....... how you use them is where creativity comes in.


H.W.

 

[loeks]

Falconers flight isn't really a single hop as its a blend made by hop Union that's mix of a bunch of different hops, so they are doing the mixing for you. Really just a technicality because I think it's a great hops to use.

This is really interesting. Something to think about...

 

[1977Brewer]

Cascade is a great single hop. Smooth bittering, great citrus flavor and aroma.

 

[loeks]

Thanks for all the input.

So now, what about a solid grain bill for a session IPA?

 

[loeks]

I've done a hop bursted session iPA that i love. all the hops (australian galaxy in this case) went in at 20 minutes or less. Basically an ounce at 20,10,5 and flameout and then 2 oz dry hop. It was a 1.045 beer that ended up being 3.8% but you wouldn't guess that from the hop flavor/aroma and solid grain bill.

What was your solid grain bill, if you don't mind me asking...

 

[gregkeller]

It's a little of a complicated grain bill because you are trying to create something that has flavor and body with a very low amount of actual grain. But i've been very happy with this. It's Mike "Tasty" McDole's recipe

For a 5 gallon batch (well 6 at end of boil, 5.5 into fermenter, 5 gallons kegged/bottled):

4 lbs 2 row
2 lbs maris otter
1.5 lbs pilsner
1.5 lbs crystal 10
8 oz crystal 40
8 oz wheat

I get around a 1.045 OG from that and it finishes at around 1.014 if i use a low attenuating yeast like wlp002, or wy1968. I wouldn't use anything that attenuates really well as it will dry the beer out too much and it will be thin and more like hop water. I mash at 154-156 also.

I feel the three different base malts helps to develop a range of malt flavors. the 1.5 lbs of crystal 10 is kind of scary in a 10lb malt bill, but i think it works. Problem i have with all the session IPA's out there is that they have next to no body/malt flavor at all. In a standard strength IPA or IIPA there is enough base malt providing a little body that the finished beer is fine with very few character malts, but in a beer this small, that's just not the case, so you have to build in the body/flavor. Give it a try and let me know what you think of it.

 

[lurker18]

I would strongly look at doing SMaSHes. Just finished 3 beer 2.5 gallons all SMaSHes. Made a big 10 gallon mash, ran it off and broke it down into 3 boils and added different hops to each boil. You can really pick out the differences between hops, ones that I thought would be great are good, and one that was just there turned out to be the better of the three. At least this way you can decide if the particular hop will stay in your rotation or get passed over next time.

 

[joshesmusica]

another thing that doesn't have to be so difficult with IPAs that I feel like people treat it the same as having 1,000 different varieties in it: who says you have to do additions at 20, 18, 16, 15, 13, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0; chill to 180, another hop addition; ferment 90% first dry hop addition; once reached final gravity, another dry hop addition; rack to secondary, 3rd dry hop addition; rack to keg, dry hop in keg?

go with a bittering addition (if you're looking for a smooth bitterness try FWH addition, you'll technically get more IBUs out of this, but it's supposedly a smoother bitterness), go with something around the 10-15 mark, go heavy on the hopstand, go heavy on the dry hop.
you can check out this page to help you figure out the IBU level that you're looking for according to your tastes:
http://www.madalchemist.com/relative_bitterness.html

 

[loeks]

Problem i have with all the session IPA's out there is that they have next to no body/malt flavor at all. In a standard strength IPA or IIPA there is enough base malt providing a little body that the finished beer is fine with very few character malts, but in a beer this small, that's just not the case, so you have to build in the body/flavor. Give it a try and let me know what you think of it.

You completely read my mind. That was my exact thought the last time I had a couple All Day IPAs. What I'm hoping for is a session Two Hearted, or at least something along those lines. For me the thing that makes Two Hearted so glorious is the maltiness.

Thanks a million for sharing your grain bill. I'll let you know how it turns out.

