Hibiscus Red IPA

Cory001

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I would like some feedback on a recipe I have been working on.

My intentions are to brew a vibrant red ipa. It should lean more towards the bitter side than the malt, but not be a west coast. Maybe around 60 IBUs. Also, the flavors should be floral and slightly(ever so slightly) fruity. Hints the raspberries going in the boil. And the ABV around 5.5%

For this I have chosen:
6.5 ounce dried hibiscus with 5 mins left in the boil.
1 pound frozen raspberries going in during chill down 180-145 F for 30 mins to pasteurize.

Thank you in advance!


HOME BREW RECIPE:
Title: Hibiscus Red IPA

Brew Method: All Grain
Style Name: Specialty IPA: Red IPA
Boil Time: 60 min
Batch Size: 5.5 gallons (fermenter volume)
Boil Size: 7.08 gallons
Boil Gravity: 1.042
Efficiency: 75% (brew house)

Hop Utilization Multiplier: 1

STATS:
Original Gravity: 1.054
Final Gravity: 1.011
ABV (standard): 5.57%
IBU (tinseth): 61.66
SRM (morey): 14.12
Mash pH: 5.39

FERMENTABLES:
8.9 lb - Pale 2-Row (82.3%)
244.36 g - Red X (5%)
244.36 g - Caramel / Crystal 60L (5%)
135.93 g - Roasted Barley (2.8%)
244.36 g - American - American - Carapils (Dextrine Malt) (5%)

HOPS:
32 g - Chinook, Type: Pellet, AA: 11, Use: Boil for 60 min, IBU: 46.18
14.17 g - Amarillo, Type: Pellet, AA: 8.6, Use: Boil for 20 min, IBU: 9.68
14.17 g - Amarillo, Type: Pellet, AA: 8.6, Use: Boil for 10 min, IBU: 5.8
28.35 g - Amarillo, Type: Pellet, AA: 8.6, Use: Dry Hop for 2 days

MASH GUIDELINES:
1) Strike, Temp: 151 F, Time: 60 min, Amount: 3.4 gal
2) Vorlauf, Temp: F, Time: 10 min
3) Fly Sparge, Temp: 170 F, Time: 45 min, Amount: 3.6 gal
Starting Mash Thickness: 1.5 qt/lb

OTHER INGREDIENTS:
6.5 oz - Hibiscus, Time: 5 min, Type: Herb, Use: Boil
1 each - Whirlfloc, Time: 5 min, Type: Water Agt, Use: Boil
5.5 tsp - Yeast Nutrient, Time: 5 min, Type: Other, Use: Boil
1 lb - Raspberries (frozen), Time: 0 min, Type: Flavor, Use: Boil
5.62 g - Gypsum, Time: 0 min, Type: Water Agt, Use: Mash
1.74 g - Epsom Salt, Time: 0 min, Type: Water Agt, Use: Mash
5.2 g - Calcium Chloride (dihydrate), Time: 0 min, Type: Water Agt, Use: Mash
3.7 g - Baking Soda, Time: 0 min, Type: Water Agt, Use: Mash
6.5 ml - Lactic acid, Time: 0 min, Type: Water Agt, Use: Mash

YEAST:
White Labs - California Ale Yeast WLP001
Starter: Yes
Form: Liquid
Attenuation (avg): 76.5%
Flocculation: Medium
Optimum Temp: 68 - 73 F
Fermentation Temp: 67 F
Pitch Rate: 0.35 (M cells / ml / deg P)

PRIMING:
Method: co2
Amount: 8.15 psi
CO2 Level: 2.25 Volumes

TARGET WATER PROFILE:
Profile Name: Balanced Profile
Ca2: 80
Mg2: 5
Na: 25
Cl: 75
SO4: 80
HCO3: 100
Water Notes:

NOTES:
Add salt additions to total volume of water while heating up. Then separate between MT and HLT.

Check mash ph and adjust as necessary 5.2 - 5.4.

Allow raspberries to thaw. Mash up the fruit. When chilling the wort remove the chiller once 180 degrees is hit. Add fruit into a clean hop basket or muslin bag. Steep for 30 mins maintaining temp above 145 degrees.

