Citra IPA Tap Handle

Batch 90

I’ll be brewing with the Citra hops that Ralph Olson, of Hop Union, sent me last week.  They are wonderfully aromatic and I can’t wait to see how this brew turns out.  At last evening’s Central Valley Brewers Guild gathering, several of the members were drooling over the hops. This recipe will be the standard malt bill used for all of my single hop experiment ales.  The hops are adjusted to keep the bittering levels the same for all hop additions, throughout the brew.  This allows me to see what any particular hop brings to the ale.

I’m way ahead on my contract days at work, so I’m taking tomorrow off to brew.  I’m looking forward to a quiet morning, surrounded by the aroma of very fresh hops!

Here’s the recipe:

Citra IPA
14-B American IPA
Author: Mark Ranes
Date: 10/19/09

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: 62.3 (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
1.0 oz Citra (11.1%) – added during boil, boiled 60.0 min
1.0 oz Citra (11.1%) – added during boil, boiled 45.0 min
1.0 oz Citra (11.1%) – added during boil, boiled 20.0 min
1.0 lb Corn Sugar
1.5 oz Citra (11.1%) – added during boil, boiled 10.0 min
1.5 oz Citra (11.1%) – added during boil, boiled 0.0 min
2 ea Whirlfloc – added during boil, boiled 10.0 min
1.0 tsp Yeast Nutrient – added during boil, boiled 10.0 min
2000.0 mL Starter White Labs WLP001 California Ale
4.0 oz Citra (11.1%) – added dry to primary fermenter

Milling Grains for Citra IPA

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Simcoe IPA Tap Handle

I recently blogged about my ongoing single hop ale experiment, and it’s time for another round.  On Veterans Day, I’ll be taking my base single hop recipe, and subbing in Simcoe hops.  Basically, this means keeping the hopping schedule, individual hop charge IBU percentages and overall brew IBUs identical to the original ale – changing the hop variety only. So far, I’ve done this with Centennial and Columbus hops, and now it’s time to see what Simcoe hops bring to the table.  After recently tasting Weyerbacher Simcoe Double IPA (thanks, Maggie:), I’m expecting a big, piney, resinous, full flavored IPA.  I have used Simcoes in a variety of ales in the past, and thankfully I have some on-hand for the brew.  I plan on having all three of these single hop IPAs on tap, side-by-side, so that people can experience the differences each hop offers.  They should all be ready for the various holiday season events.  Here’s the recipe:

Simcoe IPA
14-B American IPA
Author: Mark Ranes
Date: 11/11/08

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: 61.6 (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
.5 oz Simcoe (13.0%) – added during boil, boiled 60.0 min
1.0 oz Simcoe (13.0%) – added during boil, boiled 45.0 min
.7 oz Simcoe (13.0%) – added during boil, boiled 20.0 min
1.0 lb Corn Sugar
2.0 oz Simcoe (13.0%) – added during boil, boiled 10.0 min
2 ea Whirlfloc – added during boil, boiled 10.0 min
1.0 tsp Yeast Nutrient – added during boil, boiled 10.0 min
1.5 oz Simcoe (13.0%) – added during boil, boiled 0.0 min
2000 mL White Labs WLP001 California Ale
4.0 oz Simcoe (13.0%) – added dry to primary fermenter

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6.5 ounces of Centennial Hops

Have I told you before how much I love Centennial hops?    You’re looking at 6.5 ounces of Centennials ready to do their job on ten gallons of Two Hearted IPA.

The brew day went well.  The only thing out of the ordinary was my pump cavitating for a few minutes.  Eventually it corrected itself and all was fine.  I hit my mash temp, 152 degrees, on the nose, and everything else played out as expected.  I’m currently chilling and expect to be cleaned and wrapped up within the hour.

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Two Hearted Ale IPA Label

It turns out that the Two Hearted IPA I brewed back in June has moved into my “All Time Five Best Ales I’ve Ever Brewed” category and the second five gallon keg is draining quickly.  I’ll be brewing this IPA again tomorrow, the only difference being that I’ll be using White Labs WLP001 California Ale yeast instead of their Pacific Ale yeast.  I need to run up to Modesto this afternoon to pick up four pounds of Vienna malt, but other than that, I’m good to go.  I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s cool, possibly rainy forecast, as a foreshadowing of the new brewing season.

Now, if I could just find someone to send me a bottle or two of the real Bells’ Two Hearted IPA.  I’m dying to taste the commercial version (and see if it is as good as mine:).

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Columbus IPA Tap Handle

One of the things I like to experiment with in my brewing is making single hop ales.  It really allows you to see what a particular hop variety brings to an ale.  To take this one step further (and feed my background as a former science teacher:), I like to take a recipe for a single hop ale, and brew it again, changing only one thing – the variety of hop.  Basically, this means keeping the hopping schedule, individual hop charge IBU percentages and overall brew IBUs identical to the original ale.  Tomorrow, I’ll be taking my Two Hearted IPA recipe, and changing only the hop variety – from Centennial hops (my hands-down favorite, only one hop to brew with on a desert island:) to Columbus hops.

Additionally, I’ll be bottling up a few bombers of the Two Hearted IPA, since I know the second keg will be gone before the Columbus IPA is ready, to allow for side by side comparisons of the two ales.  I just finished filtering my water and milling the grain for tomorrow’s brew day.  As always, the milled grain smells wonderful:)

Here’s the recipe for tomorrow’s brew day:

Columbus IPA
14-B American IPA

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: 61.1 (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
.5 oz Columbus (15.0%) – added during boil, boiled 60.0 min
.75 oz Columbus (15.0%) – added during boil, boiled 45.0 min
.80 oz Columbus (15.0%) – added during boil, boiled 20.0 min
1.0 lb Corn Sugar
1.5 oz Columbus (15.0%) – added during boil, boiled 10.0 min
1.5 oz Columbus (15.0%) – added during boil, boiled 0.0 min
2 ea Whirlfloc – added during boil, boiled 10.0 min
1.0 tsp Yeast Nutrient – added during boil, boiled 10.0 min
2000 mL White Labs WLP001 California Ale

Milling grain for Columbus IPA

One other difference in this brew from the Two Hearted IPA is the yeast.  Unfortunately, I’m out of Pacific Ale yeast, but I’ll be restocking soon since a trip to B3 is in my near future.  This ale should dry out just a bit more than Two Hearted IPA, but I can adjust for that with a slightly higher mash temperature.

Brenda is off to San Franciso in the morning to take up another load of stuff to Meagan at AAU, so I’m on my own for the brew day.  Unfortunately, Meagan is using my older PowerBook G4 at school, until the new MacBooks are released in a couple weeks, so my iTunes server is MIA. I’ll have to rely on Sirius for brew day tunes:)

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