Friday, June 21, 2013

Summer IPA


Summer is officially here! And what better way to celebrate than to brew my first ever IPA...amazingly, as I looked back over my brew log I realized I've just never gotten around to brewing one. I had all these hops in my freezer and now seemed like the perfect time - especially since the relatively cool weather so far has kept my cellar in the low 60's, my preferred ambient temperature for fermenting ales.

Of course, I had to throw my own spin on this brew, using a British and German base malts and a British yeast strain. Although I want to showcase fruity/citrusy hops, I also thought a nice malt complexity would be good and I was thinking that the esters from the yeast will add to the overall fruitiness of the beer. Basically, I was trying to create layers of flavor, while still having a quaffable summer beer. I only added a touch of a light-colored crystal malt to keep the color pale and the overall sweetness low. I ended up mashing between 151-152°F. Hopefully my grist and mash schedule it doesn't produce something too "chewy" and/or muddled . My plan is to give it about ten days before I dry hop for another four (right in the primary fermenter), so that I can bottle it after two weeks. I'd like to be able to drink this beer while it the hops are fresh.

Firefly IPA
brewed on 6/20/13

Recipe Specifications
Batch Size: 3.75 gal
Estimated Color: 6.0 SRM
Estimated IBU: 70.1 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 72.00 %
OG: 1.060
FG: 1.013
ABV: 6.2%

Grist
6 lbs 8.0 oz Pale Malt, Maris Otter - 77.6 %
1 lbs Pilsner Malt - 11.9 %
8.0 oz Munich I - 6.0 %
4.0 oz Carahell - 3.0 %
2.0 oz Acidulated Malt - 1.5 % (for mash pH)

Hops
10 g Magnum [13.10 %] - 60.0 min
14 g Cascade [6.10 %] - 15.0 min
14 g Citra [12.30 %] - 15.0 min
14 g Amarillo [9.30 %] - 5.0 min
14 g Cascade [6.10 %] - 5.0 min
14 g Amarillo [9.30 %] - flameout
14 g Citra [12.30 %] - flameout
14 g Motueka [7.10 %] - flameout
28 g Amarillo [9.30 %] - dry hop (4 days)
14 g Motueka [7.10 %] - dry hop(4 days)

Yeast
Burton Ale (White Labs #WLP023)

Mash Schedule
Single Infusion, 152°F, batch sparge

4 comments:

Unknown said...

This sounds like a great recipe. I have never gotten around to brewing an IPA either. The idea keeps popping up in my mind.

Jim Lemire said...

Just bottled this batch and it smelled and tasted great going into the bottles. Can't wait to try this once it's all carbed and chilled!

HolzBrew said...

Looks like a great recipe. I really like the english ale yeast, I'm pretty sure the boys at Stone still use english strains in their IPAs. I'm envious of your amarillos, I was looking for some lately and couldn't find any at my usual sources. Also, I've never used Motueka Hops before. You'll have to let me know how you like them.

Jim Lemire said...

One of the reasons I used an English yeast was because I had heard of commercial breweries using them for their American IPAs...as for the hops...I was fortunate enough to come across some Amarillo at my LHBS - first time in a while that I have found them there. I used some Motueka in a farmhouse-style 100% Brett beer last summer and absolutely loved the tropical fruit/melon aromas and flavors. I'm getting pretty excited for this beer!

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