Question about formulating a DIPA recipe

Just finished drinking the last of a 9.5% DIPA batch that was 91% ESB malt. Loved it!

 

Not a DIPA, but this is a classic recipe. It is a big British IPA, uses a bunch of Chinook for bittering, and is sublime with a little age.

http://www.realbeer.com/hops/sister.html

 

You must be talking purely theoretical IBUs. If Tinseth or Rager says 150+ IBUs (or even 90-120 IBUs), reality will be much lower. The real life utilization curves flatten out big time above 65 IBUs or so. If only there were a calculator that took this into account.

 

Yes

 

For my IPAs I look for smooth hop flavor with little bitterness. I have been brewing 4 gallon (pre boil) batches to get 3 gallon in the fermenter and 2.5 gal in my bottling bucket. My fist go I used .5 oz Centennial (8.6%AA) @ 60 min and it is stingingly bitter. Next batch I used .25 oz Rudi (14.6%AA) FWH (added to boil kettle prior to boiling) and it is as smooth as the day is freezing effing cold in IA. To my eyes 2 oz chinook at 60 would shred your tongue with bitterness, IMHO.

 

I think you will like that better than the first recipe. You could maybe add another oz of Chinook at flame out.

 

what are you using for water?

 

My 2 cents: If you don't know what's in you tap water, find out. If you can't find out, use just RO and build your mineral profile on a clean slate. Mash pH is kind of important. And I wouldn't ever add salts to an unknown water profile. Yes, you can fly blind and possibly make good beer, but it's not the way I'd go about it.

 

If you are in Ann Arbor you can find the A2 report online.

 

If you do get RO water, sometimes it isn't good RO water. For example, I occasionally buy RO water from one of those dispensers at the grocery store for 30 cents a gallon to use for StarSan. A couple times my StarSan clouded instantly which indicated it wasn't pure. Most of the time the water from the same machine produced clear StarSan that stayed clear for months.

 

Here you are, there are seasonal variations in the A2 water. I assume you are in A2 as it is in your online name.

In ppm
Ca=34
Mg=11
SO4=56
Cl=100
Na=56
HCO3=67

Residual Alkalinity =25

I recently picked up a TDS meter for around $15 and have found it to be useful. For the different places I go the RO water is 3 ppm TDS, ~18, or 45. The last is cheap. I use the 3 ppm TDS water for Pilsners, the 45 ppm TDS for ales that I am adding a lot of minerals to.

What comes out of the machines depends on the water going in, and how long it has been since the membranes were replaced.

 

Depending on the quality of the RO, just approximate by 1/2 as you propose. Gypsum will bump the Ca and SO4 levels, which you want. You might want a little more Ca to counter the HCO3 that will be left. Run it through Brewer's Friend. Or you could add some acid to neutralize the alkalinity.

If you are serious about adjusting water, get really familiar with the software, and get a pH meter and use it to check the predicted pH. Acid can be used to drop pH, and backing soda (NaCO3) or pickling lime (Ca(OH)2)to raise pH if you are off.

 

U should check out Brewtoad.com for making/looking up recipes. It's free and pretty helpful.