[morticaixavier]

Lately I have been steering clear of IPAs for the most part as they make me very sleepy with all those hops. but I do lke one now and again. The ones I really enjoy tend to be fairly dry but with some nice malt and caramel flavors and lots of hops flavor and aroma without quite so much bitterness. I had one the other day (New belgium Ranger IPA) that was really nice. it had tons (tuns?) of hop aroma and very little perceived bitterness with a nice malty/caramely flavor underneath.

[tschmidlin]

IPAs are mostly what I drink.  I prefer more of a balance between malt and hops, with no over the top bitterness.  I like them dry also as long as they're not just bitter, but have a great hop flavor/aroma.  Most of the IPAs I brew come out dry because I use US-05 a lot and that yeast tends to attenuate like a fox.  But I don't hop the hell out of my bittering addition either; most of the hops I add to the boil are near the end.  So dry (or malty), not too bitter, and a bombshell of hop flavor and aroma.  I guess you could call that "other"...

But how do you like your Cascadian Dark Ale?   

[roguejim]

I tend toward the "SSOS" side of the track, I think.  I enjoy New Belgium's ranger IPA for a milder, more balanced IPA.  I also enjoy SNCA. 

I very recently had Firestone Walker's Union Jack IPA.  I gagged it down.  I don't much care for Deschutes Inversion IPA either.

So, where does that leave me?

[blatz]

I'm pretty much with beersk - mostly late additions of hops for big flavor/aroma, dryhop in the keg, 5% xtal, 5% munich and Maris Otter, but US-05 to keep the resultant beer dry in the end.

That said, I'm getting a little bored and am experimenting with Cali V on the next run, so we'll see how that goes. 

[beersk]

IPAs are mostly what I drink.  I prefer more of a balance between malt and hops, with no over the top bitterness.  I like them dry also as long as they're not just bitter, but have a great hop flavor/aroma.  Most of the IPAs I brew come out dry because I use US-05 a lot and that yeast tends to attenuate like a fox.  But I don't hop the hell out of my bittering addition either; most of the hops I add to the boil are near the end.  So dry (or malty), not too bitter, and a bombshell of hop flavor and aroma.  I guess you could call that "other"...

But how do you like your Cascadian Dark Ale?   

hahaha, Indeed.

Blatz, I'm also beginning to experiment with other yeasts, Cali V, Pacific Ale, DC 1450, etc, instead of just using US-05.  That will remain my go-to or backup yeast though.

[jeffy]

I'm trying Thames Valley in  my current batch.  I'll let you know how it works out.

[beersk]

I'm trying Thames Valley in  my current batch.  I'll let you know how it works out.

I used to use a different yeast every time when I started brewing a couple years ago.  Then I discovered US-05 about a year ago and have been using that since.  Now, every couple of batches, I'll do something special where I use something other than US-05 and make a starter.  I might just start doing that for every batch and using US-05 only in a pinch.

[hamiltont]

I had to go with the balanced although tending towards dry.  I recently brewed a 10 gallon batch of DIPA with 70% 2-row, 17% rye, 3.3% Munich, 3.3% Vienna, 3.3% cara-pils & 3.3% C40, 2 lbs. sugar and a ton of hops (22.5 oz), mostly late. US-05. Mashed @ 148F & went from 1.085 - 1.008.  I just can't keep my hands off of it. 

[uthristy]

Depends on the season:
Hot = dry with lots of aroma hops
cold = malty with a firm bitternes

I'm trying Thames Valley in  my current batch.

Works great but I get burned out after the second batch. Right
 I have starter of 1332 for tomorrows brew.

[boulderbrewer]

No Pants,

I like dry ones and balanced ones, both should smack you in the face with hops though.

[jwatkins56550]

I guess mostly I like it balanced, but my preference changes with the seasons...

[kylekohlmorgen]

"Balanced" is in the glass of the beerholder!  I like mine "balanced" toward a big face slap of bitterness!

Can I get this on a bumper sticker/t-shirt/tattoo?

If someone needs to hold a fundraiser - just look through denny's posts for gems like this one and throw 'em on a shirt.

Put me down for a large.

[senorpantalones]

You could be on to something regarding water, Keith.  I always make sure my mash pH is correct (between 5.1-5.5), but I don't do much water adjustment beyond that.  One of my issues with my dry AIPAs is that the hop bitterness just isn't very pleasant -- it's too harsh.  A lacking mineral composition could be having an effect on the quality of the bitterness.

My most recent hop profile for AIPA was:
.33 oz Centennial, .33 oz Cascade, .33 oz Amarillo (FWH)
.50 oz Columbus (60 min)
.33 oz Centennial, .33 oz Cascade, .33 oz Amarillo (30 min)
.33 oz Centennial, .33 oz Cascade, .33 oz Amarillo (15 min)
.33 oz Centennial, .33 oz Cascade, .33 oz Amarillo (1 min)
.50 oz Centennial, .50 oz Cascade (dry hop)

O.G. 1.062, IBU 67

On the other hand, my water is almost perfectly suited for many German beers.  Alts and Helles turn out particularly well with virtually no water adjustment. 

I have also really struggled to make what I would consider a great IPA and I think it might have to do with the water. Getting the sulfate levels up seems to help.

That recipe looks delicious though. It's hard for me to imagine there's a problem with it.

[gordonstrong]

Move the 60 and 30 min additions to 20 min or less, ramping up the IBUs accordingly and try it again.  Moving the hops to late additions can reduce harshness.  You can mess around with the water too, but I use relatively soft water and they don't turn out harsh. I typically use RO and add 1 tsp of some blend of CaCl2 and CaSO4.  I think too much CaSO4 can give you a different harshness; yes, it's dry, but it also has a minerally harshness when used to an extreme.