Green Door IPA

So the time has come. Time for me to take a stab at an IPA. A number of IPAs that I enjoy use Simcoe hops, so I decided to use them as well (along with four other varieties). Simcoe arent the easiest hops to find, so to make sure I had them on hand (and didnt have to mix-and-match at the brew store, last minute), I mail ordered hops from the Beverage People in Santa Rosa. I used the local brewshop for my malts.

As has been my standard operation for the last handful of brews, I used a one-step partial mash, bringing the water to 160 before adding the grains (Two Row, Carastan, Flaked Barley), then letting it rest under a towel for one hour.

Here is the grain bed as the first runnings go into the kettle.

Poured the first runnings into another pot and then poured them back through the grain bed (called recirculation).


Brought my sparge water to about 170 and then ran that through the grain bed. Here is the grain bed after sparging...

Wort before it hits the stove (and before extract goes in).

1 oz of Simcoe hops. I put half an oz into the wort immediately, before it got to a boil.


Beginning of the 90 minute boil

1 oz of Chinook hops (my recipe called for 1 oz of Chinook hops for the boil, and another oz used for dry hopping (but as usual, I got a bit sidetracked well into the boil and accidentally used the entire 2 oz in the boil (where it was supposed to be .5 oz at 60 minutes & .5 oz at 40, I used a whole oz at each interval))) - hoppy!


Straining out the hops after the boil, and cooling, take three...

Yeast goes in... I hit it with the White Labs California Ale Yeast (WLP001) - temp was fairly high, around 78.


Hydrometer reading was at a whopping 1.079. Provided this has fairly good attenuation, this will most likely fall under the Imperial IPA category.


Green Door IPA
-------------------

Malts
- - - - -
8.5 lbs Malt Extract
2 lb Two-Row
1 lb Carastan
1 lb Flaked Barley

Hops
- - - - -
2 oz Simcoe (1 oz is for dry hopping)
2 oz Cascade (")
2 oz Chinook
1 oz Centennial (for dryhopping only)
2 oz Amarillo (1 oz is for dry hopping)

Yeast
- - - - -
White Labs California Ale WLP001

Etc
- - -
1.5 lb Turbinado Sugar
1 Whirfloc tablet
1 Servomyces capsule

Bring 1.75g water to 160, adding grains, rest for one hour (should mash around 155); sparge water up to 170; add extract and .5 oz Simcoe before bringing to flame; 90 minute boil as follows: 90 (.5 oz Simcoe), 60 (1 oz Chinook, 1 lb Turbinado), 40 (1 oz Chinook), 20 (1 oz Amarillo, .5 lb Turbinado), 15 (1 oz Cascade, Whirfloc), 10 (Servomyces).

Planning to dry hop 1 oz Simcoe, 1 oz Cascade, 1 oz Centennial, and 1 oz Amarillo. More on that later...


Brewed on Sun, June 28
Racked/Dry-hopped on July 9
Bottled on July 21