New Brunswick Craft Brewers Association

Beer Recipes and Food => All Grain => 14 - India Pale Ale (IPA) => Topic started by: Kyle on February 24, 2011, 09:23:24 PM

Title: IIPA - Constructive criticism please
Post by: Kyle on February 24, 2011, 09:23:24 PM
I want to create a glorious IIPA from malted Pilsner, Vienna, Wheat, and Crystal 60. Hop-wise I'm going All Simcoe, except for the dry hop, which I'm open to suggestion. Planning on brewing on the weekend.

12.5 lbs. Bohemian Pilsner Malt
2 lbs. Vienna Malt
1 lbs. White Wheat Malt
.75 lbs. Crystal Malt 60°L
1 oz. Simcoe (Whole, 12.7 %AA) boiled 60 min.
1.5 oz. Simcoe (Whole, 12.7 %AA) boiled 15 min.
1 oz. Simcoe (Whole, 12.7 %AA) boiled 1 min.
Yeast : 2 packs of Fermentis US-05

Mash at 155F (4 gal water) for 60 min
Sparge at 170F for 30 min (3.75 gal water)

2 hour boil to get 7 gal US down to 5
Dry hop: 2 oz Cascade at end of fermentation, for 2 weeks.
Ferment at 16C ambient temp.

***********predicted****style guidlines***
Original Gravity**1.085*****1.075 - 1.090
Terminal Gravity*1.016*****1.012 - 1.020
Color**********12.73°****8.00 - 15.00° SRM
Bitterness******73.9 IBU**60.00 - 100.00 IBU
Abv%*********9.2%*****7.50 - 10.00%
***********************************
assumes efficiency of 75%

Any suggestions?
Title: Re: IIPA - Constructive criticism please
Post by: Shawn on February 24, 2011, 09:30:05 PM
SO many different recipes for DIPAs out there, so obviously there's lots of interpretations, but I think it looks tasty. If I had anything to suggest, maybe...

- Since you have a good amount of Crystal and Vienna in there, I'd suggest mashing lower (maybe 149-150 F), so that it doesn't come out TOO sweet; otherwise, it may lack the characteristic dryness of the style.

- Maybe another flavor addition of Simcoe in there, say at 5 or 10 minutes? The IBUs are right in range, but a bit more flavor couldn't hurt.

Interesting to use all Simcoe; definitely a good way to get a feel for the hop in terms of flavor and bitterness. I'll be curious to hear how it turns out.
Title: Re: IIPA - Constructive criticism please
Post by: Kyle on February 24, 2011, 09:34:28 PM
Thanks for the suggestions Shawn, I should mention my favourite commercial IIPAs are:

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/3818/28577 (http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/3818/28577)
(very sweet)

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/392/30288 (http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/392/30288)
(very Simcoe-y)
Title: Re: IIPA - Constructive criticism please
Post by: Shawn on February 24, 2011, 09:44:16 PM
I've only had the first one, but remember really liking it.

And that's definitely true, not all great IPAs are sweet. Lagunitas have a lot of hoppy APAs and IPAs, and they mash a lot of their beers anywhere from 157 to 160 F. I also brewed a Stone Levitation clone from the CYBI show, which is a really hoppy Amber, and it had something like 1 lb Crystal 80 and 1/2 lb Crystal 120, mashed at 154... delicious.

So, basically... I'm sure your recipe will be quite tasty, especially since it's tailored to your tastes.
Title: Re: IIPA - Constructive criticism please
Post by: Dave Savoie on February 24, 2011, 09:46:30 PM
Some cascade and amarilo wold be very tasty with the pine from simcoe
Title: Re: IIPA - Constructive criticism please
Post by: Kyle on February 25, 2011, 07:46:53 AM
I've gone on IPA "research" adventures in the US and tasted the IIPAs and IPAs from 40+ craft breweries. So, its quite nice to know what I like, and also to be able to make it at home. For a standard IPA, like the one I've got on tap now, dry and crisp with floral-citrus hops is my preference. But for an IIPA, the interplay of residual sweetness and citrus-pine hops is great for my tastebuds.

Yeah, maybe I'll throw in a little Cascade at 10 minutes, and a bit more simcoe too.
Title: Re: IIPA - Constructive criticism please
Post by: Kyle on February 28, 2011, 02:21:30 PM
Well, this is what I ended up brewing yesterday:

Mash the following at 155F for 60 min, then Sparge at 170F for 30min:
12# Bohemian Pils Malt
2# Vienna
1# Wheat Malt
12oz Crystal 60
Mash volume = 4g. Sparge volume = 4g

Boil = 2h30min
Brewing Caramel* @ 90min
1.25oz leaf Simcoe (12.7% a/a) @ 65min
1oz Simcoe @ 15min
0.5oz Simcoe @10min
0.5oz pellet Cascade (4.6% a/a) @ 10min
1oz Simcoe @ 2min

Brewed yesterday, O.G. = 1.083
Will dry-hop with 1oz pellet Columbus and 0.25oz leaf Simcoe, for 2 weeks, following fermentation
2 packs US-05 yeast
____________________________________________________

