brewhouse ipa

[JeffPorter]

So I went to Randy's today to get a Pale Ale festabrew...none there, so I got a Brewhouse IPA...I didn't realize when I got home that the yeast was just a coopers ale yeast - oh, well - I'll do this one with the regular yeast and then switch it up for my next batch...

I only added just over 2 L of water to the wort, and had a pretty high OG of 1.078. I thought it would be somewhere in the 60s.

Two questions -

Is that too high for an IPA?

I also bought 4 oz of willamette for dry-hopping - is that too much? Should I just stick with 2 oz?

[phirleh]

So I went to Randy's today to get a Pale Ale festabrew...none there, so I got a Brewhouse IPA...I didn't realize when I got home that the yeast was just a coopers ale yeast - oh, well - I'll do this one with the regular yeast and then switch it up for my next batch...

I only added just over 2 L of water to the wort, and had a pretty high OG of 1.078. I thought it would be somewhere in the 60s.

Two questions -

Is that too high for an IPA?

I also bought 4 oz of willamette for dry-hopping - is that too much? Should I just stick with 2 oz?

BJCP says an IPA should be at the 1.070 at the most. I've never used Coopers, but I think it should be able to handle fermentation based on some google snooping. Willamette is not a strong aroma hop, so use more that 1 oz for dry hopping (AA% is between 4-6). 4 oz might be too much, I'd say go for 2 oz.

[Swampale]

1.078 is kind of high for a single sachet of Coopers. I would add two sachets and rehydrate it.

[JeffPorter]

1.078 is kind of high for a single sachet of Coopers. I would add two sachets and rehydrate it.

Well, I already pitched (hydrated and everything)...should I just let it do it's thing for now and pitch another yeast tomorrow? Or should I maybe just wait until this yeast does it's thing and check the gravity in a few days?

Man - brewing is all about worrying!

[J343MY]

a 4oz dry hop is definitely not too much for an ipa. Actually in my opinion a 4oz dry hop is the bare minimum for an ipa.

[Derek]

1.078 is kind of high for a single sachet of Coopers. I would add two sachets and rehydrate it.

Agreed. Was it just a 7 g sachet?

A fresh, 11.5 g sachet of US-05 might have been alright, but the flavour from the Coopers doesn't seem very "clean" at the best of times.

I now keep US-05 on-hand, just in case something craps out on me (though I haven't had any trouble, other than a bad Notty pack, which didn't hydrate nicely, so I never used it).

Note: Previously I had a bad white labs vial, as well as a wyeast alt that wasn't very clean. I use dry whenever I can, and that one Notty (which actually had a recall), was the only dry problem.

4 oz isn't too much dry-hopping for an IPA, but personally I wouldn't use that much Willamette.

[JeffPorter]

1.078 is kind of high for a single sachet of Coopers. I would add two sachets and rehydrate it.

Agreed. Was it just a 7 g sachet?

A fresh, 11.5 g sachet of US-05 might have been alright, but the flavour from the Coopers doesn't seem very "clean" at the best of times.

I now keep US-05 on-hand, just in case something craps out on me (though I haven't had any trouble, other than a bad Notty pack, which didn't hydrate nicely, so I never used it).

Note: Previously I had a bad white labs vial, as well as a wyeast alt that wasn't very clean. I use dry whenever I can, and that one Notty (which actually had a recall), was the only dry problem.

4 oz isn't too much dry-hopping for an IPA, but personally I wouldn't use that much Willamette.

it was a 15 g package of coopers...

[Derek]

RDWAHAHB...

For added assurance, Mr. Malty says you're okay:
http://www.mrmalty.com/calc/calc.html

Some people love the performance of the Coopers, but I'm not a fan of the flavour (though I don't really like a lot of British yeast).

[JeffPorter]

Derek (or anyone else)

Two part question - god, I'm such a noob!

1) I'm a little worried that I killed the yeast (I know I'm an idiot) - I rehydrated in boiled water that cooled to about 100 F...It looked like it rehydrated well...it rehydrated a lot faster than the bread yeast I use though (ugh...I though brewing would be so much like bread making!)

2) My house is just simply cold - it's tough to get it warm...old house, simply drafty.

My basement is 60 degrees...is that too low, do you think? In the summer time, it's too hot, for heaven's sake!

I got a towel wrapped around it as we speak and I'm thinking of making it a hot chocolate and maybe snuggling with it a little. Nothing serious though - "Just friends" snuggling...



Thank you for indulging AND tolerating my noobness...this is only my second batch and I clearly have a LONG way to go...

[Derek]

1. About 100F?

I know some people simply lay a hand on it, and if it's not warm (less than blood temp) they assume it's good to go. The outside dissipates heat though, and the inner volume can actually be warmer. Plus, I don't trust my hands.

I always use a thermometer. If you took a measurement, I'm sure it's fine. [Though I do typically bring it down to 80F for a little less stress].

2. I've put buckets & carboys all over the house to get the proper temp (never put them directly on hardwood floor, it can leave a mark). If your basement is that cool, I wouldn't move it there until the yeast get going.

Homebrewers often have a variety of different ideas & practices, but as they refine they're own process, they determine what works for them.

For ales, I typically pitch just under 70F (wort & ambient temp), then leave it there for up to 24 hrs (depending on pitching rate and amount of esters I'll tolerate). The slightly warmer temperature improves yeast propagation. The yeast are mostly using up oxygen and multiplying at this time; not producing much alcohol (or byproducts). Having a healthy yeast population to ferment the wort is EXTREMELY important.

Brewers make wort; yeast make beer.

Before it starts fermenting, it doesn't smell, so it shouldn't be a huge issue for SWMBO... but you should keep it safe from kids, pets & direct sunlight. Just don't put a carboy directly on hardwood, even if there's no leakage or spillage, it can sweat (thankfully I wrecked a rental & not my own!).

[JeffPorter]

Thanks Derek - I was worried that about proofing that hot would kill the yeast, but it's bubbling away this morning after having spent the night in the basement. It's in the bucket, off the concrete floor, so it seems to be doing ok for now...

Thanks again for the tips...

[JeffPorter]

Soooo...

Another Noob mistake - when I took an OG reading, there were lots of bubbles (about an inch) in the hydrometer glass...so I guess my OG of 1.078 was way off...

...any way to guess by how much...could the OG reading be around 1.065...

Here's the deal:

Brewhouse says that when you add the 8 litres of water you'll get an OG of about 1.052 - I only added two litres of water, so I'm hoping my OG was in and around the 1.060s.

Well, either way, the airlocks bubbling like crazy now and just keeps speeding up, so I guess once it stops I'll take a (bubble free!!!) reading...

It smells nice too...really floral...

[KwaiLo]

I'll bet that you end up with beer JP, and in the end that is what counts.

/I use paper towels to sop up the bubbles in the hydro vessel

[Derek]

15+8=23L; SG=1.052

15+2.5=17.5L

If you multiply by the ratio: 52* (23/17.5) = 68

So your OG should be around 1.068, which is decent for an IPA.

Also, IBU are roughly parts per million... so you'll be concentrating them as well:
50*(23/17.5)=65.7

[JeffPorter]

KwaiLo: that's ultimately what I was thinking too...

Derek: thanks for doing the math for me...

Last night the krausen blew out of the airlock...not too much...just a bit on top of the bucket...and that's when it was cool in the basement...

I cleaned out the airlock and wiped the top of the bucket down with a sanitized cloth...

I think I'm going to have to set myself up with a blowoff tube.

It's pretty exciting that it's fermenting this much!