[norcaljp]

Would love some thoughts on the hop schedule in particular but am always open to any thoughts. The grain bill is already milled and mixed together, so no room for changes there with this batch.

Amt                   Name                                     Type          #        %/IBU         
8 lbs 6.4 oz          Rahr 2-Row (1.9 SRM)                     Grain         1        50.5 %       
5 lbs 9.6 oz          Bairds Maris Otter (3.0 SRM)             Grain         2        33.7 %       
1 lbs                 Bairds Crystal 30-37 (33.0 SRM)          Grain         3        6.0 %         
1 lbs 10.0 oz         Sugar, Table (Sucrose) (1.0 SRM)         Sugar         4        9.8 %         
28.35 g               Magnum [13.50 %] - Boil 60.0 min         Hop           5        37.9 IBUs     
0.50 tsp              Irish Moss (Boil 15.0 mins)              Fining        6        -             
28.35 g               CTZ [15.50 %] - Boil 15.0 min         Hop           7        21.6 IBUs     
0.50 tsp              Yeast Nutrient (Boil 15.0 mins)          Other         8        -             
14.17 g               Centennial [10.00 %] - Boil 5.0 min      Hop           9        2.8 IBUs     
14.17 g               CTZ [15.50 %] - Boil 5.0 min  Hop           10       4.3 IBUs     
42.52 g               Mosaic (HBC 369) [12.25 %] - Steep/Whirl Hop           11       12.8 IBUs     
21.26 g               Centennial [10.00 %] - Steep/Whirlpool   Hop           12       5.2 IBUs     
21.26 g               Columbus/Tomahawk/Zeus (CTZ) [15.50 %] - Hop           13       8.1 IBUs     
1.0 pkg               Vermont Ale (The Yeast Bay #)            Yeast         14       -             
0.50 tsp              Gelatin (Primary 36.0 hours)             Fining        15       -             
28.35 g               Centennial [10.00 %] - Dry Hop 7.0 Days  Hop           16       0.0 IBUs     
14.17 g               Columbus/Tomahawk/Zeus (CTZ) [15.50 %] - Hop           17       0.0 IBUs     
14.17 g               Mosaic (HBC 369) [12.25 %] - Dry Hop 7.0 Hop           18       0.0 IBUs     
28.35 g               Centennial [10.00 %] - Dry Hop 4.0 Days  Hop           19       0.0 IBUs     
14.17 g               Columbus/Tomahawk/Zeus (CTZ) [15.50 %] - Hop           20       0.0 IBUs     
14.17 g               Mosaic (HBC 369) [12.25 %] - Dry Hop 4.0 Hop           21       0.0 IBUs     

I intend to mash at 148 for an hour. 60 minute boil.

Expecting a S.G. of 1.077 with 5.5 gallons into fermenter

I was going for 50/50 American 2-row and Maris Otter, but the LHBS only had 5.6 lbs of Maris Otter left.

For the hops, I also have plenty of Cascade, Citra, Simcoe, Apollo, and Comet on hand.

Planning to pitch around 290b yeast cells from a starter of 2nd generation of Vermont Ale yeast from The Yeast bay and ferment at 68 for 3 days then ramp up to 72 for 11.

After 2 weeks in primary I'll add the first round of dry-hops

- Joel

[erockrph]

The grain bill looks fine, although I prefer to skip the crystal malt. That looks like about 3 ounces of hops in the whirlpool. I would recommend increasing that a lot. I use 4 oz of hops in the whirlpool per gallon for an IPA. Which means that a sane person would want to target at least an ounce per gallon I'd double or even triple your whirlpool additions.

For a beer like this, hop selection is strictly a matter of personal preference. Cent/Mosaic/CTZ will make a great IIPA. Citra, Simcoe and Apollo would all be fantastic in a beer like this as well. Let us know how it turns out!

[norcaljp]

4 oz per gallon 

Appreciate the advice. I'll have to weigh my mosaic to make sure I can double it up. Should have plenty of everything else though. My favorite commercial beers are the ridiculously hopped variety, so I can't imagine the amount would bother me. Just so long as the hop varieties play well together. Last attempt at a double IPA I dry hopped with too much citra (still half as much as the others) and it just overpowered everything. Once the dry hops died down several weeks later it got much better though. That sort of defeated the purpose of all the dry hops though.

