Screwy's Recipe #48 - India Pale Ale

I've been drinking some pretty hoppy beers lately even though I never really considered myself to be a hop head. This can happen to you too if you have friends that like really hop forward beers and bring some over for you to try. So with this in mind I set out to brew my very first all grain India Pale Ale and after some intense research on the Internet and recommendations by Joe Bair owner of Princeton Homebrew I came up with the following recipe.

10.5 Pounds Of Freshly Ground Grains

The calculated IBUs are off the chart with this recipe and I can hardly wait to see what 4 ounces of hops will do to a Mr. Beer sized batch. The BJCP style guidelines for an English IPA put the IBUs between 40-60 and my recipe cranks the IBUs up to 134!

1 Ounce Each Of Cascade, Chinook, Northern Brewer (UK) and Saaz Hops

I used qBrew's default 'English IPA' style guidelines as the basis for crunching this recipe's numbers and the recipe download contains my complete ingredient list and brewing notes. You can download the latest qBrew database below and use it to upgrade your current ingredient database. This latest ingredient database includes more yeast, fruits, extracts and other helpful entries then ever before.

  Click to download Screwy's latest qBrew database   

Recipe:

Click to download this recipe file for qBrew 
Size 2.13 gallons: Estimated IBU=134, SRM=11, OG=1.070, FG=1.017, ABV=6.8%

5 pounds Marris Otter Malt (UK)

1/8 pound Crystal Malt (40 °L)

1/8 pound Biscuit Malt (Belgium)

1 ounce Saaz hops (first wort hops)

1 ounce Chinook hops (90 mins)

1 ounces Northern Brewer (UK) hops (5 mins)

1 ounce Cascade hops (added when pitching yeast)

1 ounce Cascade hops (dry hop in secondary for 7 days)

1 Pack Wyeast 1968 (London ESB), smacked the night before to activate

Aerate, pitch at 70°F and ferment at 66°F for 19 days

Raise to 70°F over days 20 to 21 then rack to secondary fermenter

Cold condition secondary fermenter for 1 week at 34°F

Keg at 30psi for 5-7 days and serve at 34°F

Directions:  

** Infusion mash at 150°F for 60 minutes **

Heat 16 quarts of filtered water to 170°F

Soak mash tun in 8 quarts of 180F water for 20 minutes to preheat it

Pour 8 quarts of 170°F water into mash tun

Mix in 5.25 pounds of crushed grain mix at 60°F

Pour the 170°F water to fill mash tun to 2.50 gallon mark

Stir water and grain mixture and adjust to 150°F and mash for 60 minutes

Sparge with 170°F strike water to set mash bed to 168°F

Add 1 ounce of Saaz hops to boil pot as first wort hop addition

Lauter for 30 minutes adding 11.5 quarts of sweet wort to the boil pot

Full Wort Boil:

Add 1 ounce Chinook hops with 60 minutes remaining to boil

Add 1/8 tablet WhirlFloc with 9 minutes remaining to boil

Add 1 ounce Northern Brewer (UK) hops with 5 minutes minutes remaining to boil

Use Screwy's Cooler wort chiller to cool wort to 70°F

Primary Fermentation:

Pour wort through strainer to remove excess hop and grain debris

Fill the Mr. Beer fermenter with wort to the 8.5 quart mark

Aerate wort and pitch 1 package of Wyeast 1968 (London ESB) at 62°F

Add sanitized hop sack with 1 ounce of Cascade hops and marbles to fermenter

Ferment at 66°F for 19 days, raise to 70°F over days 20 to 21 for rest

Secondary Fermentation:

Rack to secondary fermenter and add 1 ounce of Cascade hops in sanitized muslin sack

Cold condition secondary fermenter for 1 week at 34°F

Keg/Bottle:

Keg and force carbonate at 30psi for 5-7 days at 34°F

Bottle prime and carbonate at 70° for 7-14 days

I decided to double up on the recipe and mash 10.5 pounds of grains at the same time, this theoretically saved me an hour and a half since I only had to mash and lauter a single batch. I used a mash calculator to figure out my mash volumes and temperatures.

I Mashed All 10.5 Pounds Of Grain At The Same Time

I like to hit my mash temperatures dead on the first try but this time after some last minute research I decided to lower my original 155°F mash temperature to 150°F. Using my Screwy's 5 Gallon Mash Tun I still had enough room to add a bit of cold filtered water and stir the mash to hit my new target in about 2-3 minutes.

Continuous Sparge Into Boil Pot With First Wort Hops

I combined the first runnings into 2 boil pots so that I could do both full wort boils on my stovetop. I  staggered the boil start times by 20 minutes, the amount of time it takes to chill the wort down to pitching temperature. This made it a easier when filling the Mr. Beer fermenters since each fermenter holds the contents of the boil pot.

