Simple starter IPA for the wifey

SpartyBrew

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I'm a BIAB brewer on my 4th batch. My intention is to brew an IPA for the wife. I would like to do a 2-2.5 gallon batch and use some grains I have left over from my previous batch. I have plenty of American 2-row pale malt and some 60L caramel, some flaked wheat and barley and some other odds and ends. I'd like a simple-ish recipe without a zillion different hops or dry hopping for my first IPA.

I'm not much of an IPA fan, myself. She loves them and I would like to brew something she likes. Partially because I love her and partially because I want her to continue to tolerate my new hobby :)

Any suggestions for styles, or better yet, recipes?
 
I suggest Pale Ale rather than IPAs as they're less often dry hopped. You can do a whirlpool or hopstand (just throw in some hops when your wort cools to about 180 and leave then sit for about 20 monutes) and get lots of good flavor and aroma without dry hopping.
Search the beer recipes with filters for style and the specific ingredients you have. There are literally thousands of recipes in the database. Here's one that a quick search turned up:
https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/view/729896/sierra-nevada-clone
Don't know why the 2-row is broken into 2 amounts but you could ignore that and throw in a handful of flaked barley or wheat for body and have a fine beer. You wouldn't necessarily have to bother with the Perle in the hop schedule...just throw in some more Cascade. This one is dry-hopped but if you really didn't want to do that, just do the whirlpool/hopstand.
 
So what does she prefer in the hop forward stuff:
  • Bitter vs Juicy (not really a versus, but helps work out the hopping schedule)
  • Dry vs balancing sweetness (on the pale to dark malty scale)
  • Single imperial vs double imperial vs pale ale?
Edit: my wife could never work out the answer to these. She kept saying both, so now she brews her own.
 
So what does she prefer in the hop forward stuff:
  • Bitter vs Juicy (not really a versus, but helps work out the hopping schedule)
  • Dry vs balancing sweetness (on the pale to dark malty scale)
  • Single imperial vs double imperial vs pale ale?
Edit: my wife could never work out the answer to these. She kept saying both, so now she brews her own.
Sorry off topic, but there's a single and double imperial? I thought double and imperial were essentially same thing
 
BJCP category is Double IPA. The only style that's designated as Imperial is an Imperial Stout. That being said, a lot of DIPAs are called Imperial because it sounds cool.
Here's a snippet from the BJCP style guidelines for DIPA:
"Comments: A showcase for hops, yet remaining quite
drinkable. The adjective “double" is arbitrary and simply
implies a stronger version of an IPA; “imperial,” “extra,”
“extreme,” or any other variety of adjectives would be equally
valid, although the modern American market seems to have
now coalesced around the “double” term."
 
Thanks, that was pretty much my understanding too
 
Sorry off topic, but there's a single and double imperial? I thought double and imperial were essentially same thing
Not really, just a stupid way I have of saying pale > ipa > iipa
 

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