How do you brew your IPA

Keep it simple. A simple grain bill, simple yeast, and some really good American hops . . . control the ferm temp and success is guaranteed.

http://www.beeradvocate.com/communi...rfect-american-ipa-project-the-recipes.74647/

 

The IPA recipe is always simple; the execution is where good brewers shine. As mentioned above, control fermentation temperatures. After primary fermentation is done the most important thing is to keep oxygen away from the beer and hops. If you have a CO2 tank, purge the receiving vessel before you rack, purge the keg before you fill it, etc.

 

I do about 20% wheat in mine.

 

I prefer to use MO/GP/Optic and some form of sugar for my malt bill on IPA's

 

I'm a big fan of WLP013 and honey malt in place of other crystal in hoppy beers. Also, run your hop quantities by someone if you're building the recipe yourself. I waaaaay underestimated how much I needed on my first attempt.

 

• Sulfate heavy water, mash for dryness (152) with low mash pH (5.2-ish).
• 80% 2-row, 10% Vienna for complexity, 10% wheat for head retention, no fucking crystal.
• Hops (1:1 BU:GU) @ FWH, then at flameout for long hopstand, with start of wort chiller, at end of primary (usually x 2). I usually use a single variety and >8 oz at that.
• Fermented cool with something clean.
• Kegged and drunk very very quickly.

 

I'd also add: ...or a higher L domestic PALE ALE malt (eg. NW or G ESB)

 

Call the Honey, Police ...agree wholeheartedly with the rest

 

I like the hops to kick me in the mouth, both IBU wise and flavor/aroma wise. So I FWH, go aggressive adding hops In The boil constantly and whirlpool the shit outta some hops, hop back before plate chiller, dry hop and then randalize from the keg when serving from kegs.

Lately I've been removing hops from the boil as I add more; upping the total amount per batch. A bit wasteful, but I'm liking the high AA content with less harshness and vegetal flavors.

I always use honey to carbonate; choke cherry or raspberry to be specific.

When dry hopping I use one set of hops for 3-7 days and hen remove and use fresh hops for another 3-7 days. Sometimes I'll keep the first round if hops in and just add another fresh addition.

I'll add hops to kegs sometimes as well.

I typically do not over do the IBU's (Sometimes I go real big though) but reach for a balance of bitterness with tons of aroma and flavor.

Never messed with extracts though I might someday.

 

BU:GU = 1

 

Ok, got it... I use a fair amount of pilsener malt in most of my IPA's. Also they usually contain a little Willamette because I recall Vinnie Cilurzo saying he thought Willamette amplified the flavors of other hops.

 

I recommend the IPA book by Mitch Steel, which does not address your question, but therein you will find heaps of sage advice that could help you think about it more.

And don't put heaps of sage in your IPA. It will never finish in thyme.

 

I avoid crystal in all my IPAs (except a touch of crystal rye in the Autumn IPA I made last fall). My base is 73% Great Western Pale Malt, 10% Munich II, 10% Dark Wheat Malt, 7% Sugar. Mash low. High Sulfate. Small bittering addition, load in tons of hops in the end (Chinook is always in the mix). Ferment with 1469 West Yorkshire (lots of peach, dry finish, nice body). CO2 force rack from Better Bottle into keg onto 4-6oz of Dry Hops, carb keg warm while dry hopping for 4 days, put in fridge and continue carbing 3 more days. Drink.

 

For British IPAs I use MO or GP, crystal malt, lots of EKG early, little to no late hops, high levels of SO$, and age them for a long time - some times almost a year.

I don't think that is what the OP was asking, though.

 

If you want to make a good IPA, first place to look is your water source & salt additions. I use RO and build water up, not quite to Burton water profile, but a tad shy of it. Without proper water, yeast health & mash pH (5.2 - 5.4), it will be difficult to make a great IPA.

Grain I keep simple. My favorite English style IPA I brew is 95% Maris Otter + ~2.5% Honey Malt and ~2.5% Victory Malt. I like a bit of non-caramel sweetness with a good dose of bread-like warmth from the MO and Victory malt.

Typical sacch rest ~ 150 F, and try hit mash pH 5.2. Sparge water should be under 170F & under pH of 6.0 to reduce tannin extraction from grain, etc.

Hops I like EKG best, not a fan of Fuggle hops. I mix British/American hops, as do English brewers like Fuller's nowadays. A hop combo I like is EKG, Crystal, Centennial. Bittering addition with C02 hop extract to roughly 70% of total IBU with a mix of the three varietals at 30 mins and then again at whirlpool and dry hop. If you want American style IPA, use Centennial, or like American hop, at a 2:1 ratio to the English varietal + clean yeast. If you want English style IPA, use EKG, or like English hop, at 2:1 ratio to the American varietal + an English yeast.

English yeast, I like WY1469 West Yorkshire or WY1275 Thames Valley. Starter for anything over 1.050. Ferment at the bottom of recommended temp range.
American yeast, WY1056 gets the job done. Starter for anything over 1.050. Ferment at the mid-bottom of recommended temp range.

Good luck with your brew man!

 

That should be SO4. Poor typing skills this morning.

 

“I am asking what interesting ways to you make your IPA unique!”

An intriguing question. For some beer styles I try to think of unique ways to brew that beer but when it comes to American style IPAs I think that KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid) is the appropriate philosophy.

For example, keep the grain bill simple. 95% North American 2-row and 5% crystal (e.g., Briess 20L crystal) will make an excellent American style IPA. A single infusion mash in the low 150’s F for 60 minutes.

Select a ‘simple’ neutral ale strain like the California Ale strain: WLP001/WY1056/US-05. I prefer US-05 since no yeast starter is needed (which is simpler).

I follow a pretty basic hopping schedule: bittering (60 minutes of boil), flavor (15 minutes of boil) and aroma (end of boil and dry hopping). There are other hopping strategies that could be utilized (e.g., First Wort Hopping, using a Hop Back, etc.) but I think that simple is ‘better’ here.

Now, one way you can get a bit ‘wild’ is via hop selection. There are all kinds of new and wonderful aroma hops available. Or you can use ‘old standbys’ like Cascade, Chinook, Centennial,…

Yeah, KISS is the way to go when it comes to American style IPAs in my opinion.

Cheers!