I have been following this thread for a while and I have brewed a couple of ok session IPA's but I have a winner here.
I am told this is the Stone Levitation Ale recipe from the Stone book. What is interesting about this recipe is the mash schedule. Stone calls for a 10 minute mash at 157. Conventional wisdom is there is no way to convert in 10minutes but if Stone can do it, I thought I would give it a try.
I hit the 157 temp right on the money and I checked it after 10 minutes with an iodine test and taste test and it was not converted. I stirred and let it go another 10 minutes and it was definitely converted and the wort tasted great!
I do not know if you can consider this an IPA or not. It is definitely hopped like an IPA but the grain bill is more of an amber. I was really concerned that IBU/SG ratio was way too high at 1.373 but the hop profile, bitterness, and balance with the malt is excellent. I think it could even be a little more hoppy if you really wanted to.
I have fairly high alkaline tap water so I diluted it 50/50 with RO water and my water adjustments are listed in the recipe.
To sum up here are my tasting notes and the recipe.
Tasting Notes: This very well could be the best beer I have made to date. I have yet to compare it to the commercial Stone version but whether it is cloned or not, it is an excellent beer. I definitely think I hit the water profile right on the money.
It has a medium body, rich, smooth mouthfeel, fantastic fruity/citrusy aroma, nice thick creamy head that dissipates to a thin head after about 10 minutes. Excellent lacing. Beautiful dark amber color.
Taste starts with a nice rich, snooth, malt character and medium body, silky mouthfeel. Mid palate it is still malt with a firm bitterness, and then finishes with clean citrus notes. Super easy drinking beer. One sip begs for another. Very clean flavor. I detect no off flavors or homebrew twang at all.
At 4.2% abv and 66 ibu's, I think this beer would qualify as a "Session IPA". I was concerned that with the high ratio of bitterness to gravity the hops would overpower the beer and that is just not the case. I think you could make this beer even hoppier if you wanted to but I think it is excellent just the way it is. I guess technically it would be considered a hoppy Amber becaue it is too dark for an IPA. Anyway this is a great beer for anyone looking for lower abv and enough hops to satisfy any hop heads such as myself.
Stone Levitation Ale
American Amber Ale
Type: All Grain Date: 5/26/2013
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.50 gal Brewer:
Boil Size: 8.49 gal Asst Brewer:
Boil Time: 90 min Equipment: Kettle and large mash tun
End of Boil Volume 6.24 gal Brewhouse Efficiency: 68.00 %
Final Bottling Volume: 5.00 gal Est Mash Efficiency 74.2 %
Fermentation: Ale, Two Stage Taste Rating(out of 50): 30.0
Taste Notes: 6/23/13 This very well could be the best beer I have made to date. I have yet to compare it to the commercial Stone version but whether it is cloned or not, it is an excellent beer. I definitely think I hit the water profile right on the money.
It has a medium body, rich, smooth mouthfeel, fantastic fruity/citrusy aroma, nice thick creamy head that dissipates to a thin head after about 10 minutes. Excellent lacing. Beautiful dark amber color.
Taste starts with a nice rich, snooth, malt character and medium body, silky mouthfeel. Mid palate it is still malt with a firm bitterness, and then finishes with clean citrus notes. Super easy drinking beer. One sip begs for another. Very clean flavor. I detect no off flavors or homebrew twang at all.
At 4.2% abv and 66 ibu's, I think this beer would qualify as a "Session IPA". I was concerned that with the high ratio of bitterness to gravity the hops would overpower the beer and that is just not the case. I think you could make this beer even hoppier if you wanted to but I think it is excellent just the way it is. I guess technically it would be considered a hoppy Amber becaue it is too dark for an IPA. Anyway this is a great beer for anyone looking for lower abv and enough hops to satisfy any hop heads such as myself.
Ingredients
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
0.41 tsp Gypsum Mash Addition
0.16 tsp Baking Soda Mash Addition
9 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 3 83.1 %
1 lbs Caramel/Crystal Malt - 80L (80.0 SRM) Grain 4 9.2 %
12.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt -120L (120.0 SRM) Grain 5 6.9 %
1.3 oz Black (Patent) Malt (500.0 SRM) Grain 6 0.7 %
1.00 oz Columbus (Tomahawk) [14.00 %] - Boil 90.0 min Hop 7 54.6 IBUs
0.85 tsp Gypsum Sparge Addition
0.20 tsp Lactic Acid Sparge Addition
1.00 Items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 mins) Fining 10 -
0.50 tsp Yeast Nutrient (Boil 15.0 mins)
1.00 oz Amarillo Gold [8.50 %] - Boil 10.0 min Hop 12 11.2 IBUs
1.00 oz Crystal [3.50 %] - Boil 0.0 min Hop 13 0.0 IBUs
1.00 oz Simcoe [13.00 %] - Boil 0.0 min Hop 14 0.0 IBUs
1.0 pkg English Ale (White Labs #WLP002) [35.49 ml] Yeast 15 -
1.00 oz Amarillo Gold [8.50 %] - Dry Hop 7.0 Days Hop 16 0.0 IBUs
Beer Profile
Est Original Gravity: 1.048 SG Measured Original Gravity: 1.046 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.018 SG Measured Final Gravity: 1.014 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 4.0 % Actual Alcohol by Vol: 4.2 %
Bitterness: 65.9 IBUs Calories: 153.5 kcal/12oz
Est Color: 18.1 SRM
Mash Profile
Mash Name: Single Infusion, Full Body, Batch Sparge Total Grain Weight: 10 lbs 13.3 oz
Sparge Water: 6.91 gal Grain Temperature: 72.0 F
Sparge Temperature: 168.0 F Tun Temperature: 72.0 F
Adjust Temp for Equipment: TRUE Mash PH: 5.20
Mash Steps
Mash at 157.0 F 20 min. 1.25 qts/lb
Be sure to check for conversion.
Sparge Step:
Double batch sparge with 2 equal amounts to get to final boil volume.
