dry west coast style IPA recipe -DME

Discussion in 'Homebrewing' started by Wiffler27, Jun 22, 2017.

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  1. Wiffler27

    Wiffler27 Pooh-Bah (2,092) Aug 16, 2009 South Carolina
    Pooh-Bah

    I posted a recipe critique not too long ago and got some good responses. this one is much more streamlined as it's only 1 recipe.

    I want something in the realm of Head Hunter and Union Jack. I love how creamy and hoppy these beers are. Head Hunter is so dry it blows my mind, I LOVE that aspect of it. The golden and orange-y hue of Head Hunter is also amazing. God I love that beer.

    I went back to the drawing board and tried to fix things up. I just made a Pliny clone from a beer kit and while it tastes good, I know I made a big mistake. The kit was designed to brew 6 gallons but I accidentally did 5 gallons. So the OG, abv and color are way higher than desired. The head is also very minimal.

    My "New" Attempt at a dry west coast IPA

    1.070 SG
    78 IBU
    6.3 SRM
    7.1%

    Malt:
    .5 pound CaraPils
    .5 pound Munich 10
    2 pounds Golden Light DME @60
    5.5 pounds Golden Light DME @20
    .5 pound Dextrose @flameout

    Hops:
    .25oz Simcoe FWH
    1oz Columbus @60
    1oz Simcoe @15
    1oz Centennial @5
    1.75oz Simcoe @whirlpool
    1oz Centennial @whirlpool
    .5oz Columbus @whirlpool
    1oz Simcoe @dry hop 4 days
    1oz Centennial @dry hop 4 days
    1oz Columbus @dry hop 4 days

    dry US-05

    Goals:
    -Not super dark, a nice golden/orange-y hue
    -Dry, bitter and hoppy
    -solid head

    As to why, I've heard good things regarding FWH. I've read that 15-25% of malt extract should be done at 60 minutes otherwise the beer could end up much darker. I love Simcoe hops
     
  2. Supergenious

    Supergenious Maven (1,273) May 9, 2011 Michigan

    Should make a decent enough beer. Couple things though: Did you calculate IBUs? That much bittering hops with only 2 lbs DME, might be a bit harsh. Also, why split your bittering hops between FWH and 60? Add them all at one or the other. And drop the Munich- .5 lb won't add much, plus it should really be mashed instead of steeped. And it will darken it, which sounds like you don't want. Good luck!
     
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  3. Wiffler27

    Wiffler27 Pooh-Bah (2,092) Aug 16, 2009 South Carolina
    Pooh-Bah

    According to BeerSmith i'm at 78 IBU, it does take into account the differing times of malt additions. I've heard good things about FWH
     
  4. Ten_SeventySix_Brewhouse

    Ten_SeventySix_Brewhouse Zealot (744) Jul 20, 2016 Indiana

    Funny, I was drinking one a few days ago and commented to my wife, "You know, this beer is sweeter than I would have told you it was if you'd asked me yesterday. I guarantee you there's a decent amount of crystal malt in here."

    Sure enough, from Fat Head's website:
    ALCOHOL CONTENT: 7.5% ABV BEGINNING GRAVITY: 17.0 Plato
    ENDING GRAVITY: 3.4 Plato
    IBU: 87
    COLOR: Deep Golden
    YEAST: American Ale
    HOPS: Columbus, Simcoe, Centennial
    MALT: Pale, CaraMalt, C-15, Cara-Pils


    Notice that they use 3 different "Cara" malts. If you want a beer like Head Hunter, the info above is a good start. If you want as dry a beer as possible, skip the specialty grains completely. You won't ever get super dry without being able to control the mash temp, but you could always add some more sugar in place of extract.
     
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  5. Wiffler27

    Wiffler27 Pooh-Bah (2,092) Aug 16, 2009 South Carolina
    Pooh-Bah

    I have Mitch Steele's IPA book and he has that recipe in the book as well. The recipe listed in the book is different from Fat Head's website, trust me I checked. I'll hit back at the drawing board, thanks!
     
  6. Ten_SeventySix_Brewhouse

    Ten_SeventySix_Brewhouse Zealot (744) Jul 20, 2016 Indiana

    Yeah, I often find that if I want to replicate a beer or even just take inspiration from it, the brewery website is oftentimes more helpful than clone recipes. The website will (almost, see Modern Times' website) never give you an actual recipe, but they often tell you the malts, hops, and yeast. Drop those things into a recipe calculator in a way that makes sense to you, and try to hit the IBU, SRM, OG, and FG provided on the website. I bet that gets you closer than most clone recipes you can find.
     
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  7. pweis909

    pweis909 Grand Pooh-Bah (3,250) Aug 13, 2005 Wisconsin
    Pooh-Bah

    The Munich stands out to me as possibly unnecessary. Over the years there has been some debate on whether small additions of Munich malt are detectable. I would think the presence of all those hops would make it even tougher to find the small amount of Munich. But perhaps some really good palates out there would find it. If you do decide to use it, steep it at 150 degrees wit 0.5-1.5 quarts of water to mimic mash conditions. It might help convert starches to sugars. Perhaps that won't make much of a difference, either, being as it is a small amount.
     
  8. telejunkie

    telejunkie Savant (1,107) Sep 14, 2007 Vermont

    I'll agree and disagree with you here...I've written a ton of clone recipes and the first place to go is their website. That info you try to draw up a recipe, then you send that recipe to the head brewer for feedback. Can't tell you how many times the feedback flies in the face of what the website says. Often when pointed out, they say that the website hasn't been updated in years. Obviously some breweries are much better at updating their sites than others.

    Another options is that with older clone recipes, you'll find that the breweries will have often re-written the recipe...so you maybe brewing the 2008 version (or something close to it) instead of the 2017 version.I just had to work on updating a Winter Ale recipe that used to a old ale style of beer...now it's a red IPA. Yeah, the old clone recipe looks ridiculous in light of the changes...why the brewery still holds onto that beer's name is beyond me considering the overhaul unless it was incremental.

    The final possibility is that the clone author didn't do his due diligence or was written before said info was available.
     
  9. telejunkie

    telejunkie Savant (1,107) Sep 14, 2007 Vermont

    As for the original recipe, yeah, I'd agree with Peter to ditch the munich...it's not doing anything here. I'd say add 1/4-1/2 lb of either caramalt or carastan if you're going for a Head Hunter. Also, try to use RO or distilled water if you can.
     
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  10. SFACRKnight

    SFACRKnight Grand Pooh-Bah (3,348) Jan 20, 2012 Colorado
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Are you doing full wort boils, or topping up with water at the end? If you're doing full wort boils I would still add the dme right before you start boiling and make it a gentle boil. I started doing a less aggressive boil with my pilsen dme beers and it works great for color, and then your hop utilization isn't all wonkey.
     
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  11. Wiffler27

    Wiffler27 Pooh-Bah (2,092) Aug 16, 2009 South Carolina
    Pooh-Bah

    I'll be topping up with water at the end. I usually make 2.5 gallons of wort and fill my carboy with roughly 2.5 gallons of water to reach 5 gallons
     
  12. SFACRKnight

    SFACRKnight Grand Pooh-Bah (3,348) Jan 20, 2012 Colorado
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    I would do half dme at the beginning and half at 5minutes. That way your hop utilization is even.
     
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