Hi there, If this is the wrong place please let me know. I’m trying my hand at making a west coast IPA recipe and was wondering if I could get some feedback. I’m doing a gallon batch for reference. 0.5 oz Crystal 40 1.6 oz cara-pils 3.2 oz victory 2 lbs 12 oz 2 row boil for 60 minutes .20 oz Amarillo at 60 min .20 oz mosaic at 30 min .15 oz of each of mosaic and Amarillo at 15 minutes .15 oz of each mosaic and Amarillo at 0 min
Looks tasty, but I’d say with your proposed hopping rates you’re more in Pale Ale territory than IPA territory. Cheers!
BIG Caveat: I have never brewed a 1 gallon batch but my comments assume a 1:5 proportionality. That totals out to 3,55 lbs. of malt. For a 5 times multiplication this would equate to 17.75 lbs. of malt for a 5 gallon batch. I personally would use 13.5 lbs. of malt for a 5 gallon batch of IPA. Unless there is some 'inefficiency' with small batch brewing you have too much malt here. Plus when I brew my IPAs I use a total of 0.5 lbs. crystal malt for my 5 gallon batch. That grain bill has too much crystal malt for a 1 gallon batch. As regards hops I would encourage you to add dry hopping to your schedule. Maybe 0.5 - 0.75 ounces for dry hopping (50/50 split of Mosaic & Amarillo). Cheers!
What would you suggest reducing in the recipe besides the toning down the crystal? Should I reduce the victory and 2 row?
If you were to bring the grain bill inline with the suggestions by @JackHorzempa (and assuming his math and my math are correct) you could reduce the crystal to about 0.1 oz, then use about 75% of each of the remaining grains (13.5 / 17.75 = 76%)
Yes, but the crystal malt would be 0.1 lbs. (vs. ounces). But again the caveat is that you can 'translate' proportionally. Never having brewed a 1 gallon batch I have no personal experience here. Cheers!
I just did a quick web search of “1 gallon all grain kit” and it appears that Austin Homebrew puts together ingredient kits of a number of recipes. Below is one for an IPA: “This IPA is a great example of what and IPA should be. Slightly malty, with distinct hop character. Specialty malts: Crystal 60L Featured hops: Cascade Included yeast: Muntons Ale Dry Yeast O.G. = 1.072 F.G. = 1.014 Approximately 7.6% ABV Approximately 244 Cal / 12 oz Makes 1 US gallons Fermentable Sugars: All Grain: 3.25 lb Base Grains, .25 lb Specialty Grains” https://www.austinhomebrew.com/AHS-...-1-Gallon-Homebrew-Ingredient-Kit_p_1377.html So, the total grain bill for this kit is 3.5 lbs. which if you multiply by 5 would be 17.5 lbs. Maybe for 1 gallon brewing you achieve a lower efficiency (e.g., something like 60%) and therefore you need more malt? Hopefully somebody who brews 1 gallon batches will chime into this discussion. Cheers!
Jack, thanks for checking my math. The OP's original recipe called for 0.5 oz. crystal, which you indicated was too much. Your reference to 0.1 lbs crystal is 3.2x the original recipe. Maybe we both got off kilter a bit or maybe the recipe does in fact call for 0.5 lbs, but 0.1 lbs. crystal seems more reasonable than 0.1 oz.
Yup, I was indeed off. The mixture of units was confusing to me. Yes, 0.1 lbs (1.6 ounces) of crystal is more appropriate here. I am still stymied about the total amount of grains (3+ lbs) for a 1 gallon batch though. Something is 'up' here? Cheers!
So do you think I should another 1 oz of crystal or just keep at .5 oz? I know looking at multiple gallon recipes there’s been about 3 lbs of grains. I might try and cut back alittle on the 2 row and try this with under 3 lbs or grain and then brew again with over. By using over 3 lbs will that give it more of a malty characteristic?
Your choice here. I am at a loss about 1 gallon batch brewing. It comes down to what brewhouse efficiency you achieve when brewing at a 1 gallon level. My principle concern was that you would get too high of an original gravity but see my responses above. At this point in time I am thinking that you need input from a BA that has brewed 1 gallon batches and needless to say that is not me. Cheers!
Grain bill doesn't look high for a (BIAB?) micro-kit ... assuming crummy crush and technique. Brew it up as is and take notes so it'll be better on the re-brew ...
I was not even thinking in those terms. If this will be a BIAB brew then yes, you would need more malt. Cheers!
Maybe up all hop additions by 50% and dry hop with 0.5 oz of either Mosaic or Amarillo, or a combination. OTOH, @HerbMeowing ’s advice is solid. Cheers!
As to @JackHorzempa 's question about whether efficiency declines with small batches. I think there is no fundamental reason why efficiency shouldn't remain constant with changes in batch size. In practice, I suspect it depends on the gear and the process. Conversion efficiency shouldn't change change with scale, but different gear will give you different capabilities in wort recovery, and that may be scale dependent. I suggest the OP uses a BIAB technique because of convenience with small batches, but also because, despite the reputed reduction in efficiency with this technique, I have found that for small batches, my efficiency is pretty good, in the 72% range for 2.5 gallon batches. My BIAB setup can do 2.5-5 gallon batches, My efficiency generally is higher when I do 2.5 as opposed to 5 gallons. As noted recently elsewhere, I squeeze my grain bag, and with the grains for a 2.5 gallon batch, I can recover nearly all the water from my mash. But doubling the grain for a 5 gallon batch makes it much harder for me to get a good grip to squeeze the bag. For folks trying this, do wear a pair of gloves thick enough to insulate your hands from ~150-160 degree F water. FWIW, squeezing seems to just be a matter of increased wort recovery. The wort I recover through squeezing is not higher in sugar content, as measured by my refrac, or tannins, as evaluated by my taste buds.
^^Listen to this. ^^ When you drink a Bell's Two Hearted do you rave about the caramel? Does a SN Celebration give you back-flips over their toastiness? Will a Stone IPA make you swoon from it's bready malt? IPA lovers buy these beers because they are hoppy. You could use simple 2-row only with neutral yeast and if your hops pop you have a winner. This is easier said than done, especially for new brewers. A big problem is sourcing fresh hops that have been stored properly. Don't think if you buy your hops this week they are fresh. They may be year(s)+ old and worse, have been stored poorly causing their elixir-type oils to have long faded. Here's a thread with more detail: https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/buying-2018-hops.631562/#post-6765865 My suggestion: Amarillo/Mosaic are killer hops. Find a hop-source you can trust (scrounge around your local brewers, ask some questions). But a small scale to measure these tiny amounts. If you don't vacuum seal any leftover hops they are essentially wasted so try and beg, borrow, or steal a Foodsaver. Use some software to determine bitterness of your brew. Avoid the temptation to make it hyper-bitter, this will defeat your flavor/aroma objective. You want to mimic any commercial brew you enjoy (many post their bitterness). Ditch the 30 minute addition, it gives nothing but bitterness. Get a food feel for whirlpooling (below 212) . . . this is where you get the flavor (search this forum for "whirlpooling", lots of techniques). You definitely want a DH addition, these is where you get the aroma. Just as important you want to separate your finished product from the DH'ed hops (trickier than it sounds). Don't expect your first attempt to be world-class, keep good notes. EDIT: Use your highest AA hop for 60 minute bittering, that would be your Mosaic. Let the software adjust the quantity for desired bitterness. Even that's a waste of a great hop as the Mosaic-oils will long have evaporated by end of boil. Probably doesn't matter at these low levels but if you can get something cheaper like Warrior or Magnum you'll save some.
