Critique my IPA recipe

Hello friends, I’m going to brew a recipe that I’ve made several times and really enjoy, but I have changed it a little bit to include hopstand/whirlpool hopping since I just got a new whirlpool set up on my chiller.  I would love some suggestions or opinions.  Specifically, I don’t know the amounts that people usually whirlpool with, also I don’t know if the flameout hops are necessary since I will be cooling quickly to 175 and then dumping in a bunch more hops?  Also, the flameout hops and the whirlpool hops do not contribute to the IBU totals given below.  Thanks

Batch Size: 5.85 gal
Style: American IPA (14B)
Boil Size: 8.00 gal
Color: 6.2 SRM
Bitterness: 65.8 IBUs
Boil Time: 60 min
Est OG: 1.065
Est FG: 1.012
ABV: 6.9%
Mash 60 @ 152

12 lbs 8.0 oz Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM)
1 lbs 4.0 oz Munich Malt - 10L (10.0 SRM)
5.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L (40.0 SRM)
0.8 oz Chinook [14.0%] - Boil 60 min
1.0 oz Centennial [10.0%] - Boil 15 min
0.5 oz Chinook [13.0%] - Boil 15 min
1.00   Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15 min)
0.5 oz Centennial [10.0%] - Boil 7 min
0.5 oz Columbus (Tomahawk) [14.0%] - Boil 7 min
0.5 oz Centennial [10.0%] - Boil 0 min
0.5 oz Chinook [13.0%] - Boil 0 min
0.5 oz Columbus (Tomahawk) [14.0%] - Boil 0 min
At flameout, cool quickly to 175 and then whirlpool hop for 30 minutes:
2.5 oz  Centennial - whirlpool hop for 30 min
1.0 oz  Chinook - whirlpool hop for 30 min
0.5 oz  Columbus - whirlpool hop for 30 min
Starter American Ale (Wyeast Labs #1056)
2.0 oz Centennial [10.0%] - Dry Hop
1.0 oz Chinook [13.0%] - Dry Hop

I sure don’t see anything wrong with it.  I like your grain bill and your hop combo.

If it were me I would add 2 more ounces to the dry hop.  I typically use one ounce per gallon - and I don’t in any way think that is too much, but one has to stop somewhere.  I’m also not convinced of the value of spreading out hop additions.  I’ve gone to three: a 60 minute addition for all the bittering, a whirlpool addition for flavor and aroma, and dry hopping for aroma and flavor.  My thinking is that one only gets 2 things from hops: alpha acids and oils.  The best way to get the AA is with a 60 minute addition.  The best way to get oils is at ~175* and below because oils boil off at very low temperatures compared to water/wort.

But that is me.  What you have described above is not wrong.  I just do it differently for the reasons stated.  As so many say here regularly, try it both ways to see which works best for you!

You’re becoming quite the hop guy steve. Thats a good thing. I’ll have to try your method once I get through lager season. Maybe a real simple IPA grain bill with a neutral 60 min of about 30% of the total ibus. Then the rest at 175. How long do you suggest that rest? 15 min? 30?

I agree with you Steve. I’m liking 60 min + stand + dry right now really well. And I like 1oz/gallon (sometimes a little more) dry hops as well for IPA. But there are several valid hopping methods out there, and that’s where the fun comes in for me. There are a lot of combinations of time/temp/variety/amount/stand temp to play with !

FWIW, I give IPA 30-40 minutes @ 170F, Jim.

Cool. I’ll give it a go when the time comes

I think that recipe looks great!  8)

I might add a chunk of Columbus at dry hop as well, but that is just personal preference.

I like it. I would go with what you have. You are going to have a really good brew. You said that you’ve brewed it before (without the whirlpool), so I’m assuming that you’ve used this dry hop schedule before. I personally use 4-5 oz as a dry hop. You’ll find that you’ll get more aroma with your whirlpool. My suggestion is brew this recipe and tweak it from there to your liking.

I love hops. 
If I read your question correctly you are asking about the IBU contribution of a whirlpool addition.  My assumption is that at ~175* there isn’t much isomerization going on.  So I go for all of my IBU’s in my 60 minute addition.  Beersmith however calculates that my whirlpool additions of 3 oz. each of Amarillo and Cascade will add about 50 IBU.  I think the software assumes a higher temperature.

But I’ve got to say, I’m not cautious at all in this regard when dealing with AIPA’s.  The one I am brewing tomorrow is calculated to have 136 IBU.  This is typical, and I have yet to have one I thought was too bitter.  But I watch my pH and use a quality bittering hop (usually CTZ).

+1 to all of this. Even if you get a little bit of isomerization from your hop stand, it’s generally a much smoother bitterness than you get from boil additions. My hopstand-only IPA (I held the hopstand hot instead of dropping the temp first) measured 98 IBU’s in a lab, but tasted closer to 60 and wasn’t rough or harsh in any way.

Thanks all,  I will give it a whirl this weekend. I didn’t know the amounts that most people use in their whirlpool but I will give this recipe a try and titrate it depending on how it tastes.
Cheers

I’m sure a pun wasn’t intended here

Yes, I think so.  ;D housse ipad mini 3 coque ipad air 2

It was

So I brewed above recipe yesterday and all went well ( aside from my brew shop giving me 7 oz less 2row than I ordered), and it is bubbling away vigorously.  I have to say, the CO2 coming out smells like a ton of fresh hops.  None of my other IPAs have done this to this extent.  Can’t wait to taste it in about a month.  Hope it doesn’t taste like hop tea.

Update: I kegged this IPA a week ago and tapped it two days ago when it was carbed appropriately.  I ended up not dry hopping it because I wanted to see how much aroma and flavor I would get from the whirlpool alone.  Got to say, I am extremely happy with the results. Even without the dry hopping, it has the best aroma of any IPA I have made in the hop flavor is also stronger and more pleasant. I don’t think I will be making any more IPAs without the whirlpool technique.  Thanks all for the advice.

Awesome. Enjoy !

Great to hear! I could never get as much hop flavor in my beers as I wanted until I started doing hop stands. One I tried it, I was sold.

Same here.  I also think the aroma from the stand is longer lasting than the late boil additions since the oils aren’t boiled off.

I’ve been doing hopstands lately too and love it. Nice mellow flavor.