Modern Homebrew Recipes (15 page)

Step infusion

Mash rests:

131°F (55°C) 15 minutes

144°F (62°C) 30 minutes

158°F (70°C) 15 minutes

Kettle volume:

8.5 gallons (32 L)

Boil length:

90 minutes

Final volume:

6.5 gallons (25 L)

Fermentation temp:

68°F (20°C)

Notes:

Use the settling tank technique to remove pellet hops and improve clarity.

Sensory Description:
Great lemon-lime aroma with wonderful malt backbone. Beautiful gold color, crystal clear. The hop character is hard to identify; it has a fresh, almost dry-hopped presence that has floral, herbal, and spicy notes, but with hints of white grape and lime zest. The aroma carries over to the flavor. The hop aroma and flavor are big but not screaming like bold American hops. The German hops add a fresh note, but are a bit grassy. The malt flavor is wonderful and blends well with the hop varieties. Has that German richness of a
maibock
without the lingering malty intensity, and has a rich impression given the color. The alcohol is not noticeable as the malt stands up to it. The hop bitterness is clean. The late hop aroma and flavor persist.

Formulation notes:
Getting the beer dry while retaining the maltiness is the first trick. The second involves blending in hops that allow the malt to shine through but also add a unique, distinct character. The lemon-lime character from German and Centennial hops with the white grape Nelson character adds a white wine impression. German or continental malts are key to the malty flavors, and the lower mash temperature helps get a dry finish. The late hop techniques keep the hop bitterness clean and increases the late hop presence; actual IBUs may be higher than estimated due to the steeping.

Variations:
The balance of this beer can be changed significantly by playing with the FG. The 1968 yeast tends to finish a bit higher (1.018), while the 1272 can finish lower (1.014). Lengthen the primary mash rest to 60 minutes and eliminate the high temperature rest or double the white sugar from 5% to 10% to increase fermentability. If the beer is a little big or rich, try increasing the carbonation level or serving with a lime or lemon slice. The last Centennial hop addition can be doubled if a stronger hop aroma is desired; I probably wouldn’t increase the Nelson since they can be overbearing at higher levels.

SESSION IPL

Who says IPAs have to be American or English? Or use ale yeast? Or be higher in gravity? IPAs are recognizable more by the overall balance than by any of those other aspects. This experiment uses German hops for a distinctively floral and spicy character, while the warm fermented lager yeast gives it a clean but fruity edge. The low gravity means you can enjoy this one all day. Some term IPAs made with lager yeast IPLs (India Pale Lager); since we’re breaking rules anyway, why not? This idea comes from Frank Barickman, who calls it his “Hop ObSession.”

Style:
Specialty IPA (New BJCP Style, Experimental)

Description:
This is like a session-strength German Pils with way more hops than you’d find in any German beer, but it comes across like an IPA in balance.

Ingredients:

Water treatment:

RO water treated with ¼ tsp 10% phosphoric acid per 5 gallons

1 tsp CaCl
₂
in mash

Mash technique:

Infusion, mashout

Mash rests:

152°F (67°C) 60 minutes

165°F (74°C) 10 minutes

Kettle volume:

7 gallons (27 L)

Boil length:

75 minutes

Final volume:

5.5 gallons (25 L)

Fermentation temp:

60°F (16°C), letting it ramp up after two days to 65°F (18°C)

Sensory Description:
Huge floral-spicy hop flavor and aroma, pronounced bitterness but with a smooth palate, and a clean and lightly fruity fermentation profile (without sulfur). German hops can be more subtle than their American cousins, but not if you use boatloads of them.

Formulation notes:
The California Lager yeast gives you a clean fermentation profile without the sulfur of many German lager strains. At knockout, let hops steep for 30 minutes before chilling, to help drive the bigger hop aroma. After fermentation has finished, cold crash the yeast (chill to near 32°F/0°C), and then rack. No lagering is needed, so just force carbonate it and enjoy it fresh. Note that the blast of steeping hops can make the IBUs higher than estimated.

Variations:
If you’d rather it have a more distinctly American character, swap in Cascade and Wyeast 1272. Want to make it British? Go with Goldings and Wyeast 1335. Playing around with other German or Saazer-type hops would be fun; I like Sterling as a hop choice since I can often get them fresher and better handled than imported hops at my local homebrew shop.

HALLOWEEN IPA

Another beer created for a work party, this time for Halloween. The smooth bitterness and rich malt is a good combination when the weather is cool, and the coppery-reddish color is kind of spooky. Boo.

Style:
Specialty IPA (Red IPA) (New BJCP Style)

Description:
A reddish fall seasonal IPA and a bit more body and supporting caramel fruit notes.

Ingredients:

Water treatment:

RO water treated with ¼ tsp 10% phosphoric acid per 5 gallons

1 tsp CaSO
₄
in mash

Mash technique:

Infusion, mashout, crystal malt added at
vorlauf,
no sparge

Mash rests:

144°F (62°C) 60 minutes

158°F (70°C) 10 minutes

168°F (76°C) 15 minutes

Kettle volume:

8 gallons (30 L)

Boil length:

60 minutes

Final volume:

6 gallons (23 L)

Fermentation temp:

68°F (20°C)

Sensory Description:
Fruity and caramel taste with the fruitiness of the Galaxy hops pairing well with the CaraMunich. Very elegant reddish color. The rich malty base supports the hop flavor and bitterness well. If it winds up too malty, or has a higher FG, then it’s probably best to call it an American Strong Ale. It needs to finish on the drier side with some assertive bitterness to have the right balance as an IPA.

Formulation notes:
*
Steep roasted barley in hot strike water for a few seconds until a deep reddish color appears. No sparge technique. 20 minute hop stand at end. Settling tank used to separate hop residue prior to fermentation.

Variations:
Could cut the Vienna malt with US two-row to reduce the malty punch, but that will significantly impact the resulting flavor profile. I was going for a quite malty IPA, but that increases the need to pay attention to the low mash temperature and not let the FG get too high. Dry hopping with different varieties, including Galaxy or Amarillo, would play up the fruitiness.

MOSAIC DOUBLE IPA

Introduced in the 2004 BJCP Style Guidelines as Imperial IPA, the style has been renamed to Double IPA in the 2015 BJCP Style Guidelines to better reflect current market usage. Mosaic is a relatively new hop, but well suited to single-hop beers.

Style:
Double IPA (Classic BJCP Style)

Description:
It’s almost cheating to use Mosaic in a single-hop IPA because it has a more complex aroma and flavor than many hops, featuring several trendy hop characteristics like fruity, piney, citrusy, and floral. It’s like instant IPA in a single hop variety. Uses modern hopping techniques to maximize hop aroma and flavor while giving a smooth bitterness and avoiding harshness.

Ingredients: