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Author Topic: Issues trying to make an IPA  (Read 8012 times)

Offline chezteth

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Re: Issues trying to make an IPA
« Reply #30 on: September 09, 2016, 11:35:24 am »
Another option would be to use a different hop at 60 minutes. I noticed your 60 minute addition is with Warrior. Warrior has a smooth bitterness. Perhaps using Chinook or Columbus at 60 minutes would add a sharper bitterness which could make it seem more bitter.

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Offline golfgod04

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Re: Issues trying to make an IPA
« Reply #31 on: September 11, 2016, 07:49:51 pm »
sounds like the basic problem the OP has with bru'n water is two fold:
1) how to manage 100% distilled
2) how to manage a partial mash situation

for part 1:
There is a spot where you can specify a dilution % with DI or RO water. select DI and set the percentage to 100% that will set all the base mineral levels in the water to near 0 (or around 8ppm for RO).

for part 2:
just use it to calculate the mash and sparge for the part of the recipe that is being mashed and sparged. Use only enough minerals to get good mash chemistry. don't worry about flavor at that point.


do one batch just like that. dissolve your extract in the resulting wort and dilute further to your desired boil volume. see how that works. then you can manipulate in the glass to get your taste just right and add the appropriate additions to the kettle next time.

ill give it a try, thanks.

Offline golfgod04

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Re: Issues trying to make an IPA
« Reply #32 on: September 11, 2016, 07:50:27 pm »
Another option would be to use a different hop at 60 minutes. I noticed your 60 minute addition is with Warrior. Warrior has a smooth bitterness. Perhaps using Chinook or Columbus at 60 minutes would add a sharper bitterness which could make it seem more bitter.

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figured id use the warrior just to get the bitterness up but didnt realize it was that clean.  thanks

Offline golfgod04

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Re: Issues trying to make an IPA
« Reply #33 on: November 04, 2016, 11:36:32 am »
so using chinook did help and also making sure my boil was vigorous the entire time also helped.  Im still not getting the bite. The aroma isn't as hoppy as id like either.   

narvin

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Re: Issues trying to make an IPA
« Reply #34 on: November 04, 2016, 11:50:20 am »
I assume you're looking at American IPA.  I don't think you should focus on the water.  Look at:

- Not enough late hop additions(should be at least 50% of the total hops < 20 minutes)
- Not enough dry hopping (3 oz /5 gallon)
- Oxidation - do NOT do a seconday, be careful to avoid splashing when bottling, and if you're kegging, purge the keg first.
- Make sure the hops are fresh.  If you have any doubts about the whole hops you get (i.e. they are brown), use pellets.

Offline golfgod04

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Re: Issues trying to make an IPA
« Reply #35 on: November 04, 2016, 12:41:40 pm »
I assume you're looking at American IPA.  I don't think you should focus on the water.  Look at:

- Not enough late hop additions(should be at least 50% of the total hops < 20 minutes)
- Not enough dry hopping (3 oz /5 gallon)
- Oxidation - do NOT do a seconday, be careful to avoid splashing when bottling, and if you're kegging, purge the keg first.
- Make sure the hops are fresh.  If you have any doubts about the whole hops you get (i.e. they are brown), use pellets.

Did you see the recipe I posted on page one.  Thats what I did (Except I used chinook instead of warrior).  I used pellet hops I get from 47hops and I never do a secondary with ipas. thats why I figured the issue was water and brewing salts.  I have to use distilled water instead of my house water.

Offline yso191

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Re: Issues trying to make an IPA
« Reply #36 on: November 04, 2016, 09:04:17 pm »
You've received a lot of good advice.  I'll add my 2 bits worth...

I was intimidated by Bru'n Water when I first tried it out, and I am pretty good with computers and the like.  But when one is trying to learn brewing/water chemistry AND a spreadsheet process it can be daunting. My advice is just to keep playing with it.  It really is fairly intuitive.  It needs the complexity it has so as to be able to be flexible, accurate and complete.  I think Martin has done a stunningly good job in balancing these values with ease of use... but it will take some familiarization.

I also use 100% RO water (same as distilled but a different way of getting there).  I chased hop bitterness for a long time.  Hop flavor and aroma came fairly easy.  The bitterness issue came with adding more magnesium.

So seriously, stick with Bru'n Water.  You'll love it before long and wonder what you ever thought was hard about it.  If you have a club or even another homebrewer to walk you through it, that will help too.
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Offline bboy9000

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Issues trying to make an IPA
« Reply #37 on: November 05, 2016, 04:17:29 am »
^This.  Just keep playing with Bru'n Water and it will start to make sense.  Using the pale ale profile on it took my IPA to the next level.  I use magnum for bittering which is smooth and don't add any hops until the last 15 minutes but the Bru'n Water pale profile gave it West Coast-style bitterness.  I love the water profile combined with modified hop bursting.

IPA is the only style I use a secondary.  I have to or else the poppet valve on my keg gets clogged with hop debris.  I'm just very careful and purge the secondary and the head space in primary with lots of CO2.  You're bottling so that's not an issue but I also don't like my IPA juicy and secondary helps.

Also, before I messed with water chemistry I cheated by dosing the keg with iso alpha extract:
http://www.hoptech.com/collections/hop-oils-extracts
« Last Edit: November 05, 2016, 04:38:50 am by bboy9000 »
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Offline Ebontree

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Re: Issues trying to make an IPA
« Reply #38 on: November 07, 2016, 12:35:24 pm »
Perhaps an obvious or redundant question, but at what temperature where you fermenting the IPA? High fermentation temperatures, especially uncontrolled fermentation, can wreck havoc on your hoparoma.
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Offline JJeffers09

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Re: Issues trying to make an IPA
« Reply #39 on: November 21, 2016, 03:46:08 pm »
Unfortunately, Bru'n Water is complicated enough to actually require a new user to READ THE INSTRUCTIONS. After a user understands the flow of inputs and outputs, most say its very intuitive. You may need to spend more than 30 seconds.

Adding gypsum for an IPA is a good idea, but you do need to assess what the ending concentrations are. If you don't add enough, the effect may be insignificant. If you add too much, it may be too drying and the beer pH may have been driven too low (also bad for hop perception).

You know something tells me Martin is on to something...

Another thing, you said you used distilled water with adding just gypsum?  Something tells me you are missing a ton of essentials in there to get a balanced appropriate water profile.  If you took as much time on your water as you do formulating your grist and hop schedules you can really take your brew to another level.  And FWIW I don't think you should use distilled, if you used spring water, added gypsum and hope for the best you would be better off.  Distilled you should build back your profile with Baking soda, calcium chloride, Epsom salt, canning salt, pickling lime, chalk, lactic acid etc....  Does anyone use Magnesium Chloride btw?  I have never messed with it.
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