First IPA Recipe

[Shaka]

Hey there,

Here's my first IPA recipe which I plan to brew this weekend: https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/view/983462/american-ipa

I was wondering about the possibility of dry hopping but not sure what to use (i have the hops in the recipe plus some spare northern brewer and chinook).

I have been messing around with Bru'n Water to get a decent water profile for the IPA, aiming for around 300ppm of sulphate to accent the hoppiness. I usually start with a pre-boil volume of around 10L and end up with 4-5ish litres (depending on the room temp really). I have added the additions that Bru'n water spouted out but the brewers friend recipe builder gave me crazy numbers like 800ppm sulphate. I have done some calculations myself and I think the numbers from Bru'n Water are correct but I'm doubting myself. I'll be using my tap water, it's very soft water so is essentially a blank slate.

You'd think with a degree in Chemistry I'd be able to figure this out, but I just want to ensure that I'm not down a rabbit hole.

Thank!

 

[Megary]

Curious, where did you see Bru'nWater recommend 300ppm SO4? I've never pushed SO4 that far but would be interested to hear from those that have. I would think a sulfury smell would have to kick in at some point.

B'nW's water profile for a "Yellow Dry" or "Amber Dry" beer is around 105-110ppm SO4 with Cl around 50.

 

[Shaka]

Curious, where did you see Bru'nWater recommend 300ppm SO4? I've never pushed SO4 that far but would be interested to hear from those that have. I would think a sulfury smell would have to kick in at some point.

B'nW's water profile for a "Yellow Dry" or "Amber Dry" beer is around 105-110ppm SO4 with Cl around 50.

Hopefully, this comes out okay, I was using the Pale Ale Profile on Bru'n Water:

 

[Megary]

Thanks for that.

In their Water Knowledge, B'nW states that "the ideal concentration range for SO4 is 0-350 ppm, although the concentration should not typically exceed 150 ppm unless the beer is highly hopped". He doesn't define what "highly hopped" is however.

I would love to hear from others who have pushed SO4 up to 300ppm. Very interesting.

 

[Iliff Avenue Brewhouse]

Thanks for that.

In their Water Knowledge, B'nW states that "the ideal concentration range for SO4 is 0-350 ppm, although the concentration should not typically exceed 150 ppm unless the beer is highly hopped". He doesn't define what "highly hopped" is however.

I would love to hear from others who have pushed SO4 up to 300ppm. Very interesting.

Due to that profile I have gone as high as 220 for a 4:1 SO4 to Cl ratio. These days I more around 165 for 3:1

 

[Craigerrr]

For my West Coast style IPA I go with 150 S04, 50 Cl . Also interested to hear how higher sulfates affect this style, and curious to know what level you have your calories at.

 

[Group W]

I use Bru’n Water with RO water from Wally World and just shake my head when looking at that pale profile. I would stick with the yellow or amber profiles for starters. Your recipe looks good BTW.

 

[Semper Sitientem]

I see your question on hops wasn’t responded to, so I’ll chime in. I’d question the use of Willimette for bittering as this is an aroma hop more suitable for darker or English style ales. For dry hopping, I use Galaxy and Mosaic which are both duel use hops that have great fruit/citrus characteristics.

 

[Nosybear]

I see your question on hops wasn’t responded to, so I’ll chime in. I’d question the use of Willimette for bittering as this is an aroma hop more suitable for darker or English style ales. For dry hopping, I use Galaxy and Mosaic which are both duel use hops that have great fruit/citrus characteristics.

Thing is, the old beer lore that boil hops don't provide any flavors is flat wrong. I love the flavors I get from boiling Hallertau the full 60 minutes - woody, herbal flavors - while the late additions add vegetal and grassy notes. Willamette will require a lot of hops for bittering but why not? You'd use less Galaxy or Mosaic for bittering but Mosaic itself is a flavor hop and valuable in the last minutes of the boil. There's no real pat answer - generally IPAs will use high alpha hops at 60 minutes, then a lot of hops later on. If you feel you're not getting a firm answer that's because there's not one. Lots of good advice in this thread but eventually you'll have to make a decision and pull the trigger. As the brewer, the final decision is yours. It's your first IPA. It won't be perfect but you'll learn from it. Brew on!

 

[J A]

I see your question on hops wasn’t responded to, so I’ll chime in. I’d question the use of Willimette for bittering as this is an aroma hop more suitable for darker or English style ales.

I disagree. Willamette is one of the premier dual purpose hops. Very clean and smoothe bittering properties as well as a nice aroma hop. I use it for a lot of different beers where I want a "neutral" hoppiness as opposed to Noble or American characteristics.

As for the hops in general, I'd drop the IBUs just a little and dry hop with some Amarillo and Cascade in combo.

 

[Shaka]

Thank you all!

I disagree. Willamette is one of the premier dual purpose hops. Very clean and smoothe bittering properties as well as a nice aroma hop. I use it for a lot of different beers where I want a "neutral" hoppiness as opposed to Noble or American characteristics.

As for the hops in general, I'd drop the IBUs just a little and dry hop with some Amarillo and Cascade in combo.

I dropped the IBUs down to around 55, and will dry hop with those! How many g/l should I be dry hopping? Around 4/5 g/L?

 

[J A]

I use 2-3 ounces (total) per 5 gallons for a basic IPA so whatever that translates to. Willamette in the dry hop is very good too, but the Amarillo and Cascade are so perfect together that I probably wouldn't bother in this instance.

 

[Blackmuse]

Sounds like JA does about .5 oz per gallon and there is 3.7 litres in a gallon so I would say that 12-15 grams total would be about what he does per gallon. So it sounds like you are in the right ballpark with 4/5 grams per litre. If all my wonky conversions are right!

- I'm not a big IPA fan but when it comes to American hops, Amarillo and Cascade are some of my favorites. I agree with using them for dry hops!

 

[Nosybear]

Sounds like JA does about .5 oz per gallon and there is 3.7 litres in a gallon so I would say that 12-15 grams total would be about what he does per gallon. So it sounds like you are in the right ballpark with 4/5 grams per litre. If all my wonky conversions are right!

- I'm not a big IPA fan but when it comes to American hops, Amarillo and Cascade are some of my favorites. I agree with using them for dry hops!

My Bob and Doug MacKenzie conversions from squirrel units to 'Murkin agrees: 15 grams per gallon divided by 4 liters per gallon gives about 4 grams per liter - writing it with the "/" had me thinking you were using a fraction.

When I'm "wagging" conversions:
30 grams to an ounce
4 liters to a gallon
A liter is a quart
500 grams is a pound
A kilometer is 2/3 mile
A meter is a yard
30 centimeters is a foot

Those are "close enough" for me to convert 'Murkin to Squirrel when I lived in Germany....