Still new to recipe creation, just looking for some feedback. Didn’t have any direction on the hop additions. Just used Simcoe and Amarrillo because I don’t have much experiance with them. Any feedback would be appreciated.
Personally, I would keep the BUs about the same but use much less hops in the bittering addition and move A LOT more hops to the flavor, and especially, the aroma. I’d also use more dry hops. This beer isn’t about bitterness, per se, but about hop flavor and aroma. You will be using more hops.
Also, 45 days aging a IIPA kind of goes against the grain since these things should be consumed fairly fresh. I’d use chips instead of cubes, that way 1-2 weeks aging will be plenty and you can drink the beer the way it was intended to be consumed - young and fresh.
Great info so far. Thanks. Guess I should have mentioned I will do a starter. Will step it up once or twice before brewing. I will revamp the hop additions and swich to oak chips and a shorter secondary. Will repost the recipe once I have a chance to work on it. Thanks again. Any other thoughts would be appreciated.
Like what you are doing with the hops. My only other concern would be that the malt bill might be too “meaty”. A IIPA should be … how should I say it … tricky. What I mean is, you should sit down and drink two or three of them without realizing what you are getting into. Kinda like a doppelbock. Its a session beer, but you probably didnt mean to have that last one, if you know what I mean.
Personally, I think that Pliny the Elder is still the model for this beer. IMO you would be better off simplifying the grain bill. Malt is not the focus here. I like about a 1.075 OG and about 5% of the grain bill to be plain sugar, for dryness. I also like a little crystal malt in the to back up the malt with some sweetness. The sugar will drive your FG down and the crystal will give you some mouthfeeel and a touch of balance. Thats how I would do it.
Doesn’t have to be exactly that way though. What you have would probably make a great beer as is.
Good advice all 'round…and I suppose that Pliny really is the best current example. And a simple grain bill is certainly not a bad thing.
*But session beer? *
Has the definition for that mutated too? ;D
With a beer of that ABV, that’s gonna be one helluva session.
What I really should say is it drinks like a session beer and you may not remember you had that last pint. ;D A IIPA should be very approachable and quaffable, not a fireplace sipper like a barley wine.
I’d go with chips (not least as I can’t get cubes in the UK), but you do need to keep tasting as if left too long they can impart an overly harsh flavor.
Agreed… you can easily get too much oak in IPAs and IIPAs if you’re not careful.
For the malt bill - if you want to lighten it up without sacrificing balance and malt presence, check clone recipes of Stone’s Ruination and arrogant bastard. Arrogant holds up really nicely to the good amount of oak character they add to it.
Not sure how I will tweek the malt bill yet. I definetly want a good malt character while keeping the hops in the forefront. Guess I’m not in any rush as I will probly wait till the weather starts to cool to get this one going.
I like the malt bill, actually. I don’t think the Munich is too high, and the crystal should remain at 1 lb. Try it and see. It is tricky, but you want some malt structure to balance the hops.
I probably wouldn’t dry hop the Chinook. (I’d replace with equal amts of Simcoe and Cascade). Maybe move the Chinook to the 60 minute addition, instead of dry hopping. Otherwise, it just looks awesome. I think you’ll love the flavor and aroma–I really do.
well, i can’t prove this, but i left an 11% dipa in an oak barrel for six weeks and it turned out fantastic. i’m waiting for it to carb up right now… forgot to adjust co2 for temp in force carbing the keg and the bottles are less than two weeks from capping…
It’s inspired me to brew an Oak IIPA…IMO you can’t go wrong with Amarillo Hops! The Munich is an interesting grain to use, should be great! I just brewed an Imperial Bourbon Oak Porter and boiled the chips for 10 minutes to sanitize…they’re easy to work with. Cheers!
