Sorachi doesn't suck IPA recipe (critique welcome)

[Beehemel]

So I'm trying to prove to my homebrew buddies that Sorachi Ace is not a bad hop when used correctly. I've come up with this recipe combining it with Amarillo and Citra figuring the grapefruit flavor from the Amarillo and the orange flavor from the Citra will go well with the lemon and slight spiciness of the Sorachi. Let me know what you think!

Amarillo/Sorachi IPA - AG - American IPA
================================================================================
Batch Size: 5.000 gal
Boil Size: 6.000 gal
Boil Time: 1.000 hr
Efficiency: 70%
OG: 1.072
FG: 1.018
ABV: 7.0%
Bitterness: 62.4 IBUs (Tinseth)
Color: 9 SRM (Morey)

Fermentables
================================================================================
Name Type Amount Mashed Late Yield Color
Pale Malt (2 Row) US Grain 8.000 lb Yes No 79% 2 L
Cara-Pils/Dextrine Grain 8.000 oz Yes No 72% 2 L
Golden Promise Grain 5.000 lb Yes No 81% 2 L
Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L Grain 16.000 oz Yes No 74% 40 L
Total grain: 14.500 lb

Hops
================================================================================
Name Alpha Amount Use Time Form IBU
Amarillo 9.5% 1.000 oz Boil 1.000 hr Pellet 27.3
Amarillo 9.5% 0.500 oz Boil 30.000 min Pellet 10.5
Amarillo 9.5% 0.500 oz Boil 10.000 min Pellet 4.9
Amarillo 9.5% 0.500 oz Dry Hop 1.000 hr Pellet 0.0
Sorachi Ace 10.7% 0.500 oz Boil 20.000 min Pellet 9.3
Sorachi Ace 10.7% 1.000 oz Dry Hop 0.000 s Pellet 0.0
Citra 12.0% 0.500 oz Boil 20.000 min Pellet 10.4
Citra 12.0% 1.000 oz Dry Hop 1.000 hr Pellet 0.0

Misc
================================================================================
Name Type Use Amount Time
Whirlfloc Fining Boil 0.000 tsp 0.000 s
pH 5.2 Stabilizer Water Agent Mash 2.029 tsp 0.000 s

Yeast
================================================================================
Name Type Form Amount Stage
Safale S-05 Ale Dry 2.232 tsp Primary

Mash
================================================================================
Name Type Amount Target Time
Conversion Infusion 5.059 gal 154.000 F 1.000 hr
Sparge Infusion 2.725 gal 170.000 F 15.000 min

 

[godofcheese]

I used it for flavor, aroma and dry hop on a belgian pale ale along with some rikawa and it turned out great. I think that hop is all about matching it up with a good yeast to go with the spicyness and another citrus hop to complement the lemon taste.

I don't know much about citra, but I know it will go well with the amarillo.

 

[Beehemel]

Riwaka is an interesting beast, I've been looking at all the nice hops coming out of New Zealand lately, and I think I'm getting inspired to do an all NZ hop brew as well. They seem to be easy enough to find online, so I'll have to start researching that as well. One thing I was thinking about on this recipe was removing the crystal 40 or possibly reducing it/using lower L crystal (possibly 10). I just want to make sure the hops can shine and I don't get an overly sweet IPA

 

[Beehemel]

I'm looking to brew this next weekend, but using the new AHS Greenbelt yeast instead of US-05 as in the recipe. I've also made this one bigger (go big or go home, right?) so it will now be an imperial/double IPA (whatever you want to call it). I've updated the recipe in the original post.

 

[Beehemel]

Nevermind, I guess I can't edit the original since it's so old. Here's the updated recipe:

Amarillo/Sorachi IPA - AG - Imperial IPA
================================================================================
Batch Size: 5.000 gal
Boil Size: 6.000 gal
Boil Time: 1.000 hr
Efficiency: 70%
OG: 1.083
FG: 1.020
ABV: 8.2%
Bitterness: 75.9 IBUs (Tinseth)
Color: 7 SRM (Morey)

Fermentables
================================================================================
Name Type Amount Mashed Late Yield Color
Pale Malt (2 Row) US Grain 7.000 lb Yes No 79% 2 L
Golden Promise Grain 8.000 lb Yes No 81% 2 L
Caramel/Crystal Malt - 10L Grain 4.000 oz Yes No 75% 10 L
Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L Grain 4.000 oz Yes No 74% 40 L
Cara-Pils/Dextrine Grain 8.000 oz Yes No 72% 2 L
Total grain: 16.000 lb

Hops
================================================================================
Name Alpha Amount Use Time Form IBU
Amarillo 9.5% 1.000 oz Boil 1.000 hr Pellet 25.9
Amarillo 9.5% 0.750 oz Boil 30.000 min Pellet 14.9
Amarillo 9.5% 0.750 oz Boil 10.000 min Pellet 7.0
Amarillo 9.5% 0.500 oz Dry Hop 1.000 hr Pellet 0.0
Sorachi Ace 10.7% 0.750 oz Boil 20.000 min Pellet 13.2
Sorachi Ace 10.7% 1.000 oz Dry Hop 0.000 s Pellet 0.0
Citra 12.0% 0.750 oz Boil 20.000 min Pellet 14.8
Citra 12.0% 1.000 oz Dry Hop 1.000 hr Pellet 0.0

Misc
================================================================================
Name Type Use Amount Time
Whirlfloc Fining Boil 0.000 tsp 0.000 s
pH 5.2 Stabilizer Water Agent Mash 2.029 tsp 0.000 s

Yeast
================================================================================
Name Type Form Amount Stage
Wyeast - Greenbelt (AustinHomebrew) Ale Liquid 0.528 cup Primary

Mash
================================================================================
Name Type Amount Target Time
Conversion Infusion 5.059 gal 154.000 F 1.000 hr
Sparge Infusion 2.725 gal 170.000 F 15.000 min

 

[Beehemel]

Just placed an order for the ingredients for this, but AHS didn't have Greenbelt in stock

Guess I'll have to use US-05 for this one.

