I am searching to make a great IPA and always seem to get a really grassy almost dirty flavor in mine. I tried a few SMaSH batches and have come to the conclusion it is from the Centennial hops. I also taste this in Stone IPA and Founders Centennial IPA, I do not dislike the flavor entirely, I just want to minimize it but still keep that awesome aroma and flavor from the Centennial. I have also really scaled back my bittering charge and stepped up the late additions. Would you mind taking a look and telling me what you think?
Test Batch 1 (IPA)
American IPA
Type: All Grain Date: 1/15/2013
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.50 gal Brewer: Copper TrÖff Brewing
Boil Size: 8.01 gal Asst Brewer:
Boil Time: 60 min Equipment: My AG Setup
End of Boil Volume 6.76 gal Brewhouse Efficiency: 65.00 %
Final Bottling Volume: 5.25 gal Est Mash Efficiency 76.8 %
Fermentation: My Aging Profile Taste Rating(out of 50): 30.0
Taste Notes:
Ingredients
Ingredients
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
12 lbs Pale Ale Malt 2-Row (Briess) (3.5 SRM) Grain 1 73.8 %
3 lbs Wheat, Flaked (1.6 SRM) Grain 2 18.5 %
12.0 oz Munich 10L (Briess) (10.0 SRM) Grain 3 4.6 %
8.0 oz Carapils 6-Row (Briess) (1.3 SRM) Grain 4 3.1 %
1.00 oz Columbus (Tomahawk) [14.00 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 5 38.4 IBUs
1.00 oz Cascade/Centennial/Simcoe Blend [7.50 %] - Boil 10.0 min Hop 6 7.5 IBUs
1.00 oz Cascade/Centennial/Simcoe Blend [10.00 %] - Boil 5.0 min Hop 7 5.5 IBUs
1.00 oz Cascade/Centennial/Simcoe Blend [14.10 %] - Aroma Steep 0.0 min Hop 8 0.0 IBUs
1.0 pkg California Ale (White Labs #WLP001) [35.49 ml] Yeast 9 -
1.00 oz Cascade [7.50 %] - Dry Hop 5.0 Days Hop 10 0.0 IBUs
1.00 oz Simcoe [14.10 %] - Dry Hop 5.0 Days Hop 11 0.0 IBUs
1.00 oz Simcoe [14.10 %] - Dry Hop 5.0 Days Hop 12 0.0 IBUs
0.50 oz Centennial [10.00 %] - Dry Hop 5.0 Days Hop 13 0.0 IBUs
Beer Profile
Est Original Gravity: 1.070 SG Measured Original Gravity: 1.046 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.014 SG Measured Final Gravity: 1.010 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 7.3 % Actual Alcohol by Vol: 4.7 %
Bitterness: 51.3 IBUs Calories: 151.6 kcal/12oz
Est Color: 6.5 SRM
Mash Profile
Mash Name: Single Infusion, Medium Body, Batch Sparge Total Grain Weight: 16 lbs 4.0 oz
Sparge Water: 4.88 gal Grain Temperature: 72.0 F
Sparge Temperature: 168.0 F Tun Temperature: 72.0 F
Adjust Temp for Equipment: FALSE Mash PH: 5.20
Mash Steps
Name Description Step Temperature Step Time
Mash In Add 20.31 qt of water at 163.7 F 152.0 F 60 min
Sparge Step: Batch sparge with 2 steps (0.88gal, 4.00gal) of 168.0 F water
Mash Notes: Simple single infusion mash for use with most modern well modified grains (about 95% of the time).
Carbonation and Storage
Carbonation Type: Bottle Volumes of CO2: 2.3
Pressure/Weight: 4.12 oz Carbonation Used: Bottle with 4.12 oz Corn Sugar
Keg/Bottling Temperature: 70.0 F Age for: 7.00 days
Fermentation: My Aging Profile Storage Temperature: 65.0 F
Notes
Hop blend to be equal parts Cascade, Centennial and Simcoe.
2 separate dry hop additions, each 5 days, pull the first one and replace with the 2nd one, use the Centennial batch 1st, trying to minimize grassy, dirty taste.
The 0 minute hop addition will be steeped for 20 mins and then I will whirlpool(manually) for 10 mins before cooling.
I would use regular 2 row (the 1.8L stuff) as opposed to Pale Ale malt. Any particular reason for all the wheat? Carapils will be great here - lots of pro IPA brewers use it.
