Cascade Mountains West Coast Imperial IPA

From Northern Brewer: Cascade Mountains West Coast Imperial IPA All-Grain Kit


Imperial IPA used to essentially mean a “doubling” of everything in a recipe - dating from the time when kings and emperors would receive a brewer’s best efforts as tribute. In modern times, early efforts at west coast brewing powerhouses such as Stone, Rogue, and Blind Pig often did take that simple of an approach - start with a basic IPA, and make it times two. Over time, themes and variations came about that tweaked the formula. Preference shifted away from malt-dominators, towards a leaner, crisper, less sweet-finishing beer. The hopping regime also shifted from simply “more hops at more times” to later and later in the boil, spilling over heavily into the dry hop. The end result is a hop-dominated, high alcohol beer that threatens yearly hop supplies with it’s obsession over the richest oils and aromatics.

O.G: 1.086 READY: 6 WEEKS

Suggested fermentation schedule:
-- 1-week-primary,-2-3-weeks-secondary, -2-3-weeks-bottle-conditioning-

MASH INGREDIENTS
-- 10-lbs.-Rahr-2-row-
-- 4.5-lbs.-English-Maris-Otter
-- 0.50-lbs.-Briess-Caramel-10-

MASH SCHEDULE: SINGLE INFUSION
Recomended: Sacch’ Rest: 151° F for 60 minutes-Mashout: 170° F for 10 minutes
Actual: 1.4q/lb strike water to 152F. Added 5g of burton salts to mash, mash pH 5.5. At 30 min temp was 149F, with decent conversion. Temp maintained to 65 min. Added 2 gal boiling water to a temp of 160F until 80 min, then started recirculating. Added 0.5 tsp of pH 5.2 to the sparge water  to pH 6.5. Lautered 7.5 gal to the kettle in 40 min.


BOIL ADDITIONS & TIMES
-- 1 oz. Summit (FWH) -add to kettle as wort drains from the mash tun
-- 1 oz. Summit (60 min)
-- 2 oz. Cascade (20 min)
-- Whirlfloc
-- 2 lbs Corn sugar (5 min)
-- 2 oz. Cascade (0 min) -Steep for 15 minutes after turning off heat
--Cool for 30 min with immersion chiller. Whirlpool and settle for 20. Lots of trub got into the carboy. With so many hops, I might use a hop bag next time I brew  big beer. I let the trub settle for 2 hours then siphoned the wort into another vessel. Still got a lot of trub, but not as bad.
O.G. 1.079. My OGs are typically low, think I need to add less water to the mash so I can sparge a greater volume.

FERMENTATION
-- Pitched two 11.5g packets of rehydrated (90F, cool to 75F) Danstar-BRY-97-West-Coast-Ale-Yeast into 70F wort (4.5 gal). Fermentation picked up after 12hrs at 66-68F. At day 4 the fermentation was still going strong, with a big krausen. Frementation slowed by day 6 and the krausen fell by day 8. Day 9 was hot and temp jumped o 70F. Used a wet towel on day 10 to drop the temp to 66F. Gravity at day 12 was 1.008. The beer was still very hazy with yeast. By day 15 the beer began to clear up a bit. Racked to a secondary on day 17. On day 18 I wrapped a wet towel around the carboy and blew a fan on it to cool down to 62F, which helped drop the yeast out. Temp was held at -62-64 until day 21, when I started the dry hop. The temp gradually raised and stabilized at 68F.

-- Dry hop 2 oz. Cascade at day 1 of dry hop and 2 oz. at day 3. Temp range 67-69F. On day 28 I bottled 42 bottles (114g corn sugar). FG 1.008, ABV 9.3%.

Conclusion
This is a big beer and I think it fermented too warm as it has a pretty fusel character to it that is a bit too much. I'll let this beer condition for awhile and see how it matures. I'll loose all the hop character but not much choice at this point. Just speaks to the importance of temperature control.