[fmader]

4 oz per gallon 

Appreciate the advice. I'll have to weigh my mosaic to make sure I can double it up. Should have plenty of everything else though. My favorite commercial beers are the ridiculously hopped variety, so I can't imagine the amount would bother me. Just so long as the hop varieties play well together. Last attempt at a double IPA I dry hopped with too much citra (still half as much as the others) and it just overpowered everything. Once the dry hops died down several weeks later it got much better though. That sort of defeated the purpose of all the dry hops though.

If you can't double the mosaic, I'd just make up the difference with Centennials. Mosaic is a pretty strong hop and will be present.

My two cents on the schedule... I love to bitter my IPAs with CTZ as opposed to a clean bittering charge like magnum. I think it adds a nice funky dimension to IPAs. But if I did that, I would at least cut down  the 15 minute addition of CTZ with some Centennials. That's if I didn't replace it completely. The reason is that CTZ is a pretty dominant hop. It's one of my favorites, but it can wash out the other additions. If I bittered with magnum, I'd leave the 15 min CTZ as is though.

This beer will be good.

[norcaljp]

My two cents on the schedule... I love to bitter my IPAs with CTZ as opposed to a clean bittering charge like magnum. I think it adds a nice funky dimension to IPAs.

What sort of funk are we talking about? I don't mind a bit of onion/garlic bite in my IIPA's, or a more 'dank' character, if that's what you're talking about. You have me intrigued.

I have just enough Mosaic to double up. I may be shy just a couple of grams, but nothing beyond that.

If swapping CTZ in as the bittering edition I might try doing a FWH instead of at 60 min.

[fmader]

My two cents on the schedule... I love to bitter my IPAs with CTZ as opposed to a clean bittering charge like magnum. I think it adds a nice funky dimension to IPAs.

What sort of funk are we talking about? I don't mind a bit of onion/garlic bite in my IIPA's, or a more 'dank' character, if that's what you're talking about. You have me intrigued.

I have just enough Mosaic to double up. I may be shy just a couple of grams, but nothing beyond that.

If swapping CTZ in as the bittering edition I might try doing a FWH instead of at 60 min.

CTZ is all dank. It's not onion/garlic at all. However, I do pick a little of that up from mosaic (not as intense as summit). I'm in a very, very small minority of not being a big fan of mosaic. So, if you do pick up onio/garlic, it's not from the CTZ or centennials.

FWH or 60 minutes... Both work well.

Good luck!

[norcaljp]

Thank you, I think I'm going to take everyone's advice. Here's my updated recipe. I'll be sure and reply with the final results in a few weeks. My IBU's and AA% are also updated in this version to match what I'm really working with. It should end up right around 100 IBUs.

Hops Used
 
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
20.00 g CTZ [12.50 %] - First Wort 60.0 min Hop 4 27.2 IBUs
28.35 g Centennial [9.00 %] - Boil 15.0 min Hop 7 12.5 IBUs
14.17 g CTZ [12.50 %] - Boil 5.0 min Hop 9 3.5 IBUs
14.17 g Centennial [9.00 %] - Boil 5.0 min Hop 10 2.5 IBUs
85.05 g Mosaic [15.00 %] - Steep/Whirlpool 15.0 min Hop 11 31.4 IBUs
42.52 g CTZ [12.50 %] - Steep/Whirlpool 15.0 min Hop 12 13.1 IBUs
42.52 g Centennial [9.00 %] - Steep/Whirlpool 15.0 min Hop 13 9.4 IBUs
28.35 g Centennial [9.00 %] - Dry Hop 7.0 Days Hop 16 0.0 IBUs
14.17 g CTZ [12.50 %] - Dry Hop 7.0 Days Hop 17 0.0 IBUs
14.17 g Mosaic [15.00 %] - Dry Hop 7.0 Days Hop 18 0.0 IBUs
28.35 g Centennial [9.00 %] - Dry Hop 4.0 Days Hop 19 0.0 IBUs
14.17 g CTZ [12.50 %] - Dry Hop 4.0 Days Hop 20 0.0 IBUs
14.17 g Mosaic [15.00 %] - Dry Hop 4.0 Days Hop 21 0.0 IBUs

