So I am a partial mash brewer. Ive used the same grain bill on a few ipas now and I like how it comes out. This time I’m using different hops. Is 20 ounces too much?
Have you plugged the Alpha Acid %'s of those hops into some brewing software to see how much bitterness will be contributed to the beer? You may want to start there.
Secondly, this is America! Brew it up! There’s a handful of us who have utilized that many hops. I would just use them differently.
I would push the 15 minute addition out to 10 minutes. Then take the 5 minute addition and split it in two. Add half of it to your flameout addition and add the other half to you dry hop charge. That’s my two cents, but you’ll also have a good beer as is.
I forgot to add the warrior hops when i counted lol. I used beersmith and it says 120 ibus (I once made an IPA that said it was 100 ibus and didnt taste it). I just had 8 ounces of TNT and 8 ounces of Mandarina and 4 ounces of citra. I figured it would be a very citrusy ipa or double ipa.
Disclaimer - I use a lot of hops in IPA, too. Ironically, I brew a lot of subtle, balanced beers too, but I hit IPA (and APA ) pretty hard, often IIPA level hops in AIPA. I used 19 oz in my last IPA FWIW. Satisfies my hop jones. golfgod04 - I agree with the advice from brewinhard about controlling the bitterness in software. IMO a BU:GU of around 1.2 is good for bitterness in AIPA, then all the other hops you add go to flavor and aroma (where I love them). My $0.02.
Edit - Have you used this many hops before though? It’s hard to answer if it’s ‘too much’ because we don’t know your goals or preferences.
I use a similar amount of hops in 3 gallons of IPA, so no - I do not think that is too much hops. But if it were me, I’d take everything between 60 minutes and the end of the boil and move them to the whirlpool. That will give you the best bang for your buck.
As far as the IBU’s go, your perception of bitterness maxes out between 60 and 80 IBU’s, so really don’t waste your time worrying about your IBU’s on a big IPA. Anything over 70 or so might as well read “MAX”. Just focus on your flavor and aroma and you’ll be fine.
Ive never used that many hops in a brew. Im trying to make a really citrusy ipa and I figured that hop schedule and amounts was a great way to do it. I can certainly adjust my schedule and why I reached out for anyone else that has used similar amounts of hops.
Do you keg? You could move all those 15 minute additions to a keg hop.
If not I still agree with erockrph, I don’t boil hops that I want to taste. How about 1/4 of everything at flameout, 1/4 after hopstand naturally cools to 170, and 1/2 at dry hop? Although 10oz dry hop does seem like diminishing returns. I’ve never used that much, so I dunno though.
With 10 oz of dry hops you could potentially lose quite a bit of beer to absorption from the hops. For my big IPA’s I typically use at least 6 oz of dry hops, but no more than 8. I get a huge aroma with 6 oz of dry hops FYI.
