West Coast IPA feedback

[RyPA]

Considering trying this, seems nice and simple, just going to replace MO with 2-row or GP and quinoa with rolled oats.

https://scottjanish.com/west-coast-ipa-recipe-2/

 

[hout17]

That was the way that beer was made in 1992.

It was revisited about 4 years ago in a collaboration with Wynkoop Brewing

Recreation of Vail Pale Ale

A more modern version of the recipe is below:

Vail Pale Ale
6.8% / 15.6 °P
Recipe by
Wayne
All Grain
BrewZilla / RoboBrew 65L (copy)
70% efficiency
Batch Volume: 6.5 gal (Kettle)
Fermenter Volume: 5.71 gal
Boil Time: 90 min
Mash Water: 8.48 gal
Total Water: 8.48 gal
Boil Volume: 6.95 gal
Pre-Boil Gravity: 1.060 / 14.7 °P
Vitals
Original Gravity: 1.064 / 15.6 °P
Final Gravity: 1.012 / 3.1 °P
IBU (Tinseth): 50
BU/GU: 0.79
Color: 6.4 SRM
Mash
Strike Temp — 157.1 °F
Temperature — 149 °F — 75 min
Mash Out — 167 °F — 10 min
Malts (16 lb)
15 lb (93.8%) — rahr 2row — Grain — 2 SRM
1 lb (6.3%) — Castle Malting Chateau Abbey — Grain — 22.5 SRM
Hops (16.2 oz)
1.5 oz (22 IBU) — Centennial 10.2% — Boil — 90 min
2 oz (17 IBU) — Centennial 10.2% — Boil — 20 min
2 oz (7 IBU) — Cascade 6.3% — Boil — 10 min
1.5 oz (3 IBU) — Cascade 6.3% — Boil — 5 min
1.5 oz (1 IBU) — Cascade 6.3% — Aroma — 5 min hopstand
3.7 oz — Cascade 6.3% — Dry Hop — 4 days
4 oz — Centennial 10.2% — Dry Hop — 3 days

Hopstand at 176 °F
Miscs
4 g — Calcium Chloride (CaCl2) — Mash
2 g — Epsom Salt (MgSO4) — Mash
4.1 g — Gypsum (CaSO4) — Mash
3.5 ml — Lactic Acid 80% — Mash
2 ml — Fermcap-S — Boil — 60 min
1 items — Whirlfloc — Boil — 15 min
2 g — Yeast Nutrients (WLN1000) — Boil — 15 min
Yeast
2 pkg — Fermentis US-05 Safale American 81%
Fermentation
Primary — 68 °F — 14 days
Carbonation: 2.4 CO2-vol

Wow thanks Wayne looks amazing and the fact that it won gold at GABF says a LOT. Going to have to put this on my brew list.

 

[hout17]

Considering trying this, seems nice and simple, just going to replace MO with 2-row or GP and quinoa with rolled oats.

https://scottjanish.com/west-coast-ipa-recipe-2/

I love the hop combo in this one.

 

[bwible]

Centennial is awesome. I could do a WC IPA with that as the only hop. Most of the time its used with Cascade. Centennial is great for dry hop too.

 

[RyPA]

Hmm, maybe a centennial SMaSH?

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

Hmm, maybe a centennial SMaSH?

I find single hop beers are more flavorful than SMaSH: maybe 75% base malt, 20% pale ale malt (some added flavor), 5% Crystal 40L (some added flavor / color)?

 

[Wayne1]

Hmm, maybe a centennial SMaSH?

Not quite a SMASH, but a wonderful IPA:
Bells Two Hearted

 

[RyPA]

Not quite a SMASH, but a wonderful IPA:
Bells Two Hearted

I think that's the one, nice and simple. Two Hearted Ale is delicious. I had Hop Slam for the first time a few weeks ago

 

[BeerAndTele]

I'm probably in the minority here, but I feel that citra and mosaic are so overused nowadays. A little bit goes a long way, and to me they can have a cat pee vibe ... or a lemon pledge furniture polish vibe, especially when used too liberally. And these newer breweries that use it in every ale they brew ... ugh. My apologies to citra fans everywhere..

For a west coast IPA I'm using mostly 2-row, maybe a bit of Munich. I'll use crystal 40 or 60L, but not to exceed 5 or 6% of the grain bill.

I'm mashing in the 152-154 F range; don't want it to get too dry ... a malt backbone is needed for the hops to sit on.

I'm bittering with a neutral bittering hop like magnum or warrior. I try to keep the IBUs in the neighborhood of my OG (i.e. 60-65 IBUs for a beer with an OG of 1.065).

For flavor, I'm using Cascade and Centennial for the grapefruit, and Chinook for the pine. I'll use Amarillo if I want a tick of orange pith. Maybe a little Simcoe, but this gets overpowering quickly so I go light. For 5 gals, I'll use 2-3 oz total late in the boil and 2-3 oz total dry hop (the totals being a mix of the varieties above.)

I'll use WLP007 or WLP001 yeast. I've also used WLP002 and loved it, but it may not be as true-to-style as the others.