1 Ounce Of Saaz Hops Added To Each Boil Pot At Start Of Sparge

I've never done first wort hopping before so after reading how it produces complex bitterness and aromas that are smooth and pleasing to the pallet I just had to give it a try. This recently rediscovered method dates back to the turn of the century when brewers used it to lower the ph of their mash and increase overall hop utilization during the boil. The boost in hop utilization can increase the wort IBUs by 10%, according to some sources, so it'll be interesting to taste this beer and find out just how hoppy it comes out.

First Runnings Cooled To 62°F For Pitching Yeast

I cooled the wort down to pitching temperature and used a strainer when racking it to keep the excess hop debris from getting into the primary fermenter. I didn't use muslin hop sacks this time as I would normally do, I wanted to see what difference it would make. The shear amount of all the hops in this beer caused the strainer to become clogged and require cleaning several times near the end of the pour.

I had smacked the liquid yeast packs the night before and left them to activate overnight at 72°F. The next afternoon I took them down to the brewhaus and left them adjust to 62°F so they would match the temperature of the wort when I pitched them. The packages were fully swollen which was a good sign since I had been too lazy to make a starter.

Second Runnings Boil Produces A Free Batch Of Beer

I also made a Mr. Beer sized batch using the second runnings from my original recipe. This is the first time I've ever tried this and I think it will make a pretty nice light beer. The best part of using the second runnings for a batch is that it's like getting free beer, if only I knew what to do with all those spent grains....

After 48 hours of fermentation the krausen is already starting to subside in the first running fermenters. The fermentation really took off fast in both fermenters both reaching high krausen within the first 24-26 hours after pitching. I left the fermenters in the basement overnight where it was a cool 60F to help offset and heat buildup created during the initial fermentation.

Screwy's India Pale Ale After 60 Hours Of Fermentation

The second runnings fermentation didn't start off that good, I had pitched some old yeast I had found in the back of the beerfrigerator and as expected it turned out to be a dud. To the rescue (I hope) came 2 left over packets of Mr. Beer dry yeast which I added to the second runnings fermenter.

Mr. Beer Dry Yeast Pitched After 60 Hours Of Fermentation

I didn't aerate the wort as I would do for an initial pitch, I gently stirred and swirled the wort until the dry yeast was mixed into the wort.

Gentle Swirling Of Mr. Beer Yeast Into Wort

This is a lesson to myself about unplanned brewing ideas and not being totally prepared to do it properly. I should have picked up another yeast to use for the second runnings while I was at the LHBS but didn't. I'll chalk this one up for experience for now and hope for the best, although I plan on repeating this again using better yeast the next time.

I racked the IPAs to clean secondaries last night to get the beer off of the yeast and hops they've been sitting on for the past 2 weeks. I do this routinely now to make sure I don't have a lot of trub to deal with when bottling or kegging as the transfer to the secondary really helps clear up the beer.

My original plan was to dry hop with another ounce of Cascade hops in the secondary for 7 days but after tasting the beer I decided instead to mix in some of the second runnings to add more malt flavor. The second runnings had a nice biscuit and malt flavor and didn't have any hop additions. The first runnings were already heavily hopped to my liking and I did want the complexity of the biscuit malt too.

After removing the dry hop sack and leaving the trub in the primary behind about 2 gallons of beer was racked to the secondary. I then racked about 1/4 gallon of the second runnings beer to this to bring the total volume up to 2 1/4 gallons, just right for my 2 1/2 gallon kegs.

Kegging The IPA

After soaking the kegs in One-Step cleanser for 10 minutes and then shaking them really good I pushed about a quart of the cleaning mixture out of the keg with Co2. I removed the lids and emptied the kegs then let them drain for5 minutes to get all the cleanser out before racking them with beer.

Racking Beer Into Clean Keg While Co2 Enters Via Pickup Tube

It takes only a few minutes to fill the keg with beer so I keep the valve cracked a tiny bit to allow Co2 to gently enter the bottom of the keg during the filling process. Doing this pushes oxygen out of the keg as it fills reducing the chances of oxidation impacting the kegged beer.

2.5 Gallon Keg About Halfway Filled With Co2 Bubbling From Bottom

Force Carbinating And Kegging Mr. Beer Sized Batches

After bottling my Mr. Beer sized batches for nearly a year I decided to go out and buy some nice new kegging equipment to try and make my life easier. Anyone who has bottled for a while will probably tell you it's enough to drive them to drink, which really only compounds the problem.

I sent Joe Bair, the owner of Princeton Homebrew, an email that included a list of items I wanted and he replied back that he had it all in stock. When I arrived at Joe's LHBS he rounded up the parts and showed me how to check the tank and connections for leaks. Joe also walked me through the major parts, pointing out which which were typically taken apart for normal maintenance. Joe also mentioned that the Co2 tank had a November 2010 test date and would need to be reinspected every 5 years and would cost about $35.00.

