Would like to get some input on an IPA

[Sorrow]

Hey guys, long story short, I've been doing a rotating series of IPAs centering around the Eureka Hops. The last iteration of the recipe is close to what my wife and I are looking for. It's a pretty basic IPA, but this time around we have a pretty strong overtone of orange peel. I'm leaning toward maybe the yeast giving us that flavor, but looking for idea how to off set that and pull this IPA a little more piney. When we first started it, the Eureka hops came across very light and citrusy, and while it was good, we wanted a little pine to balance it out. Recipe below. Any suggestions appreciated.

10# 2 Row
1# Vienna Malt
1# Munich Malt

1oz Warrior @ 60
1oz Eureka @20
1oz Chinook @20
1oz Eureka @10
1oz Chinook @10

1oz Eurkea dry hop - Twice for a total of 2.

Standard mash, 152-153 for 60min.

Omega Hornindal Kveik yeast, fermented at 95.

 

[couchsending]

The orange is from the yeast.

You’re not getting much aroma cause you’re not using enough hops.

Move the 20 minute addition to 10. Move the 10 minute addition to 0.

If you want more bitterness than that simply up the 60 minute addition.

Increase the dry hop addition x 3.

Is there a reason you’re using that yeast? Do you not have temp control.

If you want a pure expression of the hop itself you need to use a clean American ale strain. 1056/Pac-Man/wlp090.

You should get tons of pine from Eureka. It’s a very potent hop with tons of oil. You’re simply not getting enough of those oils in the beer.

 

[IslandLizard]

That ^

And whirlpool/hopstand at reduced temps between 180 and 150F for 10-30 minutes, depending on temp.

 

[Sorrow]

The orange is from the yeast.

You’re not getting much aroma cause you’re not using enough hops.

Move the 20 minute addition to 10. Move the 10 minute addition to 0.

If you want more bitterness than that simply up the 60 minute addition.

Increase the dry hop addition x 3.

Is there a reason you’re using that yeast? Do you not have temp control.

If you want a pure expression of the hop itself you need to use a clean American ale strain. 1056/Pac-Man/wlp090.

You should get tons of pine from Eureka. It’s a very potent hop with tons of oil. You’re simply not getting enough of those oils in the beer.

Thanks I'll give your suggestions a try. We added the chinook to help with the pine flavor, just didn't seem like we were getting much pine from the Eureka, but more citrus. I also went with that yeast this time around to test it out. The description I had read for it said it would accentuate the hops, so we gave it a shot. I'll roll that back to WLP001 which is what we had started with. This is the 6th version of the beer, and it's not bad on the bitterness level, just not exactly what we were hoping the changes would produce. And the orange peel aftertaste is just a tad on the heavy side.

I'll give your hop schedule suggestions a try. And swap the yeast around again. Thanks for the input.

 

[Sorrow]

That ^

And whirlpool/hopstand at reduced temps between 180 and 150F for 10-30 minutes, depending on temp.

I will work that into the next recipe too. Thanks.

 

[IslandLizard]

I will work that into the next recipe too. Thanks.

• In that case, move your "20 minute" hops to 5' or 0'.
• Chill to say 170F and hold.
• Add your "10 minute" hops, and whirlpool or hopstand for 10-20' (gently stir every 3-5 minutes).
• Then chill down to pitching temps.

It's amazing how much flavor those hopstands pack into that beer. They'll give a little bittering too, all the way down to 140-150F, but maybe only 20-30% at 170F compared to a similar time in the boil.

 

[Sorrow]

• In that case, move your "20 minute" hops to 5' or 0'.
• Chill to say 170F and hold.
• Add your "10 minute" hops, and whirlpool or hopstand for 10-20' (gently stir every 3-5 minutes).
• Then chill down to pitching temps.

It's amazing how much flavor those hopstands pack into that beer. They'll give a little bittering too, all the way down to 140-150F, but maybe only 20-30% at 170F compared to a similar time in the boil.

Thanks I'll give that a try. I like the level of bitterness in this version of the beer, just hoping to scale back the orange peel flavor some, or mellow it out more. Which changing the yeast may get rid of that all together too.

Thanks again for the replies.

 

[Duffman870727]

I'm going to talk a little about the theory of hop use in beer. There are 3 main functions of hops: i) to add bitterness, ii) to add flavour, iii) to add aroma. The longer hops are boiled, the more alpha acids are isomerized and contribute to bitterness. Also, boiling drives off the volatile compounds that give you flavour and aroma, which is not what you want to occur in an IPA.

When thinking about your recipe design, use this knowledge to get the most out of your ingredients. You have a bitterness target, yet you also want to retain as much flavour/aroma as possible. Do you use a brewing program such as Beersmith? This will help you adjust your recipe. The program will give you the theoretical IBU's for the recipe based on your ingredients and additions as you have written in, remember this number.

For IPA's, I only do a 60 min bittering addition, then everything else goes into the whirlpool. You will still get some isomerization in whirlpool, but not much and you retain maximum flavour/aroma from the hops. The program will give you the adjusted IBU's for moving everything into the whirlpool, now just increase your 60 min addition to get the IBU back up to your original target.

I see you're using 4oz total of Eureka and Chinook in the boil, but only doing a 2oz dry-hop. I'd save a 1/2oz each of Eureka and Chinook and move those to the dry hop so you have 3oz in the boil and a 3oz dry-hop charge.

I haven't used the kviek yeast, so I can't comment on it's particular character, but I disagree with using a clean ale yeast. An expressive, fruity strain pairs very nicely with an IPA and enhances hop character. You might try something like Vermont, London III, or anything else that sounds appealing. I once did a lager and Belgian strain 50/50 co-pitch fermented at 18C and it turned out very good!