Hop additions to an IPA

The 7.0.

 

I would use the highest alpha hops for bittering an IPA and save the rest for late in the boil or the dryhop. I typically bitter my IPAs with a small amount of 12-17 AA% hops to attain a decent amount of IBUs early on. In my opinion, 1 oz. of 7.5 AA% is not ideal bittering an IPA. You'd probably need 2 oz. at that % for bittering.

 

He said that these are the hops he received in addition to the bittering hops.

 

Oh well in that case, I don't think it really matters. The real issue would be using only 1 oz. for dryhopping an IPA. That's really quite minimalist.

 

To the OP: using 3 ounces of Cascade for you late hop additions (2 ounces at end of boil and 1 ounce for dry hopping) will get you a tasty IPA.

Cheers!

 

Tasty is a subjective term. In either case, it will not however give you something with a lot of aroma.

Cheers!

 

any reason why you selected the 7.0? just to average things out a bit?

 

Yup, cause it's the middle one. That's as good a reason as any as far as I can tell.

 

That is an incredibly definitive statement. IMO, 2 ounces at 2 minutes and 1oz to dryhop will absolutely give lots of aroma. Or are you one of those who think an IPA needs to be dryhopped with 3-6ozs in order to taste anything?

For HB42, why the 7% hop? Randomly pick one?

 

I picked the one in the middle, cause why not?

 

No, I just think 1 oz. for the dryhop is weak for a 5-6 gallon batch of IPA. Many people agree, just look up some recipes. 2 oz. for flameout is good, but it won't give you the same aroma focus as a properly sized dryhop addition would.

 

The only factor I can think of that might make a difference is the age of the hops (Would use the newest/freshest for dry-hopping). There probably aren't any dates on the packaging, though -- so whatever.

 

Is it possible that you drink so many IPA's that your burning out your senses? I am drinking on a keg of APA that I used 2 oz. the last 5 min. of the boil and I have alot of hop aroma. For IPA's I have never had the need to dry hop with more then 1-2 onces. I am not saying that you are doing anything wrong. I feel some people have better sniffers than others. I would be interested to taste one of your IPA's that are heavely dry hopped. Take care.

 

Fresh out at the moment, but I recently sent BuckeyeOne a West Coast IPA. Ask him. Before that, I sent Kyle2k10 one of my IPAs.

No, it's not possible. But thanks for your concern. We just have different personal preferences & brewing methods. A lot of old school homebrewers don't see the importance of a good-sized dryhop among other things. I tend to brew more edgy IPAs though, like Surly. After all, this is an inherently bitter and aromatic style of beer. So I want extreme, not balanced... Flavorful, not boring... Perfumey, not simple.

Take care.

 

It's not extreme, but it's not weak, either. It depends on what you're brewing. For an IPA or Pale I'd say it's pretty safe. For a DIPA it may be a little less aromatic than you want. I just did a half batch (2.5 gallons) as a test, and used 1 oz Simcoe, and it's almost too much ... which is basically never enough, for me... but for a normal person... if I were brewing a normal pale for sharing with friends, I would probably try to stick around 1oz dry hopped with pellets next time.

But who am I kidding... I brew my beer for ME.

 

For a pale or malty IPA, I'd say it's safe. I brew 2.5 to 3 gallon batches of IPA all the time and use 1.5 to 2.0 oz. for the dryhop with great success.

It also depends on the recipe as a whole AND the variety of hops you're using. Your palate may not like Simcoe for a dryhop all that much.

 

I respect your opinion on IPA's. I think the key word in your post is extreme. If you enter a compitition for IPA's your beer better be extreme to stand a chance at winning. You are right, I do prefer more balance in my IPA's. Take care.