Once I got the new kegs, gauges and tank home I was off to get the Co2 tank filled at the local welding supply. The folks there were really helpful explaining to me that for $12.00 my tank would be filled with 1.5 pounds of Co2 and should be good to push about 25 kegs of beer on a single refill. Of course I plan to force carbonate my beer now so I'm sure the number will be lower.

2.5 Gallon Corny Keg With 5 Pound Aluminum Co2 Tank

Just as with yeast ranching, making a starter or brewing a lager beer I found that kegging requires learning a whole new piece of the brewing process. One of the most talked about things I heard was Co2 gas leaks, around fitting connections, gauges and tank threads. The tank pressure gauge read 800 psi right after the tank was filled with Co2. I'll be keeping an eye on how much the gauge drops after using the kegs for a while to see how often I'll need to refill it since most welding supply stores are closed on weekends.

Two 2.5 Gallon Kegs Hold 2 Mr. Beer Sized Batches

I tightened all the kegging system hose clamps and fittings, using a screwdriver and a couple of small wrenches, just to double check and make sure there wouldn't be any leaks once I put pressure on them. I mixed up a gallon of warm water and One-Step and poured it into the kegs, doing one at a time. I then lined up the keg cover and locked it down and gave the keg a good shake to wash the insides with the cleaning solution.

Keg Cleaned With One-Step Before Filling With Beer

I connected the Co2 ball lock to the 'In' side and used about 20psi to push about a quart of One-Step through the pickup tube and out the picnic spigot connected to the 'Out' ball lock. I poured the remaining One-Step from the first keg into the next keg and repeated the same cleaning steps before filling the kegs with beer.

In late December I brewed my Barley Stout and my Chocolate Stout and both had explosive fermentations using Dantstar Windsor Ale yeast. I had racked them to secondaries after 21 days of fermentation and then cold crashed them in the refrigerator at 34F for another week. I chose these 2 Stouts to use in my first attempt at kegging.

Stout Poured Through Sanitized Fill Tube To Reduce Oxygenation

I connected the Co2 line to the 'Out' ball lock and opened the valve a little to purge oxygen out of the keg before adding the beer. The beer flowing out of the secondary fermenter and into the keg was clear and free of trub making the first pour out of the keg perfect. The beer temperature at kegging was 34F, the temperature the refrigerator was set to during the cold crash.

When The Keg Was Nearly Full I Closed The Co2 Valve

When all the beer had been transferred to the keg I connected the Co2 line to the 'In' ball lock and opened the valve a little to purge oxygen from the top of the beer before aligning the keg lid and locking it down. Once the kegs were sealed I cranked the Co2 pressure up to 30psi and gave them a couple of good shakes before moving them out to the refrigerator to force carbonate at 12psi.

'Set And Forget' 34F Force Carbonate At 12psi

I rearranged the shelves in the refrigerator to fit 2 corny kegs and the Co2 tank and gauges at the bottom leaving enough room for 3 Mr. Beer kegs filled with my Oktoberfest/Marzen lagers. I secured the tank gauge to the shelf above it so the tank can't fall over and break the $80.00 gauges.

Refrigerated Co2 Drops Pressure Making High Pressure Gauge Useless

I noticed that once my Co2 tank and gauges had been in the refrigerator overnight the high pressure gauge needle had dropped down to just above the order gas range marked in red. The low pressure gauge and regulator stills worked fine and there is no adverse affect on the amount of Co2 available to force carbonate or dispense your beer.

I've read where other brewers simply take the tank out of the refrigerator and look for the frost line on the Co2 tank to find out how much Co2 is left in the tank. My tank is brand new and made of shiny aluminum. I don't mind keeping it inside the refrigerator even though it takes up a little room since it saves me the trouble of drilling another hole in the refrigerator.

If only I were able to include the flavor and taste of my Barley Stout after 6 days of forced carbonation at 12psi. The best I can do is post a few pictures of a pour and try to describe it here.

Barley Stout Pour With Creamy Head

The carbonation produced tons of really tiny bubbles that gave the head a rich creaminess that I think is perfect for any Stout. The smoky flavors of the roasted barley came through with a freshness that was not at all bitter or harsh.

  The Rich Creamy Head Lasted Long After The Beer Was Gone

After tasting my first forced carbonated brew I can put aside any doubts I may have had about Co2 producing too large bubbles or not being as good as using priming sugar. These claims were most likely made by brewers that used a beer that was somehow flawed to begin with.

Update:
I've since modified my kegging system to include a Perlick 'Perl' tap mounted in the sidewall of my refrigerator and I have also mounted the Co2 tank and gauges outside the refrigerator also.  Click here to read the complete post. The tap is connected to my keg using 5/16 inch vinyl tubing using a serving pressure of 3-5 psi and I've been force carbonating using 30 psi for about 3 days.