IPA/DIPA Advice (AG)

What kind of water are you using and what kind of temp control do you have for fermentation?

 

For a more American style IPA
1. Cut crystal in half (up pale malt to reach og)
2. Use a more attenuative yeast (1056, 001)
3. Use a lower L crystal
4. Mash lower (like 147-149)
5. Water is a wildcard not knowing what you are working with. I typically don't recommend adding anything without knowing what you already have. You can add some gypsum, but not knowing where you're starting will make it impossible to repeat the recipe if you nail it.
6. if those are hops you like then use them.

This looks like an English IPA recipe because of the darker crystal, higher mash temp, and English yeast. Is that what you are going for or more American IPA? If you are all-in for IPAs and you have read How to Brew (or at least have a basic understanding of fermentation, sanitation, and sound procedures) I would recommend http://www.brewerspublications.com/...-recipes-and-the-evolution-of-india-pale-ale/

 

nix the Victory at least

 

Also, what is your typical og/FG?

 

RO filter? You don't want to mash with RO water without adding some brewing salts. This could be a significant part of your issue.

 

1.028 is very high for IIPA if that is risidual sugar contributing to OG. I stand by all my previous recommendations.

 

After re-reading thread...maybe sub some sugar in for some of the base malt and never use softened water for making beer ( too much sodium)

 

Id also cut down the # of hops youre using...6 different hops is a lot Id do 3 at most to get to know the hops better

 

Looks like a lot of good advice so far. I would just add to try moving some of the boil additions to flameout and do an extended hop stand (15-30 minutes). I found my IPA's start to become more of what I like when I made that switch. That's also a big bittering charge you are doing. I typically don't do more than 1 oz of Columbus for a first wort hop or 60 min addition. Plenty of bite with that level. I'd move the Ahtanum to late boil and half of the Simcoe. As mentioned earlier, I would add some sugar (0.5 to 1.0 lb) and mash lower to get the FG below 1.018 even for a IIPA.

 

I'll second some of the above recs. C60 is too dark for an American IPA and I would cut out the Victory. I love Munich for character in an IPA. Changing the yeast used would also help, getting a more attenuative strain with a clean profile to let the hops shine through. As for the hops, you may simply want to add more towards the end of the boil or post-boil. My IPAs always left something to be desired too, until I started routinely using 2-3 oz of leaf in a HopRocket (a whirlpool would work too) and DH with 3-4 oz. Now the smell and hop flavors jump out at you. Lastly, do not used water from your softener. It's just not good for brewing.

 

I too had run into that same problem you've been having with DIPAs – too much malt, not enough hop. I brewed a Stone Ruination clone recently, and followed Mitch Steele's advice on upping the calcium content in my RO water. This one is definitely tasting a lot better than my previous attempts – it's tasting like a store-bought DIPA. I don't know if it was the hop schedule, or if it was the calcium content in my water, but I'm guessing it was one of those things, or both.

Mitch's advice is "Use a 3:1 ratio of gypsum and calcium chloride to get the calcium levels around 100ppm Ca2+." I didn't have a sure way of knowing my specific levels, so I had to do some research, but it's definitely seemed to help with the hop crispness in the overall flavor. That, and avoid oxygenation as much as possible and pitch a huge starter, but those I'm sure you already know.

 

A lot of sound advice here. Drying your beer out will let the hops shine through, as does water chemistry. I like to use a 20 to 30 minute addition to get a bit more flavor in there as well.

 

@scurvy311 Any suggestions for someone who lives in the country and would need to buy water? Spring, distilled, mineral..ect.

 

Start with distilled ($0.88/gal) at Wally World, Dollar General, or Market Basket. The other 2 have minerals of unknown concentration. I build using BrewCipher and it's built-in ppm concentrations.

 

For a newbie, this thread is gold.