IIPA Recipe Critique

I like what you got going on here. I wouldn't change anything, like that you have a 30 minute addition

 

Have you used that yeast before? There have been some complaints about it's cell count as compared to other dry yeast. There is a thought that the packets contain 50B cells vs 200B in the Safale packets. I would at least make sure that you are pitching as recommended.

 

You may be unhappy with an FG of 1.016. Suggest eliminating some grain and replacing with sugar (5-10% range) to get an FG closer to 1.010 . . . you really want the hops to trump the malt.

This wort will really need some oxygen. I would beg, borrow, or steal an O2 tank for brew day. Do you have the ability to
to treat your water? Almost all IPAs will benefit from boosting calcium. Check out Vikeman's Brewcipher for an excellent IIPA water profile. I find this does a lot to make the hops shine.

Regarding the yeast: I have no experience with Mangrove Jack. But consider using good ole US-05 (tried and true) . . . pretty sure it will produce the results you are after.

 

1.016 is quite appropriate for a hop forward beer. The residual sugar will lend body and balance the bitterness. I guess it comes down to if you prefer traditional "west coast" style hoppy beers or a more balanced "east coast", but equally as hoppy, beer. I think the adage that low FG lets the hops shine is misguided.

Recipe looks good, drink fresh!

 

If you don't want to buy more packets or make a conventional 'starter', just brew a simple pale ale, then brew this a week later and dump it on the yeast cake!

US05 is a workhorse though... And Doesn't tend to throw off many fermentation byproducts either.

 

I love hops, my house IPA is a Citra and Mosaic IPA as well, but the last time I put that much Citra and Mosaic in a IIPA, it came out a giant too sweet passion fruit bomb. I would reduce the 2 Row and adjust with sugar for a less sweet IIPA (a very common practice for IIPA recipes) and completely eliminate the 5 minute hop addition (its not doing all that much anyway, and you could change the 15 minute addition to like 7 minutes to get back the few lost IBUs). If you like thicker, sweeter brews, then by all means, stick to your recipe...but after brewing too many IIPA bombs over the years, I would think about some tweaks.

 

I disagree...sort of. Water/oxidation/hop utilization issues can turn a 1.080/1.016 IIPA into an American barleywine. I'm with @PortLargo and @DrMindbender. I'd shoot for a FG of less than 1.012 (preferably less than 1.008). I don't disagree that 1.016 can be a great IIPA. I guess it's the west coast vs. Midwest/east coast distinction. The fact that the OP recipe contains no crystal malts may elude to a lean towards west coast (drier) IIPA.

 

More hops, like way more hops. Except for your 60min and 30min hops, I would double everything else.

 

The only change I'd make would be to switch out the carapils for some sugar. I like the amount of hops you're using; those are all very potent varieties.

 

That's a solid recipe. I like what a touch of chinook brings as a late addition with simcoe and citra. Sometimes a little "bittering" hop in the flameout and dryhop really rounds out the aforementioned "sweet" flavors the specialty aroma hops throw. Simcoe will help at flameout, but I would add another oz of simcoe to the dryhop schedule.

 

Good calls all around. May I ask what program you are using to calc FG?

 

You or others may know the answer to this, does BeerSmith calculate sugar as 100% fermentable?

 

With the changes, I think it's solid. I'd probably up the flameout additions, atleast double, myself, but I think you are just fine.

 

But those issues in a 1.080/1.010 beer will make the beer better?

Most hoppy beers that I have had which I would consider high quality are typically darker from the west coast than those on the east coast. That's comparing the likes of RR, Stone, Lagunitas, Sierra Nevada, Ballast Pt. vs. Hill Farmstead, Alchemist, Treehouse, Maine, New England and some smaller breweries in NY. I don't have access to many of the small breweries out west so I can't say what they are producing.

I think the more crystal malt in east coast ipa's is also a false association, based on old school brewers like dogfish. This isn't totally relevant to the beer the OP is brewing, though =P

 

I think it comes down to personal likes, more so than trying to toss a label on a beer as east v. west.

1.016 IMO, is too high for my tastes, so yeah, I think the OP is fine IMO to knock the FG down. As a whole, from commercial AND homebrew.. highly hopped beers, more so the ones from homebrewers, are oxidized or do so quickly. Chocked full of crystal malt, a higher fg, tons of hops and oxidized is a mess.

But that said.. sound recipe, and good ingredients, some people would be hardpressed to pick out 10-12 points versus 14-16.