 

[loeks]

another thing that doesn't have to be so difficult with IPAs that I feel like people treat it the same as having 1,000 different varieties in it: who says you have to do additions at 20, 18, 16, 15, 13, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0; chill to 180, another hop addition; ferment 90% first dry hop addition; once reached final gravity, another dry hop addition; rack to secondary, 3rd dry hop addition; rack to keg, dry hop in keg?

go with a bittering addition (if you're looking for a smooth bitterness try FWH addition, you'll technically get more IBUs out of this, but it's supposedly a smoother bitterness), go with something around the 10-15 mark, go heavy on the hopstand, go heavy on the dry hop.
you can check out this page to help you figure out the IBU level that you're looking for according to your tastes:
http://www.madalchemist.com/relative_bitterness.html

Here's my rough draft hopping schedule:

.25 oz Neutral bittering hop (whatev I have left over in my fridge, I think it's Cluster) @60
1 oz Centennial @20
1 oz Centennial @10
2 oz Centennial @FO (10 min hop stand)
2 oz Centennial Dry Hop

I'm gonna edit it if necessary once I find out the AA's of the Centennial at my LHBS, but this is the basic idea...

 

[loeks]

I would strongly look at doing SMaSHes. Just finished 3 beer 2.5 gallons all SMaSHes. Made a big 10 gallon mash, ran it off and broke it down into 3 boils and added different hops to each boil. You can really pick out the differences between hops, ones that I thought would be great are good, and one that was just there turned out to be the better of the three. At least this way you can decide if the particular hop will stay in your rotation or get passed over next time.

Thanks for the input. I thought about a SMaSH, but I decided against it. Mainly because I want some complex malt flavors, but all Centennial hop flavors/aromas. I am hoping to do a SMaSH in the near future though.

 

[Jayhem]

I'm currently drinking a session IPA made with 2-row, vienna and Mosaic hops. It's delicious.

Aim for around 4.5-5% ABV for a "Session" beer.

 

[loeks]

Thanks for the input. Does the Vienna alone give it a solid malty flavor, similar to a good "normal" IPA? If so, what percent of the grain bill for the Vienna?

I'm currently drinking a session IPA made with 2-row, vienna and Mosaic hops. It's delicious.

Aim for around 4.5-5% ABV for a "Session" beer.

 

[Jayhem]

Thanks for the input. Does the Vienna alone give it a solid malty flavor, similar to a good "normal" IPA? If so, what percent of the grain bill for the Vienna?

The Vienna is definitely noticable in a light session ale. I use 20-25% Vienna in mine. I love the stuff!

OG: 1.050

IBU: 38

Nottingham Dry Yeast at 65F or US-05 at 68F for 14-21 days.

Dry hop with 1-2 ounces / 5 gal batch with your hop of choice.

This is my favorite house ale.

 

[loeks]

The Vienna is definitely noticable in a light session ale. I use 20-25% Vienna in mine. I love the stuff!

OG: 1.050

IBU: 38

Nottingham Dry Yeast at 65F or US-05 at 68F for 14-21 days.

Dry hop with 1-2 ounces / 5 gal batch with your hop of choice.

This is my favorite house ale.

Sounds good. Thanks for the info!

 

[chainlife]

While technically a pale, zombiedust is all citra and it is my precious

 

[loeks]

So I got this going on Saturday. Ended up going with a really simple grain bill. My thought on that was that if I do something that ends up really malty, well then I have pretty much just made an APA, haven't I? Here's what I did:

90% American Pale 2Row
10% C40L

For hop schedule, I went with this:
(60 min boil)
1 oz Centennial (9%AA) @20 min
1 oz Centennial @10 min
1 oz Centennial 10 min hopstand after FO

Without figuring in the hopstand, this puts the IBUs at about 35 or so. When I figured in the hopstand with Brewersfriend's hopstand feature (at the recommended 10% utilization), it put the IBUs at around 44. I didn't want to go much higher than that because I use an ice bath to cool my wort which takes a while, so I'm thinking I might get a little more bitterness out of the hops than what was calculated.

So I still have 2 oz. of hops for dry hopping if I so choose. Haven't decided if I am going to end up dry hopping with 1 oz. or 2 oz.

My OG came in at 1.047. I was going for 1.050, so not bad. I mashed really high on purpose. I usually have trouble keeping my mash temp up, but this time I had trouble keeping it down to 155*F.

So that's where I'm at with this one.

 

[1977Brewer]

Looks delicious, you'll definitely want the dry hop though.

 

[loeks]

Looks delicious, you'll definitely want the dry hop though.

Thanks for the feedback. I am definitely going to dry hop. I'm just not sure if I am going to dry hop with 1 or 2 oz. I ended up with probably about 4 - 4.5 gallons in my carboy. My concern with too much dry hopping is that I will get too much of the floral aroma that Centennial is known for.

Thoughts?

