It time for a straight up IPA. Christmas Eve, both of the lighter pale ale/IPA kegs blew, with no backups, and I currently have none of my favorite styles on tap. I’m craving a straight-up, middle of the road IPA, so I offer the following recipe for your perusal. The grain for this is milled, and the water filtered for an early morning start tomorrow. I have fresh “C” hops for every phase of the brew. I’m looking forward to a simple Columbus, Centennial and Cascade hopped IPA!
Straight C IPA Tap Handle
Straight C IPA
14-B American IPA
Author: Mark Ranes
Size: 10.08 gal
Efficiency: 75.0%
Attenuation: 75.0%
Calories: 234.7 kcal per 12.0 fl oz
Original Gravity: 1.070 (1.056 – 1.075)
Terminal Gravity: 1.018 (1.010 – 1.018)
Color: 12.51 (6.0 – 15.0)
Alcohol: 6.94% (5.5% – 7.5%)
Bitterness: 57.5 (40.0 – 70.0)
Ingredients:
12.0 lb Maris Otter Pale Ale Malt
12.0 lb Northwest Pale Ale Malt
1.0 lb Crystal Malt 60°L
1.0 lb Cara-Pils Malt
1.0 lb American Munich
1.5 oz Columbus (15.0%) – added during boil, boiled 60.0 m
2.0 oz Centennial (10.0%) – added during boil, boiled 10.0 m
2.0 oz Cascade (5.5%) – added during boil, boiled 1.0 m
2.0 ea Servomyces – added during boil, boiled 10.0 m
2.0 ea Whirlfloc Tablets (Irish moss) – added during boil, boiled 10.0 m
4.0 oz Cascade (5.5%) – steeped after boil
2000 mL White Labs WLP090 San Diego Super Yeast
2.0 oz Cascade (5.5%) – added dry to secondary fermenter
1.0 oz Centennial (10.0%) – added dry to secondary fermenter
1.0 oz Columbus (15.0%) – added dry to secondary fermenter
Mark's Centennial IPA Tap Handle
Batch 100
This Friday (with the close of another school year imminent, I’m trying to recover some of the extra days I worked last summer to open a new school campus – use ‘em or lose ‘em), I’ll be brewing my 100th batch of home brewed beer! My, how the time flies. Seems like it was just yesterday and I was waiting for any new information I could get on the progress of the construction of my MoreBeer 1550 BrewSculpture. I even visited the Concord showroom and was taken on a tour of the metal shop. There in a bucket, were the various pieces of of angle iron , tubing and parts that would eventually become my brewery. When the FedEx freight truck finally arrived in June, I couldn’t wait to brew my first batch and in 100 degree plus weather, I brewed a Racer 5 clone. It turned out OK – not great, but OK.
It was at least fifteen batches before I really felt comfortable with my equipment, where I could brew on autopilot and not make stupid mistakes. By batch 30 I was making really good beer and feeling comfortable with replicating recipes and experimenting with what different malts and hops brought to an ale. I started messing around with lagers, first brewing in the winter, taking advantage of environmental chilling to aid the fermentation. By batch 50, I was fermenting both ales and lagers in a temperature controlled fermentation vessel – a thermostatically controlled refrigerator. I brewed a couple amazing ales in this period of time. Somewhere in the next few batches, Sociables became a reality. From there, it was a race to this batch!
I’ve been thinking about this batch of ale – batch number 100 – for quite some time. I has to be an IPA:) It has to use my favorite hops and have a simple malt bill. It needs to be a big, bitter IPA. Here’s what a threw together.
Mark’s Centennial IPA
14-B American IPA
Author: Mark Ranes
Date: 5/7/10
Size: 10.0 gal
Efficiency: 75.0%
Attenuation: 75.0%
Calories: 316.98 kcal per 16.0 fl oz
Original Gravity: 1.071 (1.056 – 1.075)
Terminal Gravity: 1.018 (1.010 – 1.018)
Color: 9.71 (6.0 – 15.0)
Alcohol: 7.03% (5.5% – 7.5%)
Bitterness: 71.1 (40.0 – 70.0)
Ingredients:
12.0 lb American 2-row
12.0 lb Maris Otter Pale
1.0 lb 2-Row Carapils Malt
1.0 lb Carastan
1.0 oz Columbus (15.0%) – added during boil, boiled 60.0 min
2.5 oz Centennial (10.0%) – added during boil, boiled 20.0 min
1.0 lb Corn Sugar
1.0 ea Servomyces Yeast Nutrient – added during boil, boiled 10.0 min
2.0 ea Whirlfloc Tablets (Irish moss) – added during boil, boiled 10.0 min
4.0 oz Cascade (5.5%) – added during boil, boiled 4.0 min
4.0 oz Amarillo (8.5%) – added during boil, boiled 4.0 min
4.0 oz Cascade (5.5%) – added dry to secondary fermenter
4.0 oz Amarillo (8.5%) – added dry to secondary fermenter
2000 mL Starter White Labs WLP041 Pacific Ale
I hope turning 100 feels this good!
Trailer Park IPA Tap Handle
I brewed Sunday. I winged it. It felt good.
