Session IPA Recipe

Barrel + Anchor

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I was a little ambitious with my first brew, trying to emulate one of my favorite dry-hopped Imperial IPAs. On round two, I am trying to scale back the complexity and just hit a solid crisp, citrusy, session IPA.

I am particularly concerned about the malt bill, but I would be happy to hear any feedback on the expectations the following recipe might present:

https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/view/501590/daybreak-session-ipa
 
Conceptually, the recipe is good but I'd suggest:
1...skip the sugar and just use some more extract.
2...You can't just steep Munich and Vienna so you'll have to do a mini-mash to convert. Set your efficiency higher than the default 35%...probably 65 or 70 will get you in the ball park.
3...use grapefruit zest and not peel or you'll have a lot of ugly bitterness. With the hops you're using, you could skip it. Or you could consider grapefruit (or blood orange) puree very late in the boil...that'll give you a more full and lush fruit flavor.
3...Eldorado hops can be very harsh in the 60 minute addition. Use some Magnum to get the same IBUs at 60 and save your Eldorado for more late additions.
It's a good hop combo and should give you a nice beer.
 
I second the changing the El Dorado as the 60 minute addition. I've tried bittering with it a few times and it is just an extremely harsh bitterness. The only time it worked was in a blonde ale as just a touch of bittnerness and dry hopping. I even disliked using it as a late addition, but that's probably just my taste. I would stick with Magnum or something similar for the 60 minute addition.
 
I even disliked using it as a late addition, but that's probably just my taste.
Agree...Generally speaking, the later the better for El D...
 
I'm with J A on losing the corn sugar. Not only will it boost the ABV, but it will also thin the beer out. That's the last thing you need in a session beer. Munich and Vienna are base malts. You'll get very little out of them by steeping.

As a rule, session beers run right around 5%, or a little less. At this ABV, they can seem pretty thin. I'd leave the extract alone, drop the corn sugar and replace the steeping grains with about 12 oz. each C-15 and Carapils and mash at 156F to ensure some body. I also agree with using Magnum for bittering.

You're not showing any water information, so I can't make any recommendations there. If you were treating you water, I'd go light on Sulfate and heavy on Chloride.
 
Sorry but I can't back you guys with magnum for an American IPA. It has a grapefruit addition for goodness sake. Never used eldorado but why not some warrior or more cascade or any c hop for bittering? Why would you want a clean IPA? My 2 cents worth respectfully. Steep grains at 156f for 20min and keep the sugar.
Edit: 6%abv is not very sessionable though.
Removing sugar would help that.
 
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I'm with J A on losing the corn sugar. Not only will it boost the ABV, but it will also thin the beer out. That's the last thing you need in a session beer. Munich and Vienna are base malts. You'll get very little out of them by steeping.

As a rule, session beers run right around 5%, or a little less. At this ABV, they can seem pretty thin. I'd leave the extract alone, drop the corn sugar and replace the steeping grains with about 12 oz. each C-15 and Carapils and mash at 156F to ensure some body. I also agree with using Magnum for bittering.

You're not showing any water information, so I can't make any recommendations there. If you were treating you water, I'd go light on Sulfate and heavy on Chloride.

Don't know where I came up with mashing for an extract recipe. Meant to say steeping. Thanks Head First.
 
Why would you want a clean IPA? My 2 cents worth respectfully.
Magnum isn't going to give you a "clean" IPA. It's not a generic non-flavor by any means. It lends its own layer of flavor that includes big noble/floral/fruity/spice notes but not the typical piney, resinous flavors of the American hops. It does a great job of lending a smooth bitterness while staying out of the way and supporting the featured flavors of the late additions.
That being said, I wouldn't argue with Warrior, either. I use both for different highly-hopped beers, invariably choosing the smoother flavor of Magnum for "session" beers and Warrior for beers with more malt to hold up to the pleasant piney bite of.
 
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Don't know where I came up with mashing for an extract recipe. Meant to say steeping. Thanks Head First.
Your notion of simply replacing the base malts with proper steeping malts is a good one for this recipe. I like the idea of a mini-mash for an extract IPA but simple is good for the OP's "first brew". :)
 
This is all tremendously helpful. I appreciate each of you taking the time to offer your advice. I have some questions that I will address as replies to posts.
 
Conceptually, the recipe is good but I'd suggest:
1...skip the sugar and just use some more extract.
2...You can't just steep Munich and Vienna so you'll have to do a mini-mash to convert. Set your efficiency higher than the default 35%...probably 65 or 70 will get you in the ball park.
3...use grapefruit zest and not peel or you'll have a lot of ugly bitterness. With the hops you're using, you could skip it. Or you could consider grapefruit (or blood orange) puree very late in the boil...that'll give you a more full and lush fruit flavor.
3...Eldorado hops can be very harsh in the 60 minute addition. Use some Magnum to get the same IBUs at 60 and save your Eldorado for more late additions.
It's a good hop combo and should give you a nice beer.

