Messages

1

Commercial Beer Reviews / Re: Sierra Nevada HopHunter

« on: March 03, 2015, 02:33:51 PM »

does anyone see Fat Head's distributed in their area? The Head Hunter IPA is pretty dang good.

http://fatheadscleveland.com/beer.html

Very good stuff. I had Hop JuJu the other day. Also very good. Sunshine daydream session IPA also good. Trail Head also good... They do hoppy beers very well lol. Shakedown stout is a very nice American stout.

just bought sixer of fat heads Gudenhoppy Pils. i don't recall ever having it, so hope its good.

Kinda high jacked the thread... I haven't had it either. Hop Stalker was good too. Fat Heads does beer well. They'd take off fairly well if they distributed across the country.

it happens..kind of looked like hophunter was drained anyway.....now back to your original programming

I'd like to drain several bottles of it into a glass if I could find it. However, I do have a Head Hunter in the fridge 

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Commercial Beer Reviews / Re: Sierra Nevada HopHunter

« on: March 03, 2015, 02:11:40 PM »

does anyone see Fat Head's distributed in their area? The Head Hunter IPA is pretty dang good.

http://fatheadscleveland.com/beer.html

Very good stuff. I had Hop JuJu the other day. Also very good. Sunshine daydream session IPA also good. Trail Head also good... They do hoppy beers very well lol. Shakedown stout is a very nice American stout.

just bought sixer of fat heads Gudenhoppy Pils. i don't recall ever having it, so hope its good.

Kinda high jacked the thread... I haven't had it either. Hop Stalker was good too. Fat Heads does beer well. They'd take off fairly well if they distributed across the country.

3

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Beer for Thought...

« on: March 03, 2015, 02:06:53 PM »

All of this outpouring of emotion is making me weepy, I need a beer...

my wife often reminds me that men are humans with emotions also....even if we don't want to 

Obviously she's wrong.... But that's something that we won't admit either 

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General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Beer for Thought...

« on: March 03, 2015, 02:03:59 PM »

Yes. Some questions seem simple or silly. I've answered the same questions numerous times. But once upon a time, I had those same questions, and somebody took the time to answer them for me... Probably not the first time they answered them either. It's a great place to pay it forward if you hang out here long enough.

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Commercial Beer Reviews / Re: Sierra Nevada HopHunter

« on: March 03, 2015, 01:43:48 PM »

does anyone see Fat Head's distributed in their area? The Head Hunter IPA is pretty dang good.

http://fatheadscleveland.com/beer.html

Very good stuff. I had Hop JuJu the other day. Also very good. Sunshine daydream session IPA also good. Trail Head also good... They do hoppy beers very well lol. Shakedown stout is a very nice American stout.

6

Beer Recipes / Re: Thoughts on Black IPA recipe

« on: March 03, 2015, 12:38:15 PM »

IMO, there IS no point in making it black.  If you get roastiness, it conflicts with the hops.  If you don't, what's the point of just making it black?

I'm with Denny on this one. I have had a few examples that I greatly enjoyed, but I just can't get behind this style overall. Absolutely nothing against those that are into this style.

I understand both of these reasonings. If you're not a fan of the roast and the hops combo, you choose not to make it black at all. I just don't get not liking the combo of roast and hops and just make it black to make it black.

It's one of my favorite styles and one of the best beers that I brew.

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Beer Recipes / Re: Thoughts on Black IPA recipe

« on: March 03, 2015, 08:15:40 AM »

Great Lakes Bridge War Black IPA...very tasty....but alas, you must come to Cleveland and visit GL pub to enjoy.

I've not had that. I was last there in November. I need to make another trip soon. And hit up the Westside Market.

8

Beer Recipes / Re: Thoughts on Black IPA recipe

« on: March 03, 2015, 08:14:25 AM »

2-4 oz. of chocolate and some oats are good.  13-14 oz. of carafa seems like too much unless it is cold steeped.   The roast character in a Black IPA should be light.

I guess that's where we differ in opinion. I use 14 oz of dehusked carafa special III in mine. It adds very minimal roast. Because of the almost non-existent roast character from this alone, I've started adding the touch of chocolate.

Should I replace 2oz of the Carafa Sp.III with 2oz of chocolate?

That's pretty much what I do.  2-3 oz Chocolate.

