Whirlpool Hops in a West Coast IPA?

[Craigerrr]

I feel like I have "come a long way baby" in the 18 months that I have been home brewing, but feel that this question belongs in the beginner area.

I am enjoying my latest WCIPA, and it has a good hop flavor, and aroma...

I wish it carried more of the hop flavor though. So maybe my question is actually, where should I add more hops to get this result? Here is the recipe.

https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/view/650670/cit-ruby-cit

 

[philjohnwilliams]

When you do your 0 minute addition, do you start to chill right away, or do you let it sit for a while first? When I am doing a hoppy IPA I usually add a bunch of hops at flameout, then cover the kettle and let it sit for 30 minutes or so before I start to chill. Swapping out a few oz of citra for another hop may also help, I find I get a better hop flavour with a mix of two or three hops.

 

[J A]

Yeah, the above is solid advice. Add some Centennial or CTZ for some depth of flavor and definitely leave your F/O hops in throughout the cool down. Add some whirlpool as well. I do all those things when I'm doing an IPA.

 

[Craigerrr]

Thanks for the reply.

To date, I have added flame out hops and started cooling within a few minutes. Maybe that will give me better results.

I have a few variations of this recipe just with different hops, trying to gain some taste bud knowledge on what different hops bring to a beer. The last version was bittered with magnum as well, all other hop additions were Zythos, which is a blend. It tasted very similar but had a nicer hop flavor presence, maybe that is due to it being a blend of IPA friendly hops.

 

[Craigerrr]

Yeah, the above is solid advice. Add some Centennial or CTZ for some depth of flavor and definitely leave your F/O hops in throughout the cool down. Add some whirlpool as well. I do all those things when I'm doing an IPA.

Thanks JA
As mentioned above, I have been experimenting a bit to learn more about hop flavors. What I am happy about is that aside from the difference in hop flavor, the beer is just like the last brew with Zythos hops. Same color, same bitterness, same malt presence. Maybe I should just tweak the hop additions as you recommended and make this my go to WCIPA
Thanks for the input!

 

[J A]

Maybe I should just tweak the hop additions as you recommended and make this my go to WCIPA

I have a malt bill and hop combo that I consider my "House IPA #1" and it's not a bad idea to zero in on something that works and keep brewing it, finding the subtle tweaks that will make it better and more consistent.

 

[philjohnwilliams]

I have a malt bill and hop combo that I consider my "House IPA #1" and it's not a bad idea to zero in on something that works and keep brewing it, finding the subtle tweaks that will make it better and more consistent.

This is pretty much what I have been doing with my IPAs for a while now. I have a grain bill that I have settled on after a few tweaks, and I can use this as a base to try different hop types and ways of using them. If you haven't tried it yet, galaxy/citra is a great combo.

 

[Craigerrr]

Thanks again folks!
I will post again for feedback when I have tweaked the recipe.
Cheers

 

[Head First]

Thanks again folks!
I will post again for feedback when I have tweaked the recipe.
Cheers

Just a thought to ponder but C 60 does add some sweetness which counters hops. I find victory or biscuit malt gives it the body and adds a more what I call beer flavor without the sweetness. This helps the hop aroma shine out just a bit more IMO. Just a thought .

 

[Craigerrr]

Just a thought to ponder but C 60 does add some sweetness which counters hops. I find victory or biscuit malt gives it the body and adds a more what I call beer flavor without the sweetness. This helps the hop aroma shine out just a bit more IMO. Just a thought .

Thanks for the suggestion

 

[Craigerrr]

So if was to use victory for instance, and I want to keep the color close to what it is, could I increase the percentage of victory and decrease the base malt? Or would that mess with the flavor too much?

 

[J A]

Don't brew for color...Brew for taste.

 

[Head First]

Don't brew for color...Brew for taste.

Agreed! If a beer tastes just perfect then that color will become your favorite!

 

[Craigerrr]

I am really happy with how this beer tastes, including the hop contributions. I am going to leave the grain bill as is, and just work on enhancing what the hops bring from the suggestions above.

Thanks again for all of the input, much appreciated!

 

[Hamner Brewhouse]

I have a malt bill and hop combo that I consider my "House IPA #1" and it's not a bad idea to zero in on something that works and keep brewing it, finding the subtle tweaks that will make it better and more consistent.

I essentially have that with a SMaSH. 8 lbs 2-row then tweak the hops. However next tweak will be kegging instead of bottle conditioning.

 

[BOB357]

For the last few months I've gotten away from whirlpool additions and gone to kettle additions at 60, 10 and 1. Kind of old fashioned, but I really like the results in beers that I prefer a solid hop presence in. Example PDF below.
There's no shortage of hop flavor or aroma in this beer.
.

 

[Ozarks Mountain Brewery]

I'm just the opposite and been very happy with my hop presence, but this requires a dedicated pump whirlpool set up, you need to add your finings after the whirlpool

 

[BOB357]

Agreed. I was using a pump to whirlpool. That was before switching to my electric MIAB system. I think we're talking preference to differences in flavor and aroma characteristics as much as presence. At least I am

 

[Craigerrr]

Here is my revised Recipe revised recipe.
revised hop bill
will wait 30 minutes after flameout to begin cooling
moved some hops to whirlpool for 10 minutes at 180F
As mentioned I am happy with the grain bill, liking the malt character
I won't be rebrewing this one for a little while, but will post here again once I have.

https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/view/650670/cit-ruby-cit

 

[Head First]

Here is my revised Recipe revised recipe.
revised hop bill
will wait 30 minutes after flameout to begin cooling
moved some hops to whirlpool for 10 minutes at 180F
As mentioned I am happy with the grain bill, liking the malt character
I won't be rebrewing this one for a little while, but will post here again once I have.

https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/view/650670/cit-ruby-cit

1# of hops looks good. If you want to keep playing with this recipe later you could consider maybe Warrior for bittering addition. They are not as clean as magnum but definitely match that hop bill. We brewed a little Amber this week for changing weather but seeing this reminds me IPA's are always in season. Now I know what to brew next!