Thank you for the advice. Forgive my naivete, but I have just a few questions:

  1. How is one to come to the conclusion that you can't steep Munich and Vienna, especially as a homebrewer? Is this a trial and error lesson people have learned along the way? Is this a fundamental construct of chemistry? And is it that you cannot steep them together? Or that you wouldn't steep them at all?
  2. I have done one extract brew. Happy to learn and keep trying and advancing my skills. That said, I have never done a mini-mash. Why is that doing a mini-mash would be more suitable for this recipe? What does the resulting conversion do to the ingredients? Is this a taste issue? Color? ABV? Still learning.
  3. Re: the grapefruit addition. Whether zest or puree, is this in a bag? Or just drop it straight in? Are we talking like five minutes out.

In any case. Super helpful advice. Thanks again.
 
I second the changing the El Dorado as the 60 minute addition. I've tried bittering with it a few times and it is just an extremely harsh bitterness. The only time it worked was in a blonde ale as just a touch of bittnerness and dry hopping. I even disliked using it as a late addition, but that's probably just my taste. I would stick with Magnum or something similar for the 60 minute addition.

If I am following correctly, Adding El Dorado as the 60 minute addition will be too bitter. Better course of action is to add Magnum at 60 minutes and at El Dorado late in the boil for flavor, if that. Presuming that is correct, what would you say I should expect from each by using in that manner? Maybe stated otherwise, what, if any noticeable, result (presuming I don't screw anything up), should I expect from adding Magnum at bittering. Are we talking about hitting an IBU number/threshold or should I be looking for some cicerone level nuance in the final product? What flavors should I expect from adding the El Dorado late in the boil? To be perfectly honest, there are just so many tables and articles out there about hop flavors that it provides kind of a shifting view of expectations. Extending from this, and based on your reply, is that I am not trying to create a blonde ale. Would it be your conclusion that this recipe, even if unintended, will lead to something like that? Or will this taste like a more sessionable IPA?
 
I'm with J A on losing the corn sugar. Not only will it boost the ABV, but it will also thin the beer out. That's the last thing you need in a session beer. Munich and Vienna are base malts. You'll get very little out of them by steeping.

As a rule, session beers run right around 5%, or a little less. At this ABV, they can seem pretty thin. I'd leave the extract alone, drop the corn sugar and replace the steeping grains with about 12 oz. each C-15 and Carapils and mash at 156F to ensure some body. I also agree with using Magnum for bittering.

You're not showing any water information, so I can't make any recommendations there. If you were treating you water, I'd go light on Sulfate and heavy on Chloride.

Thank you very much. This is helpful. So, corn sugar sounds like it is gone. But, as your feedback identifies, I am a little concerned about this becoming too thin. At the same time, I am trying to avoid something that is overwhelmingly malty. So, the question may be....do you have any thoughts on how to strike that balance with this recipe? 12 oz. of C-15 and Carapils. Check. Magnum for bittering. Consensus. I'm not looking at something too thin in that equation?

Thank you again.
 
You seem to be concerned about conflicting issues...avoiding overwhelming maltiness and also avoiding something thin. Corn sugar will thin the body, no doubt. You're very unlikely to get too much malty flavor from any extract and you have plenty of hops to balance.
Have a look at this version:
https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/view/796513/daybreak-session-ipa-edited-by-ja
You're not going to be able to predict what your first brew is going be like just based on recipe. You're smart to look for advice and you seem to be open to learning. Just start brewing stuff...you have a lot to figure out and a there's plenty of trial and error along the way. ;)
 
OK, the corn sugar would raise the alcohol level of the beer without adding any body or sweetness. Basically, this thins the beer.

Steeping the Carapils and C-15 will also add some sugars, but at the same time, will add body and sweetness. In addition. the sugars they contribute will be much less fermentable than that from the corn sugar. Both the body and sweetness will help to balance the hops in the recipe. The less fermentable sugars will help you stay in the "session" range.

If you go with Magnum for the 60 minute addition, just match the IBUs you would get from the El Dorado you're replacing.

You're not going to get exactly what you want on the first try. You should get a drinkable session IPA with these modifications as long as your process is solid. Beyond that, you'll get a starting point. Many experienced brewers take several iterations to dial in a recipe, so don't be discouraged with a less than stellar first try.
 

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