Conversion progress with iodine test

Sparging

Into the kettle

The boil

The wort

12 hours after pitching

Day 4

Dry hop

Black IPA

Norther Brewer: Black IPA All-Grain Kit

An ebony pint with a beige head is surrounded by an aromatic citrus-and-pine force field, backed by a smooth roastiness redolent of cocoa and French roast coffee. Full-bodied, hop-bitter, and boozy, this beer is compelling enough to both fuel and quash the argument of its stylistic integrity, and it goes great with a blue cheese stuffed sirloin burger or steak.

O.G: 1.075 READY: 6 WEEKS

Suggested fermentation schedule:

-- 1–2 weeks primary; 1–2 weeks secondary; 2 weeks bottle conditioning

MASH INGREDIENTS

-- 11.5 lbs. Rahr 2 row pale

--.5 lbs. Briess Caramel 80L

--.375 lbs. Weyermann Carafa III

--.375 lbs. English Chocolate Malt

MASH SCHEDULE: SINGLE INFUSION

Recommended: Sacch’ Rest: 152° F for 60 minutes. Mashout: 170° F for 10 minutes.

Actual: Add 5 g burton salts and 4 g gypsum to the mash. Add 20q 172F water to 152.5F. At 30 min good conversion, temp 150F. At 60 min the conversion looks done, temp 148F. Add 2 gal boiling water at 70 min for a mashout temp of 162F. I think I need to add less water to the mash so I can get a proper mash out and have more room for sparging. Recirculated for 10 min, then lauterd 7.75 gal into the kettle. 

BOIL ADDITIONS & TIMES
--90 min boil, so not hop addition until 60 min
-- 1 oz. Summit (60 min)
-- 1 oz. Chinook (15 min)
-- 1 oz. Centennial (10 min)
-- 1 oz. Cascade (5 min)
-- 1 lb Corn sugar (5 min)
-- 1 oz. Centennial (0 min)
--Cooled with immersion chiller for 35 min to 68F. Whirlpool, then settle for 20 min. Wort was very clean into the fermenter until the end. I forgot the elbow joint on the spigot so had to lean the kettle to get the rest of the wort in the fermenter. Got about an inch of trub. O.G. 1.071

FERMENTATION
Pitched two rehydrated (80F, let cool to 70F) 11.5 g packets of Safale US 05 Ale Yeast into 66F wort. Optimum temp: 59°–75°F. Placed fermenter in a fridge with a Ranco temp controller and a FermWrap Heater, and set the temp to 67F.  After 12 hours the fermentation started to pick up and the temp held at 67F. The fermentation went at a steady pace for 4 days then began to slow and on day 5 the krausen began to drop. On day 9 the gravity was 1.013, which seems about right for this dark brew, so I racked the beer to a secondary for dry hopping. A sip of the hydrometer test tube was delicious without a trace of off flavors... yea temp control!!!

DRY HOPS
-- 1 oz. Cascade on day 9 added immediately after racking to a secondary. Three days later 2oz more Cascade were added. The first oz in the carboy seemed covered with yeast. Being a dark beer, I can't really tell how much yeast is in suspension, but since it's US-05, which doesn't flocculate well, I suppose a fair amount. Let the dry hop go a week then bottled with 114 g corn sugar as primer to 3.8 gal for 2.8 vol of CO2. F.G. was again 1.013(so 7.5% ABV), and the beer tasted good!  A week later there was a relatively thick layer of yeast in the bottles, so I guess a fair amount hadn't flocculated.

Why do I care how much yeast is in the beer? There was an article in the May/June 2013 Zymurgy examining dry hop aromas with and w/o yeast and the yeast appear to modify the aroma. The beer "that had no yeast produced a beer with grapefruit aroma and flavor closely associated with Cascade hops, while the beer with yeast had a rose water/geraniol (or geranium) aroma".  I think I like the grapefruit aroma so next time I think I'll do a cold crash step before the dry hop and see how that impacts hop aroma.

