Wedding IIPA advice

[Tbagger]

I am brewing all the beer for my wedding in August and need some advice on the IIPA I'm going to brew. I do not like IPA's at all and don't brew them but everyone is asking that one of the beers I brew be an IIPA.

Needles to say, since I can't stand IPA's I do not know if one tastes good or not. So I am trying to come up with a recipe and wanted to ask the hop heads what they thought. I was planning on doing a dogfishhead style 90min ipa and this is what I came up with. Any changes or advise is welcome. Will probably make a test batch to give away for feedback before the wedding but figured I'd ask the IPA experts before I waste money on something I wont enjoy drinking.

10gal (will scale when I decide how much I want to make)

Yeast: Imperial A24 Dry Hop

Grains:
40lbs 2-row
1lb Crystal 60
2lbs Dextrose
Mash at 152F

Boil Hops:
3oz Amarillo
3oz Simcoe
3oz Galaxy
Mixed together and 0.5oz added every 5 min of a 90min boil

Dry Hop:
3oz El Dorado
2oz Amarillo
2oz Simcoe
Added at tail end of fermentation and kegging 7days after adding.

 

[Velnerj]

Hops look good but don't mix together and add every 5 min. That's just not a good idea.

Start with a bittering charge at 60 min. This should account for 50-75% of your IBUs. Use the hop variety with the highest alpha acid content (probably galaxy in your case).

In total, you'll want about a 1:1 ratio for gravity to ibus. Say your wort is 1.075 you'll want at least 75 IBUs at the end. So in this case your bittering charge should reach for between 40-50 ibus. Use some software to calculate expected ibus.

Then use the rest of the boil hops near or at the end of the boil/flameout. This will add a lot of hop flavor and tone down the bitterness (though will contribute some).

Before chilling let stand and cool naturally for 20-30 min.

Dry hop schedule looks fine, though I'm sure some hop heads will say to do more... I don't think you'll need more than that though.

 

[Dgallo]

I am brewing all the beer for my wedding in August and need some advice on the IIPA I'm going to brew. I do not like IPA's at all and don't brew them but everyone is asking that one of the beers I brew be an IIPA.

Needles to say, since I can't stand IPA's I do not know if one tastes good or not. So I am trying to come up with a recipe and wanted to ask the hop heads what they thought. I was planning on doing a dogfishhead style 90min ipa and this is what I came up with. Any changes or advise is welcome. Will probably make a test batch to give away for feedback before the wedding but figured I'd ask the IPA experts before I waste money on something I wont enjoy drinking.

10gal (will scale when I decide how much I want to make)

Yeast: Imperial A24 Dry Hop

Grains:
40lbs 2-row
1lb Crystal 60
2lbs Dextrose
Mash at 152F

Boil Hops:
3oz Amarillo
3oz Simcoe
3oz Galaxy
Mixed together and 0.5oz added every 5 min of a 90min boil

Dry Hop:
3oz El Dorado
2oz Amarillo
2oz Simcoe
Added at tail end of fermentation and kegging 7days after adding.

That’s going to be a huge beer man, especially adding dextrose, if it attenuates well you’ll get an 11-12% beer. May not be what you want at a wedding, people will get smacked by 2 of them. But that’s completely your call there.

Hops
Yeah got some great hops there, I wouldn’t waste them to be your main bittering charges and would stay away from the Dogfish 90 minute idea of constantly adding hops during the boil. I’ve found it really doesn’t add any additional complexity to your overall beer than if you did an upfront bittering and late addition, hopstand and dryhop. I would get 2 ounces of magnum for bittering

Hop schedule
-2 oz magnum @90
-1 oz simcoe @20
-1 oz Amarillo @ 5
-1 oz Simcoe @ 5
Whirlpool
3 oz Galaxy @ 150* for 60mins
2 oz Amarillo @ 150* for 60mins
1 oz Simcoe @ 150* for 60mins

Dryhop
I’d remove the simcoe and replace it with more Galaxy but again that just a preference thing. If you have anyway to eliminate the chance for oxidation you can I would suggest putting it in 3 days before kegging. If not then rock what you’ve planned

 

[kh54s10]

I think I read somewhere about the way the 90 minute IPA is made and that is how they do it. Mixed additions throughout the boil.

Though that may just be how someone tried to clone it....

 

[Granite03]

I recommend you buy an all grain kit that has good ratings and minimize the risk for a big event like a wedding.

 

[Tbagger]

I recommend you buy an all grain kit that has good ratings and minimize the risk for a big event like a wedding.

While that would be the safe way to go, I want to give my guests something I came up with. This is one of 5 beers I will have on tap and the only recipe I haven't perfected since I don't brew IPA's. So if it ends up being garbage (which is highly unlikely) there will still be plenty of other beer for the guests.

 

[Tbagger]

That’s going to be a huge beer man, especially adding dextrose, if it attenuates well you’ll get an 11-12% beer. May not be what you want at a wedding, people will get smacked by 2 of them. But that’s completely your call there.

Well it's an overnight camping trip wedding so I'm planning on an all the reception being an all night party in the woods lol.

Thanks for the advice on the hops though. I was just thinking the 90min idea was kind of cool and everyone seems to love DFH. But I guess it might not be worth the hassle if it is not perceivable in the end product.

 

[Dgallo]

Well it's an overnight camping trip wedding so I'm planning on an all the reception being an all night party in the woods lol.

Thanks for the advice on the hops though. I was just thinking the 90min idea was kind of cool and everyone seems to love DFH. But I guess it might not be worth the hassle if it is not perceivable in the end product.

It’s all good man. I just thought of it like this. Most people having a good time drink 2 beers an hour. So based on abv, your 2-12% beers in one hour would equate to 7-8 bud lights. Just food for thought.

You could hop that way if you want. Just be careful with the bittness.

 

[IslandLizard]

+1 to everything @Dgallo said! ^

Just be aware, you need to prevent any and all air (O2) contact after the initial oxygenation when pitching yeast and since it's a high gravity ale, possibly a second O2 shot 12-18 hours later.

So review your methods for dry hopping, racking/kegging, etc. Use no secondaries. Closed transfers (or near closed, at minimum) to 100% liquid pre-purged kegs is recommended, and IMO, the only way.

Dry hopping and cold crashing can introduce air/O2 into your fermenters, so find ways to prevent that.

On a side note, do you have electricity available at your party to power your keezer, music and such? If you're running a generator, consider the noise and fume levels it creates, could be a real nuisance, and ruin any good party.