Ferment under pressure at 12psi and 67 degrees.
 
sub'd

looks insteresting. never brewed with flowers so I am very interested in seeing how it turns out.

I have an IPA that I brew with juniper berries, so I like to see other people's experiments too.
 
Our brewery brews a red IPA with beet powder for color and it's very vibrant
 
Yes beet root powder would be a good substitute indeed. But, how do you get the perception of hibiscus? If you were to want that perception. Also, Im using hibiscus because I live in Fl and grow them in my yard. So I thought it would be a fun experiment. Thank you for your advise! Cheers
 
I agree, it seems yo be a solid recipe. You can't know for sure how it will be until you brew it. But you should get a not-sweet but fruity red beer from that.

The Amarillo will be present as the majority of floral I think. Never tried hibiscus, but you should get a little of the flavor.

Please let us know how it turns out!
 
I haven't played with Red X, but the rest of the grain bill seems like you would come out with something looking like an ESB.
I'm in Florida too, and we have a place locally that makes a tasty Red IPA. It is closer to the 6.8% range though.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the feedback. Now you all have me thinking about skipping the Red X. But I ask why you guys say that?
 
At 5%, it might be a Pale Ale, but a Red Pale Ale sounds very good. Irish Ale Yeast in a hoppy beer sound good (Ideas for self for the future):)
 
I have used red x extensively. To me it's a more intense munich malt and not really a specialty malt. Personally, I would use at least 20% or skip it altogether. That's just me though. It's your beer!

https://bestmalz.de/en/malts/best-red-x/
Thank you! So I adjusted the bill and removed the red x, just added it back to the 2row. The srm only dropped a half point. Im gonna guess with the q pound of raspberries and 6.5 ounce hibiscus it wont be needed. Thank you for your help.
 
Your recipe looks great. Try using some Special B to help balance the flavor and SRM.

Ingredients:

  • 8 lb 2-row malt
  • 1 lb Caramel malt
  • 0.5 lb Special B malt
  • 0.5 lb Crystal malt
  • 2 lb Raspberries (added during boil)
  • 2 oz Citra hops (60 min)
  • 1 oz Galaxy hops (15 min)
  • 1 oz Citra hops (5 min)
  • 1 oz Galaxy hops (0 min)
  • American Ale yeast
  • 1 tsp Irish moss (15 min)
 
At only 5%, I wouldn't bother with the red X

I agree. That little of RedX won't do anything for color.
I've done a Red IPA with 100% Red X and it was a hit at Gulf Brew in '21. (the keg floated in a few hours)

Note, I seem to recall that optimum RedX mash temp is 148ºF for best color, but double check that with BestMalz who makes it.

I too grow Hibiscus and plan to use it in a Saison and a Hop Water. But be certain you are using Zinger Hibiscus. Not all of that species are 'edible'. (there may be others besides Zinger, but I don't seem to find info on them)

Zinger produces a dark red Calyx that you peel off and dry after picking. You can leave the Calyx petals whole or crush them in a grinder. I haven't figure out dosage rates yet, so I'll use your recipe as a starting point. Thanks! (I doubt you'll hurt anything as the entire pod is edible, it is from the Okra family, but you may not like the result!)

As for the fruit, I personally don't bother with pasteurizing and haven't ever had issues. I never let fruit touch heat. I spray or soak it with StarSan, then drain and put it in a Ziplock in the freezer. I do a freeze/thaw/smash cycle at least twice before adding to the primary after fermentation and diacetyl rest. (the freezing might substitute for heat pasteurization - not sure) Timing depends on strength of fruit. Cranberry needs only a day or two. (it goes in a sanitized bag/sock) Weak fruits like Watermelon also get treated with Pectic Enzyme for maximum flavor extraction. If I need a long period for fruiting (I've gone 3 months on Watermelon) I'll put the fruit in a secondary in that case.
 
I'll add if anyone is curious, that with my fruiting process, the fruits are slightly thawed when added to the fermenter, but only enough to facilitate the logistics of getting them in there and are still ice-cold. The beer at this point has been crashed and/or racked to secondary in a CO2 purged container and has been held below 40ºF for several days. It never gets above 40ºF until you drink it, and then, it isn't in the food danger zone (40–140ºF) long enough to be a safety issue.
 

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