Specific IPA recommendations?

[beauvafr]

I am going to start an IPA this weekend and I would like to know if there is specific recommandations that would apply to this kind of beer.

I am going to brew with an extract (Festa Brew West Coast IPA) and I would like to get your input specifically on fermenting (2 stages /1 stage, temperature, crashdown or not?, etc.).

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[ChrisJPassarelli]

You'll probably get a lot of variety in answers for this!

I just looked up the kit and it looks like the OG is 1.058 or so. Because of this, you'll have an easy time. Most of us here would recommend just leaving it in primary (1 stage) for several weeks until the gravity readings are constant 2-3 days apart. As for temperature, look that up for the yeast. I'm gonna guess it's a US-05 or something, and that and its brethren tend to like 65-68F. Feel free to crash to clear it out.


Check also if it involves dry-hopping. If it does then those are used after primary fermentation is complete so the active yeast doesn't absorb and steal any of that hoppy goodness. In the past I've transferred to secondary for dry-hopping, but I'm not sure if that's necessary -- any advice from the vets on that?

EDIT: Just saw the yeast listed on the kit page. Indeed, uses US-56 which fits that temp profile as far as I know. Look up the specific yeast to verify anyway. Good practice!

 

[Caveman3141]

I don't think there's really any special rules for IPAs you need to watch out for. Ferment around 65F, keep in primary for 2 weeks then go to bottles imo.

Most of the "tricks" with IPAs have to do with hops (first wort hopping, dry hopping, etc). Dry hopping adds additional aromatic complexity to your brew and first wort hopping tends to smooth out the bitterness a bit (what I've read, never tried it myself).

 

[djfriesen]

Secondary isn't necessary. I dry hop in primary exclusively and find it works well. Thus, I don't see the need for extra oxygen exposure. IPA-specific advice, in my opinion, would be to control fermentation temps as much as possible, leave it in the primary for 3-4 weeks, dry-hop for 7-10 days, and then bottle. A good reign on fermentation temperature will minimize off-flavors. A longer primary tends to help the yeast clean up after itself a little better. Your main goal here is to make the beer as close to ready as possible before dry hopping. The hop flavor and aroma from dry hopping tend to fade rather quickly, so you don't want to spend a bunch of time waiting for the beer to clean up and lose a bunch of hop presence in the interim.

 

[billl]

IPA specific advice: Take whatever the recipe says and then double all the late and dry hop additions.

Other than that, it is just a standard ale. Let it ferment out (as long as it takes). Then dry hop for a week or so. Due to all the hops, you need to take care racking to make sure you don't pick those up.

 

[beauvafr]

Thanks for your help guys!

The fermentation stage has began yesterday. I am gonna go for 2-3 weeks primary @low temp, about 65F. Yeast is Safale US-05, so this fit. I just hope 3 weeks gonna be enought. I hydrated my yeast because it was recommend (but not necessary).

If attenuation is good, I plan to do 2 weeks in carboy with dry hopping for the last 10 days.

One last question. My OG was only 1.053 (i was trying to hit 1.0560 – 1.0600 like stated on the product sheet). Suppose I have 70% attenuation, I will only have 4.9% ABV, which is on the low side.

What can I add in the primary to increase alcool without altering the taste too much ?

 

[Yooper]

Suppose I have 70% attenuation, I will only have 4.9% ABV, which is on the low side.

What can I add in the primary to increase alcool without altering the taste too much ?

You should probably get closer to 75% attenuation, but I'd let it go. Beer is all about balance. Adding more fermentables without adding more hops may not give you the best results. Next time, just use a recipe that has enough fermentables in it to give you the desired alcohol %. If this beer finishes at 1.010-1.012, you'll have about 5.6% ABV, plus about another .25% that comes from bottle conditioning. Good flavor and balance is more important than pumping that up, for a few % points.

I normally don't use a clearing vessel (secondary) and just add the dryhops to the fermenter. If you choose to, that's fine. But I wouldn't recommend dryhopping for longer than about 7 days. That's when the hops aroma is best, and the dryhops have the best flavor. My "sweet spot" is actually more like 5 days. I LOVE the dryhopped flavor that comes from a shorter time on the dryhops.

 

[billl]

If you want to keep it simple, just leave it in the primary until it is basically done. That shouldn't take more than 2 weeks, but take hydrometer readings to verify. Then, add dry hops and leave them about another week. You definitely don't need 2 weeks.