Belle's Back Talk IPA

[BFB]

Hi, I am new here. I wanted to see what you folks thought about this recipe I designed. This is a modification of a recipe I have made twice. I was not quite happy with either attempt so I have changed the malt and hop schedule. The previous batches were using all Citra for the flavor, aroma, and dry hop additions. Now I have added in some Cascade and reduced the Citra in each addition. Also, I was using 11 lbs American 2-Row for the base malt but now I am using Maris Otter for 7 lbs. I added 1/2 lbs of Cara Rye for color and some additional malt flavor and I added Carafoam to get some added body.

So, what do you folks think? Will this be a good beer. I am brewing it on Sunday.

Code: Select all

BeerSmith 2 Recipe Printout - http://www.beersmith.com
Recipe: Belle's Back Talk IPA
Brewer: Dana H. P'Simer
Asst Brewer:
Style: American IPA
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (30.0)

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 7.22 gal
Post Boil Volume: 5.72 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.00 gal   
Bottling Volume: 4.50 gal
Estimated OG: 1.074 SG
Estimated Color: 8.3 SRM
Estimated IBU: 64.6 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 78.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 85.8 %
Boil Time: 90 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt                   Name                                     Type          #        %/IBU         
7 lbs                 Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM)         Grain         1        53.8 %       
4 lbs                 Briess 2-Row Brewer's Malt (2.0 SRM)     Grain         2        30.8 %       
1 lbs                 Rye Malt (4.7 SRM)                       Grain         3        7.7 %         
8.0 oz                Cara Rye (66.0 SRM)                      Grain         4        3.8 %         
8.0 oz                Carafoam (2.0 SRM)                       Grain         5        3.8 %         
1.00 oz               Chinook [13.00 %] - Boil 60.0 min        Hop           6        42.3 IBUs     
0.50 oz               Cascade [5.50 %] - Boil 15.0 min         Hop           7        4.4 IBUs     
0.50 oz               Citra [12.00 %] - Boil 15.0 min          Hop           8        9.7 IBUs     
0.50 oz               Cascade [5.50 %] - Boil 5.0 min          Hop           9        1.8 IBUs     
0.50 oz               Citra [12.00 %] - Boil 5.0 min           Hop           10       3.9 IBUs     
0.50 oz               Cascade [5.50 %] - Boil 2.0 min          Hop           11       0.8 IBUs     
0.50 oz               Citra [12.00 %] - Boil 2.0 min           Hop           12       1.7 IBUs     
1.00 oz               Cascade [5.50 %] - Boil 0.0 min          Hop           13       0.0 IBUs     
1.00 oz               Citra [12.00 %] - Boil 0.0 min           Hop           14       0.0 IBUs     
1.0 pkg               Northwest Ale (Wyeast Labs #1332) [124.2 Yeast         15       -             
1.00 oz               Cascade [5.50 %] - Dry Hop 14.0 Days     Hop           16       0.0 IBUs     
1.00 oz               Citra [12.00 %] - Dry Hop 14.0 Days      Hop           17       0.0 IBUs     


Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Light Body
Total Grain Weight: 13 lbs
----------------------------
Name              Description                             Step Temperat Step Time     
Mash In           Add 18.25 qt of water at 157.9 F        148.0 F       75 min       
Mash Out          Add 10.40 qt of water at 207.6 F        168.0 F       10 min       

Sparge: Fly sparge with 2.12 gal water at 168.0 F
Notes:
------
0 min Hop additions to be added once wort reaches 185 deg F.  Allow to step for 5 minutes and continue cooling.

Created with BeerSmith 2 - http://www.beersmith.com
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[Ozwald]

Welcome, make your way over to the new users section & tell us more about yourself.

As for the recipe, it looks fairly solid. Depending on your brewing history & yeast prowess, I have a feeling that it's not going to attenuate like you want it to. I'd drop 1 - 1.5# of the Marris Otter & make up for the gravity loss (using your software to bring it back up to your current numbers) using corn sugar. Just a couple of percentage points. Another suggestion might be to move those 15 minute hops back into more of a hop bursting technique.

Not saying there's any fatal flaws that stick out, but a couple minor suggestions.

The one thing I seriously recommend changing is the mash schedule. It depends heavily on your system, so maybe you know something that I don't, but I would consider a 20-30 min rest at 148, bringing it up to 152 for another 30-40 & then doing your mashout. If you're restricted by MLT volume, maybe thicken up the 148 step a touch & mashout a couple degrees lower. There's nothing wrong with 165.

[BFB]

Ozwald, thanks for the suggestions. I have a question about your mash schedule suggestion.

I understand that at 148 I should get beta-amylase activity and lots of fermentable sugars but your second step is 152 which is low for alpha-amylase activity, shouldn't it be more like 154 or 155?

As for the attenuation, I was considering changing the yeast. WPL090 sounds like a clean yeast that would be good for this beer and should attenuate the beer rather well.

Thanks

[Ozwald]

Ozwald, thanks for the suggestions. I have a question about your mash schedule suggestion.

I understand that at 148 I should get beta-amylase activity and lots of fermentable sugars but your second step is 152 which is low for alpha-amylase activity, shouldn't it be more like 154 or 155?

As for the attenuation, I was considering changing the yeast. WPL090 sounds like a clean yeast that would be good for this beer and should attenuate the beer rather well.

Thanks

The enzymes are going to do different 'jobs' at different temps. I don't think about it as 154/155 being a sweet spot for alpha, it just does one thing there & a completely different thing a few degrees lower. It'll also leave some residual effects from the beta. 148-152-168 is an experience thing, not something I learned from a book.

As far as attenuation, I didn't see what yeast you were using until now (I never made the switch from ProMash, probably never will) I was more considering what you were feeding the yeast, ie how attenuable the wort itself was. If you swap a couple percentage points from M.O. to corn sugar & use the mash schedule I recommended, you'd be fine with 001 provided you pitch the right amount of healthy cells & give them some nutrient. I wouldn't even bother with any yeast conditioning; it could easily over-attenuate.

[spiderwrangler]

When you say you weren't happy with how it was before and you made modifcations, what was it you were displeased with? What are you looking to get out of this beer?