After just a week in the bottle the beer is already well carbonated. I guess that's one perk of having a lot of yeast in suspension. The beer tastes good! Another perk with this brew is the time to make it; with temp control the beer went into the bottle after 16 days vs a month of my typical room temp brew. If I finned, filtered, kegged and forced carbed, that would approach what the commercial brewers are doing. Even with bottle conditioning, I'm at just over three weeks. I cold-crashed for two weeks to drop out yeast and haze particles and I called it done.

The brew

Quick conversion

The mash

Into the kettle

Clear runnings

The boil. I used a hop bag.

Fermentation temp control!!

Day 3, fermentation chugging along nice and steady

John Palmer's Elevenses

All Grain Kit obtained from Northern Brewer: John Palmer's Elevenses All Grain Kit

Like all high adventures, it started out with a seemingly simple quest: Brew a beer worthy of our favorite characters from a far-off fantasy realm. One that would fill flagons in a shire as easily as it would stream from golden goblets in the halls of storied kingdoms. Two years, 10 test batches and much muttering of “my precious” later, we have the answer: John Palmer’s Elevenses Ale.

It is, quite simply, the One Brew to Rule Them All. Mild enough to break out before mid-day, yet fortified with notes of toasty malt and herbal hops to sustain weary travelers whenever the road goes on and on.

It’s an ideal session beer - though be forewarned there are some reports that frolicking and fellowship may ensue. Whether you’re looking to toast this year’s big winter blockbuster with a fitting brew, or simply seeking a top-notch brown ale with a taste for adventure, try Palmer’s Elevenses Ale. It’s pure fantasy, come to life.

O.G: 1.045 READY: 4 WEEKS

Suggested fermentation schedule

-- 1-2 weeks primary; 1-2 weeks bottle conditioning

MASH INGREDIENTS

-- 5.5 lbs Maris Otter

-- 1 lb Briess Caramel 60

-- 1 lb Weyermann Oak Smoked Wheat Malt

-- 0.5 lbs English Brown Malt

-- 0.33 lbs Flaked Oats (see Brewer's Note)

-- 0.25 lbs Chocolate Malt

MASH SCHEDULE: SINGLE INFUSION

Recommended: Sacch’ Rest: 154° F for 60 minutes. Mashout: 170° F for 10 minutes.

Actual: Added 5 g of burton salts to the mash. Added 4 gal of 166F strike water to 149F. At 10 min added 1 gal boiling water to 155F. At 30 min 155F with good conversion. I think the burton salts are speeding up the conversion compared to mashes in straight, very soft, EBMUD water. At 60 min the conversion looks complete. Add 1 gal boiling water to 160F for mash out. Recirculate for 10 min then into the kettle for a total of 7 gal. 

BOIL ADDITIONS & TIMES

0.60 oz German Northern Brewer (60 min)

Cooled in 20 min to 70F with immersion chiller. O.G. 1.045. Whirlpool and settle for 20 min. Tried using a wire mesh on the spigot but it clogged. I had to mess up the settled trub to get the brew out... failed procedure. Got lots of trub into the fermenter. Aerate for 2 min with oxygen.

FERMENTATION

-- Pitched one 11.5 g packet of rehydrated Safale-S-04 Ale Yeast into 70F wort. Optimum temp: 64-75°F.  The fermentation started up in about 6 hours and went for 48 hr at 66-68F. The F.G. at day 12 was 1.014, so 4% alcohol. F.G at day 17 was the same, so I bottled with 4oz of corn sugar for priming to a total of 4 gallons for 2.7 vol of CO2. After two weeks in the bottle the carb wasn't great and the brew had a bit of a harsh aftertaste I associate with roasted malt. At 2.5 weeks, the harshness had diminished some and carb was better. I think I'll keep sampling these beers until the flavor balances out before refrigerating them. After a few weeks in the fridge the brew is still pretty smokey, which I guess is what you might expect with smoked malt! Not bad, but a bit roasty for my tastes. I'm leaving a few at 70F and a few in the fridge to see how the flavor develops at different temps. We shall see.

The brew

Quick conversion followed using iodine assay

 The boil

The wort

Day 1 of fermentation

After 1 week of fermentation