*To make brewing caramel:

Measure 2 cups water, 12oz table sugar, and 1kg Light DME

******edit, had originally said 1# LDME, in error***************
In saucepan, bring water to boil, turn off heat. Stir in table sugar and DME until saturation point is reached. Then turn burner to medium-low, stir constantly, and add rest of sugar/DME. While continually stirring, bring to boil and leave there for 15 minutes. Make sure you are scraping the bottom of the pan, in every area or it will burn. Add to boil pot while hot, or it will solidify. The caramelized sugar should be a deep ruby red colour.
Title: Re: IIPA - Constructive criticism please
Post by: Gil Breau on February 28, 2011, 02:30:44 PM
Not sure if it'd make a diff or not in flavor, but I keep cane sugar in the house for baking dessert sauces. I find table sugar tends to be very limited in it's flavor pallet in comparison.
Title: Re: IIPA - Constructive criticism please
Post by: Kyle on February 28, 2011, 02:37:51 PM
huh, I thought cane sugar = table sugar?

My "table sugar" is cane sugar..
Title: Re: IIPA - Constructive criticism please
Post by: Gil Breau on February 28, 2011, 02:52:13 PM
It is, but table sugar is refined.

They basically bleach the crap out of it along with some other mechanical process that take away "impurities" such as the molasses and make more or less pure sucrose. Given the flavors usually held in molasses, pure cane has a completely different flavor.

Cane sugar is usually the raw version of the same thing. Maybe its called raw more often than not, I can't recall. But it tends to have a much different flavor profile to it, and usually in a good manner when trying to make sweets.

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/raw-suga ... sugar.html (http://www.buzzle.com/articles/raw-sugar-vs-white-sugar.html)
Title: Re: IIPA - Constructive criticism please
Post by: Gil Breau on February 28, 2011, 02:55:52 PM
Either way, I've never seen anything on brewing caramel before:D. Seems like a tasty additive.
Title: Re: IIPA - Constructive criticism please
Post by: Kyle on March 16, 2011, 03:42:27 PM
I dry-hopped this today with 1oz Colombus (earthy notes) and 1oz Challenger (spicy notes). In about a week, I'll add Cascade, and then leave a week, keg.
Title: Re: IIPA - Constructive criticism please
Post by: Richard on March 17, 2011, 12:07:29 AM
I think by cane sugar he means demerara or "brown" sugar. Essentially half way between molasses and pure sucrose (table sugar).
Title: Re: IIPA - Constructive criticism please
Post by: Gil Breau on March 17, 2011, 09:19:53 AM
Brown sugar is different. I'm pretty sure you mean not the common brown given the quotations, but I don't want people confused. :)

I meant "raw" sugar. Usually you can find it in the health food section of the grocery store. Theres a variety nowadays, much like chocolate and coffee, that depends on the region as the various molasses flavors it produces.

Technically theres no difference in the sugar compound itself, sucrose is sucrose. It's just the accompanying flavors.
Title: Re: IIPA - Constructive criticism please
Post by: Shawn on March 17, 2011, 09:46:23 AM
Whenever I hear "cane sugar", I assume table sugar... a lot of recipes intend for that, I think.
Title: Re: IIPA - Constructive criticism please
Post by: Richard on March 17, 2011, 11:50:29 AM
What shawn said... the "refined" is usually assumed.

According to various sources online, there is no exact definition of "raw" sugar. It seems to be used for anything between the liquid that comes out of the sugar canes, and the lightest of not-yet-white processed sugars... i.e. anything not processed completely to bleached white.

I'm a big fan of demerara... (the stuff that sticks together in squishy clumps) lovely stuff. I will most definitely be using it in a recipe once I find one worthy :)
Title: Re: IIPA - Constructive criticism please
Post by: Shawn on March 17, 2011, 12:13:30 PM
Richard: Can you just buy the demerara sugar at a typical grocery store?

Also, sometimes you see recipes calling for turbinado sugar... I've never seen that around here. I've had people tell me you can just sub with brown sugar, and others say they're not the same at all.
Title: Re: IIPA - Constructive criticism please
Post by: Richard on March 17, 2011, 07:55:53 PM
Aye you could buy it back in the UK from a grocery store; I've not looked for it here yet.
Title: Re: IIPA - Constructive criticism please
Post by: Richard on March 17, 2011, 07:58:15 PM
A little searching reveals that what I'm describing is Muscovado sugar, or moist brown sugar. Regardless of what it's called: great stuff.
Title: Re: IIPA - Constructive criticism please
Post by: Kyle on April 01, 2011, 08:33:56 AM
Update: kegged yesterday.

Hops are, of course still rough around the edges, otherwise really good. I will let it age for another few weeks before putting tap.
Title: Re: IIPA - Constructive criticism please
Post by: Kyle on April 12, 2011, 09:03:15 PM
This is AMAZING... it would be my new house IIPA, if not for the 3dollars/oz for all those Simcoe hops.