House IPA Recipe (Partial Mash)

I don't typically brew partial-mash batches, but I just brewed a mini-mash version of my house recipe today to try to save a little time. You may need to adjust or scale for your system. I use 70% efficiency and 3.5 gallons batch size to help account for all the wort lost to hops & dry hops. I'm typically at 80% efficiency on my system.

Note that I use Brewer's Friend's "No Chill" function to estimate the IBU's for my hop stand. I'm estimating a 90-minute hop stand is roughly equivalent to a 30-minute boil addition for calculating IBU's (this is based on experience with my system). Of course, that means nothing since beers usually max out in the 100 IBU range (this one measured at 98 IBU in a lab test).

Note: the hop bill is identical to my all-grain version. The only real difference is the fermentables.

Title: MiniMash IPA

Brew Method: Partial Mash
Style Name: American IPA
Boil Time: 60 min
Batch Size: 3.5 gallons (fermentor volume)
Boil Size: 4 gallons
Boil Gravity: 1.052
Efficiency: 70% (brew house)
No Chill: 30 minute extended hop boil time

STATS:
Original Gravity: 1.059
Final Gravity: 1.013
ABV (standard): 6.08%
IBU (tinseth): 512.97
SRM (morey): 5.67

FERMENTABLES:
2 lb - United Kingdom - Maris Otter Pale (34.8%)
4 oz - Belgian - Aromatic (4.3%)
3 lb - Dry Malt Extract - Extra Light (52.2%)
0.5 lb - Cane Sugar (8.7%)

HOPS:
2 oz - Citra, Type: Pellet, AA: 14.8, Use: Boil for 0 min, IBU: 121.33
2 oz - Apollo, Type: Pellet, AA: 18, Use: Boil for 0 min, IBU: 147.56
2 oz - Meridian, Type: Pellet, AA: 6.7, Use: Boil for 0 min, IBU: 54.92
2 oz - Motueka, Type: Pellet, AA: 7.2, Use: Boil for 0 min, IBU: 59.02
2.5 oz - Nelson Sauvin, Type: Pellet, AA: 12.7, Use: Boil for 0 min, IBU: 130.14
1.5 oz - Citra, Type: Leaf/Whole, AA: 14.8, Use: Dry Hop for 7 days
2 oz - Meridian, Type: Pellet, AA: 6.7, Use: Dry Hop for 7 days
2 oz - Motueka, Type: Leaf/Whole, AA: 7.2, Use: Dry Hop for 7 days
1 oz - Nelson Sauvin, Type: Pellet, AA: 12.7, Use: Dry Hop for 7 days

MASH GUIDELINES:
1) Infusion, Temp: 153 F, Time: 60 min, Amount: 7 qt, Sacc Rest

YEAST:
Fermentis / Safale - American Ale Yeast US-05

NOTES:
90 minute hop stand

House IPA Recipe (All-grain)

Here's the all-grain version of my House IPA recipe. This is a 3-gallon BIAB recipe. You may need to adjust or scale for your system. I use 70% efficiency and 3.5 gallons batch size to help account for all the wort lost to hops & dry hops. I'm typically at 80% efficiency on my system.

Note that I use Brewer's Friend's "No Chill" function to estimate the IBU's for my hop stand. I'm estimating a 90-minute hop stand is roughly equivalent to a 30-minute boil addition for calculating IBU's (this is based on experience with my system). Of course, that means nothing since beers usually max out in the 100 IBU range (this one measured at 98 IBU in a lab test).

Also note that FG is not 1.019. I'm not sure where the 72% attenuation for US-05 comes from, but I'm usually down around 1.012-1.014 for this beer.