Usually I spend several days getting ready for a brew session, but Sunday I played it by ear. Saturday, I went and saw Paul Thorn at the Sonora Blue Festival. He kicked ass! We saw him in an hour-long workshop, where it’s just Paul and an acoustic guitar. John went with me, and I successfully requested “Give Them Their Roses” in honor of John’s dad’s recent passing. He was touched – and now he believes in Paul Thorn. Paul Thorn is the best musical artist you’ve never heard of! We enjoyed Don Oliver’s, of Dust Bowl Brewing’s, Hops of Wrath at the festival and supported the local boys:)
I came home Saturday night, filtered and measured my brewing water, and then got up early (not Steve early:) Sunday morning and weighed and milled my malt. I used my standard single hop ale malt bill, and then just winged the hops. You may know me as the Lazy Brewer, but those close to me would probably call me the Anal Retentive Brewer. I like to know what is going on waaaaaaaay in advance, so this was a stretch for me. And I enjoyed it! I just used some of my favorite hops and matched the standard bittering levels of my single hop ales. The ale is still currently unnamed. This was my 88th batch. Here’s the recipe:
Trailer Park IPA
14-B American IPA
Author: Mark Ranes
Date: 8/09/09
Size: 10.08 gal
Efficiency: 75.0%
Attenuation: 75.0%
Calories: 317.28 kcal per 16.0 fl oz
Original Gravity: 1.071 (1.056 – 1.075)
Terminal Gravity: 1.018 (1.010 – 1.018)
Color: 7.27 (6.0 – 15.0)
Alcohol: 7.03% (5.5% – 7.5%)
Bitterness: 63.3 (40.0 – 60.0)
Ingredients:
20.0 lb Pale Malt(2-row)
4.0 lb Vienna Malt
10.0 oz Crystal Malt 10°L
6.0 oz Crystal Malt 40°L
1.0 lb Cara-Pils Dextrine Malt
0.5 oz Summit (17.0%) – added during boil, boiled 60.0 min
1.5 oz Northern Brewer (8.0%) – added during boil, boiled 45.0 min
1.0 oz Northern Brewer (8.0%) – added during boil, boiled 20.0 min
1.0 lb Corn Sugar
2 ea Whirlfloc – added during boil, boiled 10.0 min
1.0 tsp Yeast Nutrient – added during boil, boiled 10.0 min
2.0 oz Northern Brewer (8.0%) – added during boil, boiled 10.0 min
2.0 oz Cascade (5.5%) – added during boil, boiled 10.0 min
2.0 oz Northern Brewer (8.0%) – added during boil, boiled 0.0 min
2.0 oz Cascade (5.5%) – added during boil, boiled 0.0 min
2000 mL White Labs WLP002 English Ale Starter
3.0 oz Northern Brewer (8.0%) – added dry to primary fermenter
4.0 oz Cascade (5.5%) – added dry to primary fermenter
This ale is currently cranking away in my fermentation fridge. When I open the fridge’s door, wonderful aromas escape:)
Time to brew a middle-of-the-road IPA again. I brewed a great IPA, based on Steve’s CPM IPA, a while back and named it in honor of their inspirational Boston Terrier, Cooper. Coop’s IPA was well received by all as an exceptionally drinkable IPA. I’ve tweaked the recipe a bit (and changed the name to Eddy’s IPA – sorry Coop:) and added back the Munich malt I was missing last time, and added a pound of Carastan instead of a half pound of crystal 120. Also, I recently picked up a pound of Ahtanum pellet hops, so I want to try dry hopping this IPA with them. Holding true to the last time I brewed this IPA, I’m using White Labs WLP002 English Ale yeast, and the appearance of this stuff never fails to amaze me. The yeast in the starter looks like little sheets of yeast swirling around in the flask! I really like the way WLP002 flocculates out of my brews – the ale clears quickly when cold crashed. Check out this video of the starter on the stir plate, whirling away:
Here’s the Recipe for Eddy’s IPA:
Eddy's IPA Tap Handle
Eddy’s IPA
14-B American IPA
Author: Mark
Date: 7/10/09
Size: 10.32 gal
Efficiency: 77.0%
Attenuation: 78.0%
Calories: 326.29 kcal per 16.0 fl oz
Original Gravity: 1.073 (1.056 – 1.075)
Terminal Gravity: 1.016 (1.010 – 1.018)
Color: 13.68 (6.0 – 15.0)
Alcohol: 7.56% (5.5% – 7.5%)
Bitterness: 51.4 (40.0 – 70.0)
Ingredients:
2.0 tbsp 5.2 pH Stabilizer – added during mash
11.0 lb Pale Ale Malt
11.0 lb Maris Otter Pale
2.0 lb American Munich
1.0 lb Crystal Malt 60°L
1.0 lb Carastan
1.0 lb 2-Row Carapils Malt
2.0 oz Northern Brewer (8.0%) – added during boil, boiled 60.0 min
1.5 oz Centennial (10.0%) – added during boil, boiled 15.0 min
1.0 lb Corn Sugar
1.0 tsp Wyeast Nutrient – added during boil, boiled 10.0 min
2.0 ea Whirlfloc Tablets (Irish moss) – added during boil, boiled 10.0 min
1.75 oz Cascade (5.5%) – added during boil, boiled 5.0 min
2.0 oz Northern Brewer (8.0%) – added during boil, boiled 5.0 min
2000.0 mL White Labs WLP002 English Ale
3.0 oz Ahtanum (6.0%) – added dry to primary fermenter
3.0 oz Cascade (5.5%) – added dry to primary fermenter
I’ll be lighting the burners about 8:30 to get an early start on the day. I also need to run down and fill a 20 pound CO2 tank during the mash. Tomorrow will be a busy day!