Yup

9

Beer Recipes / Re: Thoughts on Black IPA recipe

« on: March 03, 2015, 05:25:49 AM »

2-4 oz. of chocolate and some oats are good.  13-14 oz. of carafa seems like too much unless it is cold steeped.   The roast character in a Black IPA should be light.

I guess that's where we differ in opinion. I use 14 oz of dehusked carafa special III in mine. It adds very minimal roast. Because of the almost non-existent roast character from this alone, I've started adding the touch of chocolate.

10

Beer Recipes / Re: Thoughts on Black IPA recipe

« on: March 03, 2015, 04:27:43 AM »

Ok. Before this thread gets out of hand and into another nomenclature battle (even though there is a clear line between black IPA/American porter/american stout  ) lets get back to the OP.

I think your beer will be very good as is. I personally would sub out the carahell, oats, and cararoma for some C40 or C60 and add 2-4 oz of chocolate. Don't be afraid to go crazy with the hops in this style (I used 18.5 in my last BIPA... Overkill maybe lol). Other good hops IMO for this style are chinook, Simcoe and Galaxy in addition to what you have. Definetely dry hop. Mash between 150-152. If you're into water, boost your sulfates to around 250 ppm and there will be no mistaking this beer for another style. I've used 001 and 007 yeast in mine before. Both made great beers, so 1098 will work well.

Black IPAs are great transition beers for spring and fall. Good timing on this one!

11

Beer Recipes / Re: Thoughts on Black IPA recipe

« on: March 03, 2015, 03:43:03 AM »

If Black IPA is roasty then isn't it just an American Stout?

No. An American stout is clearly a stout. A black IPA is still dry like any pale beer with hints of roastedness. We're talking 2-4 oz of chocolate, not 2 lbs. Has anybody drank a commercial black IPA? Uinta Dubhe... Founders Dark Penance... Firestone Walker Wookey Jack.... These are a few good ones. They have light roastedness and clearly aren't stouts.

12

Beer Recipes / Re: Thoughts on Black IPA recipe

« on: March 02, 2015, 07:10:10 PM »

One thing that I've never understood about brewers wanting to avoid roastedness in a black IPA. Isn't that most of the point in making it black? If you're not wanting any roasted flavor in your black IPA, why not just make an IPA. Somebody please set me straight if I'm missing something lol.

My point is by adding the dark candisyrup you not only get a dark color, but also nice flavor. A flavor that I prefer over roast with American citrusy hops. I don't have a problem with roast flavor or even some in a black IPA, but like it better in a stout. Most IPA recipes don't have dark candisyrup, so it is different than making just an IPA.

I wasn't so much questioning this technique. It's different, and it's probably not for me, but you are adding another element to the beer other than just making it black. I don't get adding certain dark grains through sparge or cold steep to avoid roast and just add it for coloring. To me, there's no point. Just make it not black if you're not adding anything to it but color.

13

Beer Recipes / Re: Thoughts on Black IPA recipe

« on: March 02, 2015, 07:00:32 PM »

Ok, so I'm not completely crazy... Well, that still might be debatable lol... But like Jon and Eric hinted at, I don't think it needs to be stout roasty, but there should be hints of roast that compliment the hops. I like nice piney/dank/resinous hops in my black IPA. Hmmm could a black IPA be complimented with some Equinix, Jon? I've not tried the hop in a beer yet, but it smells like it should work here.

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Beer Recipes / Re: Thoughts on Black IPA recipe

« on: March 02, 2015, 05:20:07 PM »

One thing that I've never understood about brewers wanting to avoid roastedness in a black IPA. Isn't that most of the point in making it black? If you're not wanting any roasted flavor in your black IPA, why not just make an IPA. Somebody please set me straight if I'm missing something lol.

15

Beer Recipes / Re: Thoughts on Black IPA recipe

« on: March 01, 2015, 08:14:44 PM »

My secret weapon in my Black IPA is Candisyrup D-180 and some Carafa III. I don't like a lot of roast, but rather a hoppy, dark fruit flavor.

Hmmmmmm! This is an interesting idea. This is my first Black IPA so I will probably stick to grain only, but this sounds like a very interesting idea going forward. How much would you typically use and how much Carafa III?

I use 12 or 14 oz carafa III plus 4 oz of chocolate. I think you have a good number.