Title: House IPA

Brew Method: BIAB
Style Name: American IPA
Boil Time: 60 min
Batch Size: 3.5 gallons (fermentor volume)
Boil Size: 4 gallons
Boil Gravity: 1.058
Efficiency: 70% (brew house)
No Chill: 30 minute extended hop boil time

STATS:
Original Gravity: 1.066
Final Gravity: 1.019
ABV (standard): 6.27%
IBU (tinseth): 475.51
SRM (morey): 7.62

FERMENTABLES:
6.5 lb - American - Pale 2-Row (72.2%)
2 lb - German - Munich Light (22.2%)
8 oz - American - Victory (5.6%)

HOPS:
2 oz - Citra, Type: Leaf/Whole, AA: 14.8, Use: Boil for 0 min, IBU: 104.49
2 oz - Apollo, Type: Pellet, AA: 18, Use: Boil for 0 min, IBU: 139.79
2 oz - Meridian, Type: Pellet, AA: 6.7, Use: Boil for 0 min, IBU: 52.03
2 oz - Motueka, Type: Pellet, AA: 7.2, Use: Boil for 0 min, IBU: 55.92
2.5 oz - Nelson Sauvin, Type: Pellet, AA: 12.7, Use: Boil for 0 min, IBU: 123.29
1.5 oz - Citra, Type: Leaf/Whole, AA: 14.8, Use: Dry Hop for 7 days
2 oz - Meridian, Type: Pellet, AA: 6.7, Use: Dry Hop for 7 days
2 oz - Motueka, Type: Leaf/Whole, AA: 7.2, Use: Dry Hop for 7 days
1 oz - Nelson Sauvin, Type: Pellet, AA: 12.7, Use: Dry Hop for 7 days

MASH GUIDELINES:
1) Infusion, Temp: 153 F, Time: 60 min, Amount: 18 qt, Sacc Rest

YEAST:
Fermentis / Safale - American Ale Yeast US-05

NOTES:
90 minute hop stand

House IPA

It's been a while since I brewed my house IPA recipe, so I'm giving it a go today. Since this blog is called "The Hop Whisperer", it's about time I posted an IPA recipe.

Before I get to the recipe, let me delve a bit into the philosophy behind it. In the end, I'm really more about ideas than specifics when it comes to recipes. Set your goals first, then you can hash out the specifics on how to get there.

I've been pushing the limits with my IPA's since I started homebrewing. I've constantly been looking to max out the hop flavor and aroma. I think I finally hit it. The end result is more like drinking hop juice than a typical IPA. It is pretty much the definition of a fruit bomb IPA, yet it isn't enamel-strippingly bitter (despite the 98 IBUs that this was lab-measured to be).

My grain bill philosophy is simple: don't leave behind any sweetness, but leave a little malt richness to balance the hops. I avoid Crystal malt altogether. I'm not saying that you can't brew a good IPA using judicious amounts of Crystal malt, but that's not my approach. I stick to base malt paired with specialty grains like Munich, Victory, Aromatic, etc.

So, now for the hops. My big secret is simply to add all my boil hops at flameout and do a long hop stand. I also use a very large amount of hops - about 3 oz/gallon in the boil and about 1.5 oz/gal in dry hops. The hop stand addition in particular is where the massive hop flavor comes from. I've tried a lot of other hopping schedules, but it's the hop stand (which approximates a pro brewer's whirlpool) that really pushes the flavor envelope.

As far as hop selection, I'm really shooting for a fruit-bomb in this beer. While there are certainly some hop varieties that would work well as single hops in this type of IPA, I find that to be a bit monotone for my tastes. I'm looking for something like sangria, rather than a mango smoothie (I'm looking at you, Citra). In choosing hops, I want each one to bring something specific and different, but they all need to fit the whole picture. Here's a peek inside my thought process for each hop in the blend:

Nelson Sauvin: White grapefruit citrus in the C-hop ballpark, but also has a white wine character that really goes nicely with the sangria theme. Can overpower other hops, so I'm using a bit less in the dry hops

Motueka: Lime zest and lemongrass. Motueka gets overpowered by oilier hops, so this is really just an accent note despite being used in relatively large amounts.

Apollo: Navel oranges. Apollo also brings some Columbus-like dankness, so I'm just using it in the boil. 

Citra: Mango, mango, mango. So monotonous on its own, but so awesome when paired with citrusy hops. Super potent in the dry hops, so I use a bit less.

Meridian: This is my ace. Meridian has a fantastic sweet stonefruit (apricot/pluot/nectarine) flavor and aroma. It really shines here when paired with citrus hops and the mango from Citra.

Here are links to the posts containing the recipes:

All grain (3-gallon BIAB)
Partial Mash