Belgian IPA

never had the beer, so take this for what its worth

I don't think you want to boil the orange peel for 15 mins, I would add at FO.

The vast majority of your IBUs are coming from the Columbus @60 mins, that will give bitterness but not much flavor. I would think about moving some of the Columbus later and upping the FO additions to compensate for the lower IBUs. How long are you planning for your hopstand?

I think the beer sounds pretty tasty

 

Those additions will indeed contribute IBUs. There are a number of estimates on how much they will add.

http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/hop-stand-ibu-estimate.139887/

Cheers!

 

Not sure what the equivalent for Wyeast is but WLP540 makes a pretty killer Belgian IPA. Super phenolic and comes out reminding me of Flying Dog's Raging Bitch.

 

Hi Lukass, Not sure what happened to your request to us but here is a clone of our recipe that I've sent out to other homebrewers.

Tramp Stamp:

Here is the information for a 5 gallon batch.

OG: 1.063 (15.5 P)
FG: 1.012 (3 P)

Malt:
Pale 2-Row: 9 lbs
Aromatic Malt: 1.5 lbs
Caravienne: 0.5 lbs

Hops:
Bittering: Columbus (13.5% AA) 0.75 oz at 60 minutes
Flame out Addition: 0.5 oz each of Simcoe, Amarillo, and Columbus
Dry hop Addition: 1.0 oz each of Simcoe, Amarillo, and Columbus

Other:
Sweet Orange Peel 1oz at 5 minutes

Yeast: Wyeast 3864

Mash at 150 F

Ferment at 70 to 72 F

You should use a traditional 60 minute mash and 60 minute boil.

 

FWIW: I make a couple of different Belgians with orange peel, after many iterations I've found 5 minutes to work best. If "under-oranged", it's possible to dry-orange in the keg.

Philosophically speaking, you want your BIPA to have Belgian esters with a strong hop aroma/flavor. From the recipe posted above; my guess is the results are going to be much closer to an American IPA (3684 which is low in esters, all American hops). Note, there's nothing wrong with AIPAs and if this recipe is authentic then you're certainly on the right track. But I would be suspicious of calling this a BIPA. Also a little unsure of a fairly large amount of aromatic malt . . . not typical of IPAs in general.

My approach is to copy Duvel Triple-Hopped and Houblon Chouffe. Basically these are their flagship brews with some killer American hops added late/dh (think Mosiac and Amarillo). No attempt at balancing any malt presence, just a good ole strong Belgian Golden Ale meeting our Pacific Northwest Hops. Each has a strong Belgian estery aroma, a medium-low body, and a strong hop aroma to compliment. If you go this approach you'll want yeast like 3787/3522/1388 which should give a more pronounced Belgian nose. Grain bill may have a touch of caravienne (or not) . . . you really want the yeast/hops to do all the talking.

Regarding underpitching for increased yeast esters: My experience is this sounds better than actual practice. I'm pretty serious into calculating yeast quantities, but there is enough uncertainty in the process that makes me doubtful of it effectiveness. I mean, are you measuring the quantity of slurry you have started? If so, how do you equate that amount to an actual cell count. Different yeast calculators give different results . . . if you want to start a lengthy thread just ask on this forum what the "normal" pitch rate for any type ale should be. Even the pros differ on this one. My new stir plate is measurably more effective than the old one, how do those calculators know which one I'm using? So I take a middle approach: compute the quantity I need using conventional pitch-rate criteria and just stick with that, no real attempt to underpitch. The yeast is always started and I can't remember the last time I didn't add oxygen.

 

Things change and more of us that work over here are home brewers and really appreciate the community (even our head brewer got his start home brewing). This is a scaled down version so there are subtle differences due to estimates and rounding. I hope it turns out well for you.

Happy brewing.

 

I brew a chouffe houblon clone all the time, comes out great

15 lbs pilsen malt
2 lb table sugar
.75oz Columbus 60
.33 oz Columbus 20
1.5 oz saaz 7
1 oz centennial 1

wyeast 3522

OG 1.080
FG 1.010
IBU 54.4
Alc 9.4

you may have to tweek it a bit to lower the alc, mine usually comes in at 7.8%

 

If you use the Clown Shoes recipe, definitely use Belgian Aromatic, not Breiss Aromatic. They are very different.

Breiss Aromatic makes turbo macro swill aroma using much less than 1.5#.

 

forgot to mention, it's for 6 gallons

 

Not directed at me, but this is one of my go-to yeasts. I normally start it at 72 and let it creep up to 74 by day three . . . results are good. Nose is lemon and pome fruit (basically La Chouffe's nose). Here is some more interesting reading on the subject.

I add my sugar after high krausen. A lot of people will say this is unnecessary and a potential infection problem. I don't disagree, but it has always worked well for me.

Regarding strength: I dumb down my La Chouffe clone to 6.2%, basically ditch the sugar (OG-1.056, FG-1.010). I'm currently dh'ing a Houblon Chouffe Lite (OG-1.043, FG-1.007) which finished at 4.8% . . . these guys are so good I want more than one a day. Used 3522 in all of these.

 

Thumb rule #77 - never put table sugar in the mash

 

I put the sugar in the last 15 min of the boil. Temp wise I need work, I just put it the cellar and let it do its thing. summer or winter it comes out the same. One thing I've learned it to keep an eye on your ph. using the 5.2 buffer has the best results for me with this beer, taste wise.

 

I'm currently drinking two 3522 beers: A La Chouffe clone and a Houblon Chouffe Lite (4.8%). My ferm temps were a little shaky, they got over 75 on day two (air temps fell to 62, had to use a light bulb to heat . . . winter in the Keys is brutual!). As a result I got more phenolic aromas than normal, a noticeable clove - slightly harsh metallic nose. But it has moderated with time. The Lite won a friendly keg competition and the La Chouffe clone holds up well in a blind test taste with the original. My AA was 83 & 81%.