tweaking an IPA recipe

[Peter Collins]

I'm brewing with a friend of mine tomorrow and came up with the following recipe. I've called it Brent's IPA in honour of him and for lack of any better name. Here's what I've got:

8lbs Pale LME
1/4 lb Crystal 40
1/4 lb Crystal 80
1.5 oz Cascade 60 minutes
0.5 oz Cascade 30 minutes
0.5 oz Fuggles 30 minutes
0.5 oz Cascade 5 minutes
0.5 oz Cascade dry hop
S-05 yeast

OG 1.061
IBU 47.6

Seems straight up to me but maybe I'm missing something?

[matt7215]

I'm brewing with a friend of mine tomorrow and came up with the following recipe. I've called it Brent's IPA in honour of him and for lack of any better name. Here's what I've got:

8lbs Pale LME
1/4 lb Crystal 40
1/4 lb Crystal 80
1.5 oz Cascade 60 minutes
0.5 oz Cascade 30 minutes
0.5 oz Fuggles 30 minutes
0.5 oz Cascade 5 minutes
0.5 oz Cascade dry hop
S-05 yeast

OG 1.061
IBU 47.6

Seems straight up to me but maybe I'm missing something?

IMO a 30 min hop addition is a waste of hops, all hop additions after the bittering addition should be within the last 15 min. also why the random fuggle additon, keep it all american. id change your hopping to this.

1.5 oz Cascade 60 minutes
1 oz Cascade 5 minutes
2 oz Cascade dry hop

id also cut out the crystal malt because the LME probably already has some in it. if you are going to keep the crystal you'll have to add some base malt to help with converting your crystal in the minimash.

all that being said if you leave everything as is you will still end up with a good beer.

[markaberrant]

Yeah, the crystal is probably unneccessary for an IPA with the LME.

Same with the hop additions. For my IPAs, I do 60, 15, flameout and dry.

[Peter Collins]

Good advice.

Considering what I have on hand hop-wise, I may back this off a bit to more of an APA and do all Cascade. I only have 3oz of Cascade, 1oz Fuggles, 1oz Willamette and a whole bunch of NZ Hallertau so not a whole lot to work with.

Cutting back on the LME to 6.5-7lbs, keeping the Crystal and changing the hop schedule to:

all Cascade
1.5 oz 60
0.5 oz 15
0.5 oz flameout
0.5 dry

Thoughts on this one?

[markaberrant]

There is nothing wrong really with any of your recipes, I think some of us on here just like things a little hoppier. You could use the NZ Hallertau to bitter and load up on Cascade at the end.

I'm brewing a pale ale tomorrow with the following hop schedule:

.75oz Galena @ 60
1oz Cascade @ 15
1oz Cascade @ flameout
1oz Cascade @ dry hop

I'm shooting for 1.048 OG and about 40 IBU.

[Peter Collins]

@markaberrant: Thanks for the support.

I'm sort of trying to go right down the middle of a style that is desirable for both myself and my friend. He is new to brewing but has liked stuff I have brewed in the past. I would like for him to enjoy stuff that he has brewed as well.

In addition to this, I don't have a huge stash of hops and malts as I usually buy per recipe. Last time I bought ingredients I did buy a few extra hops because I wasn't totally sure what I was going to brew. The suggestions from another forum to double all my cascade amounts is just not an option--I have 3oz, that's it. I have what I posted in the previous post.

I don't know, I think I'm waffling here. Maybe bittering with the Hallertau and adding all the Cascade in the later additions and keeping the malt amount up there. Big beer, big hops.

Backing off is fine, too. Less malt, good amount of hops. Straight up pale ale.

I'll let you know what happens... Cheers!

[Derek]

Yes, everyone's got an opinion. I swear I can still taste the difference of a 20-30 minute addition. Stuff with only finishing hops has a great aroma, but there's a leafy hop flavour that seems to lack the same depth of a good flavour addition.

[Bonesey]

if you are going to keep the crystal you'll have to add some base malt to help with converting your crystal in the minimash.

all that being said if you leave everything as is you will still end up with a good beer.

Since when does crystal malt need to be mashed? Am I missing something?

[matt7215]

if you are going to keep the crystal you'll have to add some base malt to help with converting your crystal in the minimash.

all that being said if you leave everything as is you will still end up with a good beer.

Since when does crystal malt need to be mashed? Am I missing something?

from homebrew wiki

"Brewing with crystal and caramel malt
Because the stewing process essentially mashes the grain, crystal and caramel malts are some of the few steeping grains that can be used in extract brewing without needing to be mashed, although some of the palest crystal malts may not be sufficiently converted and may leave haze in the finished beer. All-grain brewers may also simply add crystal malts to the mash as they would any other specialty malt. "

I should have said, "you should add some base malt" not "you'll have to add some base malt to help with converting your crystal in the minimash"

my bad

[Derek]

A lot of people do it, but I do wonder how many are transfering starch into their finished brew? (Though with the hops in an IPA, stability may not be an issue).

The malt is 'stewed' before it is ground, so you have to wonder how the diastatic enzymes reach ALL of the starch within the kernal... no?

[Peter Collins]

Good advice.

Considering what I have on hand hop-wise, I may back this off a bit to more of an APA and do all Cascade. I only have 3oz of Cascade, 1oz Fuggles, 1oz Willamette and a whole bunch of NZ Hallertau so not a whole lot to work with.

Cutting back on the LME to 6.5-7lbs, keeping the Crystal and changing the hop schedule to:

all Cascade
1.5 oz 60
0.5 oz 15
0.5 oz flameout
0.5 dry

Thoughts on this one?

So I stopped my waffling and decided on this recipe finally. It's in high krausen as we speak and doing very well despite the warm weather. I've got the old wet t-shirt on it with a fan to keep the temps in the high 60s instead of the high 70s. *crosses fingers*

WRT mashing base malt in with the crystal, I've never heard of that and consequently never done it. Yes, my final product is a bit hazy but I'm also not filtering or fining at any stage. I've never worried about it and the beer ends up fine for me.