About 4 weeks back I brewed up what was supposed to be a Double IPA. Had a couple of brew friends over and next thing you know, I space out. First, I sparged at a temp of 152 as opposed to my standard 165 - 168, then, I cut off the sparge too soon and leave a gallon and a half of sweet sweet wort in the mash tun! Result? A 1.045 Double IPA. I thought - I’ll cut back the hops - make it a pale. Then I think - forget that - I already messed up once - let’s push it further. I add ALL the hops as if it were pushing 1.08. 6 ounces TOTAL including the dry hopping! What a sin! You can’t do that! You have to back off on the hops! Hogwash!
End result? An absolutely delicious 4.5% IPA with loads of hop flavor and aroma. OH! and no, no secondary - four weeks in primary, then straight to the keg. I even dry hopped in the primary.
Every now and then it’s good to break the “rules”. And a session IPA seems to be a cardinal sin in the brewing community. All I can say is: I’m drinking it now and couldn’t be happier with the flavor! Cheers!
you might be just fine. that isn’t really that much. I regularly use a # per 10gallons of IPA, and 10-12ounces for an APA. As long as they were spread out throughout the boil, you may have stumbled upon something stellar!
Sounds good to me. When I started AG brewing many years ago, it took a few batches to dial in my system, so a couple 1.065 - 1.070 IPAs ended up as Session IPAs back in the day. I guess it falls under the "Brewing Mistake That Turned Out Great " heading. Session IPAs rock!
“6 ounces includes the dry hops? That better be for a session IPA, cause it’s not going to cut it for a double!”
Beersmith had the IBU at 75. Definitely enough for a double.
Thanks for all the feedback peeps! I’ve read some REALLY negative reviews regarding session IPA’s and how they shouldn’t exist - not enough alcohol - too much hops - stuff like that. I was just really happy at how well it turned out. Would definitely consider brewing it again.
IBUs yes, flavor and aroma, well, there’s no measurement for that. 6oz total is by far way too low for an Imperial IPA. I’d use 6oz/5gal in the last 15min alone, not counting bittering or dryhopping.
IBUs don’t really matter since the majority of hops should go at flameout. You could have used 4-6 oz of hops at flame out and again at dry hop. A double IPA is about showcasing hop flavor and aroma not bitterness.
