I am going to make a big an imperial ipa and I am going to use Simcoe (12.8 AA), Citra (14.1AA), and Amarillo (9.4AA) but I am unsure how to best utilize the bitterness and aroma to maximize each. I have been brewing so many single hop beers to try to be able to recognize what each does that I am afraid using a combo of each I may lose something. Here is the recipe and please feel free to give suggestions on how YOU would utilize these three hops in a single beer.
LBS OZ
14 2 American Two-row Pale
1 Corn Sugar (Dextrose) (Boil)
10 American Dextrin (Cara-Pils)
10 American Crystal 40L
oz AA
boil 60 min ½ Citra ~ pellet 14.1
boil 60 min ½ Simcoe ~ pellet 12.8
boil 45 min ½ Citra ~ pellet 14.1
boil 30 min ½ Simcoe ~ pellet 12.8
boil 15 min ½ Amarillo ~ pellet 9.4
boil 3 min ½ Amarillo ~ pellet 9.4
boil 3 min ½ Citra ~ pellet 14.1
boil 3 min ½ Simcoe ~ pellet 12.8
Using (2) 11.5 GRAMS OF SAFALE 05
EST OG: 1.078
EST FG: 1.017
IBU: 78.5
there will be some dry hopping using the some of the same three hops. Suggestions welcome on that aspect too.
Grain bill looks good to me. I’d kick your 45 minute Citra addition out to 15 minutes to achieve more flavor from the hop. If you’re worried about losing IBU’s from this move, up the 30 minute Simcoe to get them back. Move your 3 minute additions out to 0 minutes and up them to an ounce a piece. I would use at least an ounce of each to dry hop with…maybe even two.
That’s just what I would do… but it’s your recipe, so I think you should do what you think is best!
Using IPA hops at 30, 45 and 60 is a complete waste. Move your 30/45/60 additions to your 3 min additions (1.5oz Citra and 1.5oz Simcoe at 3 min). Then get some cheap and readily available Magnum for your bittering.
On the dry hopping go light on the Citra because it really overpowers other hops. I would say 1oz Citra, 2oz Amarillo and 2oz Simcoe.
Second this. The 2012 Citra is quite loud in combination with other hops - I did a even addition of Simcoe, Centennial, Cascade, Mosaic and Citra and all I could taste was CITRA!!! Not a bad thing, but something to be aware of.
Agree with the comment about 45 and 30 min. Being a waste, and you need flame out additions. Get your bus up to where you want them to be wioth a 60 minute addition and maybe a 20 minute addition and then everything else goes in under 10 min. With. The majority at flame out. Adding any hops during the boil is gong to add bitterness and lose aroma.
I agree with pretty much everything above. For an IIPA I’d go with about 40-50 IBUs of Columbus or Chinook at 60 minutes (you could use Magnum or Hop Extract here if you don’t want as much bite). I’d use an ounce each of the Simcoe, Amarillo and Citra as FWH, do an ounce of Simcoe at 15min, Citra at 10 min, Amarillo at 5 min and an ounce of each at flameout followed by at least an hour hop stand. At 10 days add an ounce of each for dry hops. Add another ounce of Simcoe and Amarillo 3 days later.
I have to be the old cantankerous guy here, as a couple of my favorite IPAs that I brew have additions at 45, 30 or both. Clones of Pliny, Union Jack, and Headhunter. The Headhunter from Steele’s IPA book is now one I am doing often (of course I had to sub Mosaic for Simcoe).
I am trying to use hops that I have on hand and don’t have any Magnum. Here is what I have on hand in addition to the Simcoe, Citra, and Amarillo.
Apollo (18.5AA)
EXP 5256 (17.0AA)
EXP 6300 (14.6AA)
Polaris (21.0AA)
El Dorado (15.3AA)
EXP 1210 (6.4AA)
Suggestions and thoughts on the best bittering hop
i don’t mind the timing at all, but the amounts late kettle are pretty low.
Double jack uses over 4# of hops per beer barrel, totaling of all additions. That works out to over 2oz per gallon.
assuming you dryhop with at least 2oz, you’re at a measly 1.2 oz per gallon - I do APAs at that level, its puny for IIPA. You need to hit it harder with late hops (between 15-0) where you won’t get much IBU contribution but will get a lot of hop flavor and some aroma, and then dryhop at least 3oz.
I don’t think it hurts anything but I don’t think it helps much either. If you are brewing an IIPA you need to have loads of flame out and dry hops. Nuf said.
Even with the 45 and 30 minute additions, Pliny does have loads at flameout and dryhop. I have not done a side by side comparison of IPAs done with 30 and 45 additions to those who haven’t with everything else being equal, but they keep doing it and it must be for a reason… Right?
I have no idea what they are doing. But when I talked to vinny several years ago he acted like the recipe posted online and made popular by the b3 clone wasn’t what they were using “now”. Heck, my understanding is that RR is using hop extracts for Pliny for bittering additions.
Hop extract is used to get more wort out of the kettle. The recipe he handed out at the Oakland NHC was for homebrewers, and uses 45 and 30 additions. He said on the BN a couple years back that he uses Amarillo in Pliny now.
Some brewers have said that glycosides are important to hop aroma, and since the hop compounds are bound to a sugar molecule, they survive the boil. Somewhere I read that you get good glycoside use at 30 minutes.