Water profile, I don't go nuts with the sulfates - I keep them in the 120-150 ppm range. Chloride < 100 ppm.

But that's just me. Cheers!

 

[RyPA]

My brew day got delayed a few weeks but this Saturday looks like the day.

I'm going to go with this recipe, as mentioned above
https://scottjanish.com/west-coast-ipa-recipe-2/
I do not have distilled on hand so I am going to go with tap + campden. Can I blindly add any salts to improve this, even marginally? or am I better off not adding anything

 

[CascadesBrewer]

I do not have distilled on hand so I am going to go with tap + campden. Can I blindly add any salts to improve this, even marginally? or am I better off not adding anything

It is a bit of a gamble. I suspect most places in New Jersey uses surface water that is fairly low in mineral content (Calcium, Sulfate and Chloride levels in the 20 to 60 range). There is a chance that adding 0.5 to 1 gram of Gypsum per gallon would help get your Calcium and Sulfate levels into better ranges for a West Coast IPA. Acid adjustments are a bit harder to predict without a water report. With my DC Suburbs tap water I often have to add around 30 ml of 10% Phosphoric Acid for a 5 gallon batch (that is a full volume mash BIAB process...I just switched over to 88% lactic for my last batch).

I would suggest you try to track down some info on your water.

 

[RyPA]

@CascadesBrewer I've tried, but only found about bad stuff/contaminants, nothing that matters to my beer. I normally do distilled but my food store was sold out, and plan to eventually get a RO setup. Maybe I'll just use the water as-is.

 

[hout17]

Also consider sending off a sample to Wards Lab and get a water report so you have an idea. They have a pretty quick turn around.

Without knowing I would just brew as is adding some Campden as you mentioned.

 

[RyPA]

I considered that but you'd need to redo it at an interval to keep it true/accurate. I think a RO kit for $200 would be better

 

[hout17]

Go with what you think will work best for your situation and good luck with your upcoming brew.

 

[CascadesBrewer]

@CascadesBrewer I've tried, but only found about bad stuff/contaminants, nothing that matters to my beer. I normally do distilled but my food store was sold out, and plan to eventually get a RO setup. Maybe I'll just use the water as-is.

I see some NJ profiles here (though there is quite a bit of variance between different profiles): https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/water-profiles

There is also this profile: Jersey City Brew Water Profile

 

[Beermeister32]

Most water districts can supply you with a water quality report for the water you are using.

 

[Broothru]

Consider using basic / "classic" ingredients that support non-tropical hop flavors / aromas.

• 90% "two row", 10% "light munich";
  • 25% Golden Promise is probably too much
  • Sugar (as @Beermeister32 mentioned) for higher ABV recipes
• Color is pale (otherwise, see Red IPA).
• 50 IBUs of a classic bittering hop (Magnum, Warrior, ...)
• Flavor/Aroma hops appropriate for either a "classic" or "modern" IPA
• Yeast strain appropriate for either a "classic" or "modern" IPA

Hops: for a more "classic" West Coast IPA (the anit-NEIPA?) consider the full list of classic "C" hops as well as Simcoe and Amarillo. There's more to classic "C" hops than Cascade and Centennial.

Yeast: something that doesn't contribute flavor and "lets the hops shine". Verdant's flavor wheel (link) shows 'red apple' and 'tropical'.

^^^All good; spot on suggestions.^^^

 

[user 299976]

HB Westi WCIPA with home grown wet hops. Brewed on 9-4-22 and just now reaching prime. Pretty damn good.

 

[wepeeler]

Hey guys,

After brewing back to back NEIPA's I decided to switch it up and try out a west coast IPA. What are your thoughts on this recipe? Any recommendations/suggestions?

Edit: Thank you all for your feedback. I created brewers friend recipe for review.

https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/view/1242900/west-coast-ipa
Ideally, I want to use what I have on hand, but I can order whatever is needed if I cannot make it work.

Grain

• 2-row - ~40 lbs
• Golden Promise - 10 lbs
• White wheat - 8 lbs
• Honey malt - 4 lbs

Hops

• Citra lupomax
• Citra T-90 (2 oz)
• Columbus lupomax
• Galaxy
• Mosaic lupomax
• El Dorado lupomax

Thanks

I made a killer WC-ish IPA that has since become a staple in my keezer with similar ingredients. You won't get a nice amber color or the WC malt flavor without some darker grain though. Personally, I'd steer clear of Crystal malt. I used it when I started the recipe, but have since moved away from it.

I've settled on 75% 2 Row, 15% Munich and 10% carapils/carafoam. US05. I did Citra/Mosaic for hops, and although it wasn't piney and weed-ish, it was definitely firmly bitter and dank. I just brewed up a version of this last week using all Simcoe, so I can't report on that just yet, but my all Simcoe NEIPA is not dank or weed-like at all. It's bursting with tropical citrus and maybe even a touch of vanilla.

 

[dmaxweb]

I think that's the one, nice and simple. Two Hearted Ale is delicious. I had Hop Slam for the first time a few weeks ago

Deuce of Hearts (Bells Two Hearted clone). I very happy the way it turned out