Inspiration
Iteration is my continued goal of brewing a light coloured, yet hoppy, full flavoured and mid-ABV American (India) Pale Ale. Can't believe I've made nearly 10 of these light coloured, hoppy brews since I started this series. I've learnt a ton about brewing pale ales and IPAs since I began, particularly with handling, as well as with ingredient selection. I'd like to say that I've learnt about technique and refined my process, but I'm just not there yet. There are way too many variables at this point to be able to narrow down what the best approach is for brewing these. I'm going to write an article that I'll link here once it's complete about what I've learnt, and how I hope to continue moving forward.
This Iteration is a reflection on what I've learnt so far. I'm going back to a recipe I made at Crannog for this one, which is still the best beer I've made in this series. The recipe is almost identical to Iteration IV (Cormac), with the exception of:
Yeast: S. Trois 644 being eliminated, using solely US-05
Malt: the inclusion of Red Wheat (instead of White Wheat) for improved body and creaminess
Mash: the removal of the 50 minute mash at 150F + 10 minute mash at 153F, for a 60 minute mash at 153F
Water: a slight increase in Chloride levels (based on what I've learnt from the past 4-5 Iterations) for improved/ a slightly softer body and mouthfeel
Hops: no change, but from this Kern River Double Citra IPA recipe directly from the brewer, a revision to my typical dry-hopping schedule. Dry hopping amounts scaled down for the ABV and batch size.
Finally, I linked a song below that really set the mood for the day while brewing this - given the name of the song, I probably should've just made this a Mosaic single hop. I've had it on loop for the entire mash. Another cloudy and wet, yet warm day in Vancouver.
Tasting notes below..
This Iteration is a reflection on what I've learnt so far. I'm going back to a recipe I made at Crannog for this one, which is still the best beer I've made in this series. The recipe is almost identical to Iteration IV (Cormac), with the exception of:
Yeast: S. Trois 644 being eliminated, using solely US-05
Malt: the inclusion of Red Wheat (instead of White Wheat) for improved body and creaminess
Mash: the removal of the 50 minute mash at 150F + 10 minute mash at 153F, for a 60 minute mash at 153F
Water: a slight increase in Chloride levels (based on what I've learnt from the past 4-5 Iterations) for improved/ a slightly softer body and mouthfeel
Hops: no change, but from this Kern River Double Citra IPA recipe directly from the brewer, a revision to my typical dry-hopping schedule. Dry hopping amounts scaled down for the ABV and batch size.
Finally, I linked a song below that really set the mood for the day while brewing this - given the name of the song, I probably should've just made this a Mosaic single hop. I've had it on loop for the entire mash. Another cloudy and wet, yet warm day in Vancouver.
Tasting notes below..
The Recipe
Boil Time: 60 min
Batch Size: 3.25 gallons (fermentor volume)
Boil Size: 5 gallons
Efficiency: 64% (brew house)
Original Gravity: 1.062
Final Gravity: 1.011
ABV (standard): 6.75%
IBU (tinseth): 80.5
SRM (morey): 8.3
Fermentables
7.7 lb - United Kingdom - Marris Otter Pale (92%)
0.42 lb - American - Red Wheat (5%)
0.25 lb - American - Caramel / Crystal 40L (3%)
Hops
0.33 oz - Magnum, Type: Pellet, AA: 15, Use: First Wort, IBU: 18.97
7 g - Citra, Type: Pellet, AA: 12.8, Use: Boil for 20 min, IBU: 12.11
10 g - Citra, Type: Pellet, AA: 12.8, Use: Boil for 15 min, IBU: 14.18
20 g - Citra, Type: Pellet, AA: 12.8, Use: Boil for 10 min, IBU: 20.72
30 g - Citra, Type: Pellet, AA: 12.8, Use: Boil for 5 min, IBU: 17.09
0.7 oz Citra [12.8%] - Dry Hop 12 days - March 15th
0.3 oz Citra [12.8%] - Dry Hop 9 days (missed the day) - March 18th
0.4 oz Citra [12.8%] - Dry Hop 6 days - March 20th
0.6 oz Citra [12.8%] - Dry Hop 3 days - March 23rd
* This schedule is from the Kern River Double Citra IPA recipe, amounts on certain days provided by brewer. Your guess is as good as mine as to why they fluctuate so much.