 

[1977Brewer]

Thanks for the feedback. I am definitely going to dry hop. I'm just not sure if I am going to dry hop with 1 or 2 oz. I ended up with probably about 4 - 4.5 gallons in my carboy. My concern with too much dry hopping is that I will get too much of the floral aroma that Centennial is known for.

Thoughts?

That's what I love about Centennial. If you don't want to push it, just go with 1 oz. You already have the hopstand going for it too.

 

[loeks]

That's what I love about Centennial. If you don't want to push it, just go with 1 oz. You already have the hopstand going for it too.

I'm going to take a sample when the gravity is stable and I'm ready for dry hopping to see how the aroma/flavor is coming along before I decide on how much I will dry hop. But right now I'm leaning towards doing 1 oz.

 

[z-bob]

I really don't understand adding hops every 10 minutes; it seems to be an American IPA thing. I like simple recipes with just a few ingredients and just a few steps. It's a lot easier to tweak them if I want to brew it again but use a different yeast or hop or whatever. I don't think I ever use more than 2 hop varieties in a beer.

 

[loeks]

I really don't understand adding hops every 10 minutes; it seems to be an American IPA thing. I like simple recipes with just a few ingredients and just a few steps. It's a lot easier to tweak them if I want to brew it again but use a different yeast or hop or whatever. I don't think I ever use more than 2 hop varieties in a beer.

I'm not really crazy about American IPA's either but this one was a special request from a friend. This is a bit of a unique hop schedule because there is no 60 min. bittering addition; all of the bittering comes from the larger amount that is all added at 20 and later.

 

[loeks]

I took a sample the other day and it had a good amount of aroma, but not as much bitterness as I was expecting. Since I have never brewed an IPA, I'm not sure if that's normal. Will I get a little more perceived bitterness once it's all said and done or not?

 

[joshesmusica]

I took a sample the other day and it had a good amount of aroma, but not as much bitterness as I was expecting. Since I have never brewed an IPA, I'm not sure if that's normal. Will I get a little more perceived bitterness once it's all said and done or not?

it depends. how far along is it? is it still in the fermenter? or is it bottled and fully carbed?

once you get it bottled and fully carbed, the perceived bitterness go up a bit more.

 

[loeks]

it depends. how far along is it? is it still in the fermenter? or is it bottled and fully carbed?

once you get it bottled and fully carbed, the perceived bitterness go up a bit more.

It's still in the fermenter and has been there for almost exactly a week and a half.

 

[joshesmusica]

once you bottle it, let it carbonate/condition for three weeks. then see if there's a difference.
a fun experiment you could do is chill it 1 week after bottling, 2 weeks, then 3 weeks, hell maybe even 4 and 5 weeks if you really wanna get crazy. then taste all 3 (or 4 or 5) in the same sitting. it will give you an idea how flavors develop with some time.

 

[gregkeller]

The beer will taste very different carbonated. Not sure if "more bitter" is the term i'd use, but the co2 dissolved in solution, will be adding carbonic acid. That gives it a sharper flavor, that maybe could be considered more bitter. Basically it will be a lot crisper once carbed up.

 

[schematix]

what's your water like? did you add any gypsum? I always found my PA/APA/IPA type beers to lack the hop punch until i started to add additional sulfates.

 

[E-Rodge]

No downside... some people say single hop beers lack "depth" but I don't find that to be the case.

1 hop variety can impart several different flavor/aroma notes... go for it.

I just did a Marris Otter/Amarillo SMaSH (single malt and single hop), a lot of people make these types of beers. Worth looking into if not just for some added info/research.

+1
When looking to understand the ingredients, single hop can show you a lot and be just as good as many of the complex ipas. I just finished my second MO/Amarillo smash in the last 4 brews (but diff yeast) and am thoroughly impressed by this combo!

 

[loeks]

once you bottle it, let it carbonate/condition for three weeks. then see if there's a difference.
a fun experiment you could do is chill it 1 week after bottling, 2 weeks, then 3 weeks, hell maybe even 4 and 5 weeks if you really wanna get crazy. then taste all 3 (or 4 or 5) in the same sitting. it will give you an idea how flavors develop with some time.

That's a cool idea. I might do that.

 

[loeks]

The beer will taste very different carbonated. Not sure if "more bitter" is the term i'd use, but the co2 dissolved in solution, will be adding carbonic acid. That gives it a sharper flavor, that maybe could be considered more bitter. Basically it will be a lot crisper once carbed up.

Also a good point. Thanks.