TROPICAL IPA Overdoing it on hops?

I don't think that's overdoing it. The ibus might be a little high for a session IPA, but the sweetness from the honey malt should balance it.
 
I wouldn't call it overdoing it for an IPA, but then I wonder if I'm overdoing it sometimes. I love a Citra/Galaxy mix and the others sound like they should play nicely with the Citra/Galaxy.

For hop forward beers I've moved to putting the boil hops in as either an initial bittering addition or an extended flameout and skipping the middle additions. I haven't played with this enough to be sure it's making a difference, but I've enjoyed the beers more since the change. It's possible it's more to do with increasing the dry hop rates which I started doing around the same time (poor recipe development, I know, change one thing at a time :rolleyes:).

But you know your tastes better than me, and the recipe reads as a dry, clean session IPA with a reasonable amount of fruity/tropical hops. It certainly makes sense to me as a first version that you can change based on tasting the first batch.
 
https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/view/811289/tropical-session-ipa
I have a bunch of hops that I don't know what to do with so i'm making a sessions ipa but I keep thinking im overdoing it on the hops. am I overdoing it or its just the style? thank you for your feedback
There are those who would say it's impossible to overdo it on the hops. I do not belong to that tribe. I agree with Goschman - cut the IBUs back and make a drinkable beer. Or make sure you have enough residual sweetness to offset the bitter.
 
I'm with goshman and Nosy
I just don't think there's enough in the malt bill to hold up. On top of that, El Dorado can be really harsh when used for bittering. I think you'll end up with something that has a lingering bitterness that's not offset by body and malt flavor. It's true that the relatively high percentage of honey malt will add sweetness and body, but without more complexity, it runs the risk of being out of balance.
It might work as is, but I'd move the El Dorado to 30 with the Citra and push the other hops to 15 minutes to make up a few more IBUs if you really wanted. Or you could just switch out the El Dorado and Lemon Drop and cut down a little that way.
If you're one who really loves a biting, bracing bitterness, you could try as is. The hop combo should give some nice flavors.
 
so im thinking of adding one pound of crystal carmel 40 should that even it out?
 
and dropping the 2 row to 9 pounds to keep it a session
 
I wouldn't use extra Crystal malt. You've already got 10 percent. It's more about the BU/GU ratio of 1.5. That's pretty high for a session beer.
If you're just really determined to use all your hops exactly as they are, and keep the gravity the same, maybe throw in some Munich to lend some"backbone". No matter what malt you use at that gravity, you're going to have a very bitter beer. If that's what you want, carry on. ;)
 
so im just making it a regular ipa and go on from there
 
I think what JA is saying cut you 60minute hop addition back a bit and move your mid/late boil hops toward flameout/whirlpool you still get bitterness there without becoming overly bitter on the throught that way you can enjoy them hop flavours sooner after every sip.

You do want a session IPA in the end. One where you can Nock a good six or more back and feel refreshed and all hopped up.
 
so im just making it a regular ipa and go on from there
No, you can make a highly hopped session beer, just be prepared for the bitterness to be much more pronounced than a standard IPA. Your question is whether you may be overdoing it with the hops for your session IPA and my opinion is, yes, you may be...especially given that your choice of hops for 60 minute bittering charge is one that can be harsh and lingering.
If you use the same hops in a way that keeps the intensity and flavor and lowers the alpha acid uptake, you could lower the IBUs and make it a little more balanced. You suggested a change to your malt bill instead and I suggested an alternate change that might give some intensity without increasing the crystal malt percentage so much.
In the end, I think you can get a good beer either way. You just have to decide if you want to commit to a BU/GU of 1.5 - very high for a lighter beer. Lagunitas Daytime session IPA is 1.035 and 35 IBUs. That's less that 1/1. Founders All Day session IPA is 4.7% ABV, probably OG in the mid 40s and IBUs of 42...again 1/1 or less. You can do a quick search and find that most session IPAs have a relatively balanced BU/GU. If you want something similar, change you hops a little. If you want something with a lot more bite than is typical, brew as is.
 
ok so I tweaked it back to a session dropped bittering and the mid addition by .25 ounces and moved it to the dry hop and tweaked the malt bill it is now a bu/gu of 1.03 should that be better? also updated the recipe link too thank you for our help
 
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That looks like a better beer, to me. You're still going to get a ton hop hop juice from the dry-hopping and that'll contribute to percieved bitterness, but in a much smoother way. You should have pretty crazy hop complexity with that bunch of hops. Your flavor spectrum will go from almost slightly savory in the Eukanot and to fruity candy in the El Dorado and Lemon Drop with the Citra and Galaxy in between giving rich, complex tropicals and big dank. I predict something akin to this: https://lagunitas.com/beer/12th-of-never
If you get anything even close to that beer, you'll be very, very happy. :)
 
cool thanks I think this will be the final recipe cheers
 
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The final recipe looks great. Very tropical fruit and a less bitter flavor.
 
https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/view/811289/tropical-session-ipa
I have a bunch of hops that I don't know what to do with so i'm making a sessions ipa but I keep thinking im overdoing it on the hops. am I overdoing it or its just the style? thank you for your feedback

According to Jen Talley, author and expert on session beers, less fermentable wort, less attenuative yeast and going heavy on Chloride are key to enough body in session beers so they don't seem watered down. This fuller body allows a well made session beer to stand up to very respectable hopping rates. Your use of Honey Malt and C-40 should help in that respect. Beyond that, whether you're going overboard depends entirely on your preference..
 
ipa 1.jpg
ipa 1.jpg
final product crisp nice bitterness tropical with a touch of sweetness
 

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