Mash Guidelines
1) Temp: 153 F, Time: 60 min
2) Temp: 169 F, Time: 10 min
Yeast
Fermentis / Safale - American Ale Yeast US-05
Water Profile
Ca2: 90
Mg2: 0
Na: 0
Cl: 60
SO4: 140
HCO3: 0
Notes
Brewed March 4th
Dry Hop March 14th
* Start dry hop 2 days after primary fermentation completes; I started at 10 days. Then add additional dry hop additions every three days, as shown above.
Keg March 26th
* Keg 3 days after last hop addition to get off hops and avoid grassy flavors.
Batch Size: 3.25 gallons (fermentor volume)
Boil Size: 5 gallons
Efficiency: 64% (brew house)
Original Gravity: 1.062
Final Gravity: 1.011
ABV (standard): 6.75%
IBU (tinseth): 80.5
SRM (morey): 8.3
Fermentables
7.7 lb - United Kingdom - Marris Otter Pale (92%)
0.42 lb - American - Red Wheat (5%)
0.25 lb - American - Caramel / Crystal 40L (3%)
Hops
0.33 oz - Magnum, Type: Pellet, AA: 15, Use: First Wort, IBU: 18.97
7 g - Citra, Type: Pellet, AA: 12.8, Use: Boil for 20 min, IBU: 12.11
10 g - Citra, Type: Pellet, AA: 12.8, Use: Boil for 15 min, IBU: 14.18
20 g - Citra, Type: Pellet, AA: 12.8, Use: Boil for 10 min, IBU: 20.72
30 g - Citra, Type: Pellet, AA: 12.8, Use: Boil for 5 min, IBU: 17.09
0.7 oz Citra [12.8%] - Dry Hop 12 days - March 15th
0.3 oz Citra [12.8%] - Dry Hop 9 days (missed the day) - March 18th
0.4 oz Citra [12.8%] - Dry Hop 6 days - March 20th
0.6 oz Citra [12.8%] - Dry Hop 3 days - March 23rd
* This schedule is from the Kern River Double Citra IPA recipe, amounts on certain days provided by brewer. Your guess is as good as mine as to why they fluctuate so much.
Mash Guidelines
1) Temp: 153 F, Time: 60 min
2) Temp: 169 F, Time: 10 min
Yeast
Fermentis / Safale - American Ale Yeast US-05
Water Profile
Ca2: 90
Mg2: 0
Na: 0
Cl: 60
SO4: 140
HCO3: 0
Notes
Brewed March 4th
Dry Hop March 14th
* Start dry hop 2 days after primary fermentation completes; I started at 10 days. Then add additional dry hop additions every three days, as shown above.
Keg March 26th
* Keg 3 days after last hop addition to get off hops and avoid grassy flavors.
Tasting Notes
At kegging (March 26th): Nose is quite light, considering the amount/ duration of dry hopping in this beer. With that being said, it's still quite present and complemented by a bready aroma. The beer tastes really dry, has a nice bready quality to the mouthfeel, especially the rich wheat character from the red wheat. The Citra just pops in the flavour, and adds a really nice fruity character to the beer with notes of melon, pineapple and papaya. There is a sharpness in this beer that I wouldn't consider a product solely of the hopping necessarily (not a lingering bitterness), but more so like a sharp sting that disappears. This is probably from a combination of the SO4 level and the dryness of the FG. Very little, if no grassiness. A light coloured, sharp and juicy IPA. Not bad at the moment! I know from experience now that this should change quite a lot over the next two weeks and come to full maturity.
At kegging (March 26th): Nose is quite light, considering the amount/ duration of dry hopping in this beer. With that being said, it's still quite present and complemented by a bready aroma. The beer tastes really dry, has a nice bready quality to the mouthfeel, especially the rich wheat character from the red wheat. The Citra just pops in the flavour, and adds a really nice fruity character to the beer with notes of melon, pineapple and papaya. There is a sharpness in this beer that I wouldn't consider a product solely of the hopping necessarily (not a lingering bitterness), but more so like a sharp sting that disappears. This is probably from a combination of the SO4 level and the dryness of the FG. Very little, if no grassiness. A light coloured, sharp and juicy IPA. Not bad at the moment! I know from experience now that this should change quite a lot over the next two weeks and come to full maturity.