Edit: I also nixed the cara pils, just didn't really seem necessary for this.

 

[nm999]

Your Sorachi dry hop is set at 0.000 s while your Amarillo and Citra dry hps are set at 1.000 hr. The hop schedule might need to be adjusted if your going for a specific amount of IBUs.

 

[jds]

No critique, but I like SA in an IPA.

In fact, I perversely used it as a flameout addition in one of my "leftover hops" IPA's. There was an oil slick on the surface of the wort, but the IPA came out very tasty.

 

[bobbytuck]

You can always add a teaspon of gypsum to the boil (not mash) to accentuate the hops and bring out a bit more of the dryness. I, too, shy away from overly sweet IPAs -- or even IPAs where there's a bit of sweetness that clashes with the hops -- but I've found that gypsum in the BK helps out with this. My water is on the hard side anyway -- so I probably don't need the gypsum -- but I now add it no matter what when I'm making IPAs (or beers where I don't want everybody who tastes them to say, "Wow, this is smooth.") With IPAs, I find that smoothness is not always what I'm looking for.

 

[dirty_martini]

i made an summit/sorachi ace IPA about 3 years ago when the hops were first hitting the markets and it came out awesome. quirky tangerine/lemon/grassy notes...2oz of each at KO, 2oz of each dry hop. 6 months later that beer was still hoppy, and i hadnt refrigerated it.

 

[Beehemel]

Your Sorachi dry hop is set at 0.000 s while your Amarillo and Citra dry hps are set at 1.000 hr. The hop schedule might need to be adjusted if your going for a specific amount of IBUs.

I use Brewtarget, the IBU's are set to 0 for a dry hop addition, so it doesn't make a difference if it's 0.000s or 100 years.

 

[Beehemel]

You can always add a teaspon of gypsum to the boil (not mash) to accentuate the hops and bring out a bit more of the dryness. I, too, shy away from overly sweet IPAs -- or even IPAs where there's a bit of sweetness that clashes with the hops -- but I've found that gypsum in the BK helps out with this. My water is on the hard side anyway -- so I probably don't need the gypsum -- but I now add it no matter what when I'm making IPAs (or beers where I don't want everybody who tastes them to say, "Wow, this is smooth.") With IPAs, I find that smoothness is not always what I'm looking for.

Thanks for the tip, I'll look for some gypsum when I go out to buy the yeast later this week. I'll be brewing this weekend, so I'll let you guys know how it comes out!

 

[jds]

Thanks for the tip, I'll look for some gypsum when I go out to buy the yeast later this week. I'll be brewing this weekend, so I'll let you guys know how it comes out!

I'd be a little careful with this, unless you know what the sulfate to chloride ratio is in your brew water. Too much sulfate can be as much of a problem as not enough. It all depends on the relative amounts of sulfate and chloride. It's a good tip, but you have to know where you're starting from first.

 

[Beehemel]

I'd be a little careful with this, unless you know what the sulfate to chloride ratio is in your brew water. Too much sulfate can be as much of a problem as not enough. It all depends on the relative amounts of sulfate and chloride. It's a good tip, but you have to know where you're starting from first.

I haven't been able to scare up a water report for my area, so I'll leave it out until I know for sure. I've looked all over online, but is the best way to call my utility company for a report? I'd rather not send in the samples and pay to have them analyzed if I don't have to.

 

[jds]

A quick search led me to a phone number for the Columbus Water Quality Assurance Lab as (614) 645-7691. I bet if you called the lab to speak to a chemist, and explained that you're a home brewer, you'd have a fighting chance of getting all the info you'd need.

Of course, if your utility isn't the city of Columbus, then this information is worthless to you.

 

[Beehemel]

A quick search led me to a phone number for the Columbus Water Quality Assurance Lab as (614) 645-7691. I bet if you called the lab to speak to a chemist, and explained that you're a home brewer, you'd have a fighting chance of getting all the info you'd need.

Of course, if your utility isn't the city of Columbus, then this information is worthless to you.

Thanks for that, I was able to call them and get all the info I needed. Looks like I'm spending the next couple days studying up on water profiles!

 

[rakader]

Of course, if your utility isn't the city of Columbus, then this information is worthless to you.

This isn't true. Each water profile is useful setting up original water. Make a search for Burton-upon-Trent water profile, Pilsen etc.

 

[monkeymath]

This isn't true. Each water profile is useful setting up original water. Make a search for Burton-upon-Trent water profile, Pilsen etc.

First, I think you misread the statement you quoted. Second, this thread has been dead for over ten years.