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Author Topic: IPA Help PLEASE!  (Read 7395 times)

Offline mabrungard

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Re: IPA Help PLEASE!
« Reply #15 on: September 21, 2012, 03:42:42 pm »
Having tasted PA's and IPA's that were brewed with low sulfate concentrations, I am of the opinion that sulfate is a critical component of a good hoppy beer.  I'm having an on-going discussion with Dr. Chloride (AJ deLange) regarding the necessity of sulfate.  Having listened closely to Mr. Sulfate (Colin Kaminski), I have to admit that I'm not as big a fan of sulfate as he is. 

But to help decipher my preference for sulfate level, I'm going to bow to AJ and brew my standard PA with a very modest sulfate level next time.  I will be adding gypsum to my glass on a post kegging basis to see if I do prefer the lower or higher sulfate level.  As many of you Bru'n Water users know, there is a Pale Ale water profile in the program.  It has been my favorite for many years now and its origin is Randy Mosher's profile (with minor tweaks for appropriate chemistry).  It has 300 ppm sulfate.  I guess I'll aim for somewhere around 100 ppm sulfate for this test.   

I invite other brewers that have a tried and tested PA or IPA recipe to rebrew with a lower sulfate content and see if your preference lies in the higher or lower sulfate range.  If you find you like more sulfate, you can always dose that missing sulfate into the keg after its brewed.  Gypsum is relatively soluble.  Test it out!
Martin B
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Offline chadchaney97

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Re: IPA Help PLEASE!
« Reply #16 on: September 21, 2012, 05:39:25 pm »
Ok, so start with the water and then work forward on the hops, thanks again guys!  Also, just to mention, I taste the same thing in a few beers I can get here in rural Iowa, the beers being; Modus Hoperandi from Ska, Avery IPA and most notably Founders Centennial IPA.  If that helps, anybody think it could be the gas too?

Offline hoser

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Re: IPA Help PLEASE!
« Reply #17 on: September 21, 2012, 06:00:54 pm »
Ok, so start with the water and then work forward on the hops, thanks again guys!  Also, just to mention, I taste the same thing in a few beers I can get here in rural Iowa, the beers being; Modus Hoperandi from Ska, Avery IPA and most notably Founders Centennial IPA.  If that helps, anybody think it could be the gas too?

Maybe if you are tasting the same thing in IPAs made and packaged from 3 different breweries the problem is with your palate and not the beers?  Or maybe they are oxidized from sitting on a warm shelf to long?  Although that shouldn't be an issue with the Modus. I taste none of those characteristics in any of those beers. 
« Last Edit: September 21, 2012, 06:05:34 pm by hoser »