 
 
Grains Used
 
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
8 lbs 6.4 oz Rahr 2-Row (1.9 SRM) Grain 1 50.5 %
5 lbs 9.6 oz Bairds Maris Otter (3.0 SRM) Grain 2 33.7 %
1 lbs Bairds Crystal 30-37 (33.0 SRM) Grain 3 6.0 %
1 lbs 10.0 oz Sugar, Table (Sucrose) (1.0 SRM) Sugar 5 9.8 %

 
 
Other Ingredients Used
 
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
0.50 tsp Irish Moss (Boil 15.0 mins) Fining 6 -
0.50 tsp Yeast Nutrient (Boil 15.0 mins) Other 8 -
0.50 tsp Gelatin (Primary 36.0 hours) Fining 15 -

 
 
Yeast Used
 
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
1.0 pkg Vermont Ale (The Yeast Bay #) Yeast 14 -

 

[fmader]

I think this will be really good! You'll have to update us how it turns out.

[norcaljp]

My brew day came out great. Nailed my SG. I pitched last night around 11pm and by morning the krausen was just barely starting to form. By 6PM things were really moving. I'll bump the fermentation up to 72 in a couple of days and then let it ride until I add the dry hops. I've been focusing on IPA for almost a year now. If this comes out as good as I hope then I think it may be a good time to focus elsewhere for a while.

[fmader]

My brew day came out great. Nailed my SG. I pitched last night around 11pm and by morning the krausen was just barely starting to form. By 6PM things were really moving. I'll bump the fermentation up to 72 in a couple of days and then let it ride until I add the dry hops. I've been focusing on IPA for almost a year now. If this comes out as good as I hope then I think it may be a good time to focus elsewhere for a while.

Great job, Joel!

[norcaljp]

The beer finished at 1.012 for about 8.5% abv. I had to change up my dry hop schedule a bit though. I had to travel, so did my first dryhop of 1 oz. Centennial and 1/2 oz. each Mosaic and Columbus for 6 days.  I then transferred to the keg and added an identical amount in a 1 gallon paint strainer bag into the keg and started carbonating. It's now been 5 days. The beer is great, it's not quite carbonated enough, but everything seems spot on. Very happy with this batch. Great aroma with a healthy grapefruit taste and aroma. My wife asked me if I added grapefruit to the beer. The mosaic is present but well balanced with the other hops. It has a nice bitter bite, but enough flavor to cut through it. I'll share this with my brewing buddies next weekend after it has carbed fully.

[HoosierBrew]

The beer finished at 1.012 for about 8.5% abv. I had to change up my dry hop schedule a bit though. I had to travel, so did my first dryhop of 1 oz. Centennial and 1/2 oz. each Mosaic and Columbus for 6 days.  I then transferred to the keg and added an identical amount in a 1 gallon paint strainer bag into the keg and started carbonating. It's now been 5 days. The beer is great, it's not quite carbonated enough, but everything seems spot on. Very happy with this batch. Great aroma with a healthy grapefruit taste and aroma. My wife asked me if I added grapefruit to the beer. The mosaic is present but well balanced with the other hops. It has a nice bitter bite, but enough flavor to cut through it. I'll share this with my brewing buddies next weekend after it has carbed fully.

Sounds great. Nice job!

[erockrph]

The beer finished at 1.012 for about 8.5% abv. I had to change up my dry hop schedule a bit though. I had to travel, so did my first dryhop of 1 oz. Centennial and 1/2 oz. each Mosaic and Columbus for 6 days.  I then transferred to the keg and added an identical amount in a 1 gallon paint strainer bag into the keg and started carbonating. It's now been 5 days. The beer is great, it's not quite carbonated enough, but everything seems spot on. Very happy with this batch. Great aroma with a healthy grapefruit taste and aroma. My wife asked me if I added grapefruit to the beer. The mosaic is present but well balanced with the other hops. It has a nice bitter bite, but enough flavor to cut through it. I'll share this with my brewing buddies next weekend after it has carbed fully.

Glad to hear that you're happy with the results!

[norcaljp]

Glad to hear that you're happy with the results!

Appreciate your advice on the recipe. Thanks again.