I would also just put all 3oz of the hop blend in at flameout, get a good whirlpool going and do a hop stand for 45 min before chilling and running off. The hop flavor from a hopstand is pretty spectacular.
absolutely - was only giving one opinion - to each their own. I personally don’t like it as it gives a candy like malt sweetness to the flavor that I find intrudes on hop forward. american styles. on my IPAs, I usually use something like the following: Rahr 2 row at around 85%, Munich or Vienna at 10% and British extra light crystal at 5% and find the malt flavor is perfect for my tastes. YMMV.
I agree with the ‘oomph’ statement but this is mostly because of my process and water. I’ve had other ipas that use the lighter stuff that have the same depth of flavor just because not everyones setup is the same.
I like the hop blend too. I think it’ll work out nicely.
Definitely not knocking you at all. It is a valid point. It does impart a little more of that malt character. I try to keep my use around 80% and let the other malt flavors round it out. All about the taste and what you like best
I don’t have a lot to add other than to say it looks like a good recipe to me. I’ll second the suggestion for a long hop stand. It adds a lot of hop flavor in my opinion.
If you’re getting a flavor you don’t like from the Centennial, why don’t you try pulling it out of the recipe completely? Maybe sub in Amarillo or Citra or something like that. Seems like a waste of a brew if you know you’re including an ingredient you don’t like.
A lot of breweries have switched to a 70/30 Cascade/Columbus blend since they can’t get (much) Centennial. I don’t know if that’s the case for the beers you mentioned, but it’s something to think about.
I think this will make an awesome beer, but you never know until you try it!
That’s why we love homebrewing and experimenting. ;D
I have a couple comments.
You say the hops blend is “equal parts Cascade, Centennial and Simcoe”, but your recipe has different AA% for each 1oz hops blend addition.
Also, I don’t think your beer software is taking the 3.5oz of dry hopping into account in the IBU calculation.
Not a big deal just something to keep in mind. This beer should have an amazing aroma!!!
With all of the different hops in this recipe, what aroma are you going for? Citrusy? Piney? Floral? Fruity?
My guess is “all of the above”. Cascade, Centennial and Simcoe pretty much screams “West Coast IPA”. I find that 3-4 hop varieties is the sweet spot for hoppy beer styles to my palate. Too few and there isn’t the complexity of hop character that I’m looking for. Too many and the hop presence gets a bit muddled.
Ok, first off, I like the addition of the wheat, I have been using it in all my IPA’s, kind of lends a flavor and mouthfeel similar to Tow Hearted and the Pale Ale malt has been working nicely for me in my SMaSH batches so I want to stick with that right now. I thought about using some crystal or lt. Munich for color, but I can never really dial int he right amount. I might ditch the carapils, but the little extra body can’t hurt right? As for my water, I have no idea, lol. I was using RO water and building it up a bit, but I switched to my local water and have really nice results so I am running with that right now as well. I do have some out for testing though.
For the hops:
I love Centennial, I just think too much leads to that grassy flavor, so I am trying to strike a balance out some of the flavor and aroma while minimizing the negative contributions.
As for the AA’s for the hops, I have not changed that in Beersmith yet, should I just average the 3 hops together and then use that value?
I have never done a hopstand before, is that just tossing in the hops at flameout and steeping them for 45 mins? I was planning on tossing in the “aroma” hops/flameout out hops in and steeping for 20 mins and then whirl-pooling for 10 and then cooling. Should I leave them in for 45 mins and then whirl-pool and chill?
Dry hops, to many, I have never done the 2 step addition before but I want the aroma to be pretty bold. As for the aroma I am going for, a mix, lol, love the aroma of Simcoe and Centennial so I guess some of that dank, catty, floral goodness.
Do you think once I adjust the AA’s I should add a small charge @ 30 mins. or so to up the IBU’s a bit, they seem a bit low as of now…
Toss in your flameout hops, cover your kettle, then set your timer. I like 60-80 minutes for an IPA, but even 20-30 minutes will give you a nice boost. Afther the hop stand, whirlpool and chill as normal.
That will work, but you will see an increase in IBU’s from the hop stand if you decide to do one. You have enough late hops where you probably won’t need the extra addition if you hop stand. Can’t hurt, though. If you want to bump up the IBU’s on this you could also add the extra hops as FWH instead of a 30 minute addition.
I go the other way: whirlpool after flameout, then rest. I figure as long as you’re incorporating a long rest, you might as well use it to compact that trub cone.
Ok, sounds like I am making some progress here! let me throw a wrench in the mix, what if I replace the Cascade with CTZ? Just realized I am out of Cascade and do not have time (live in a small rural town) to get more, but I have plenty of CTZ. I realize this will change the flavor profile, but I usually get some nice dankness from CTZ and that change would be ok with me. What do we think?
