Very interesting…
Dont get me wrong this has been modified from his recipe. I am making a few mods in the recipe on times and actual hops used. Now looking at it- I am beginning to agree the lacking of aroma additions
that’s closer to how I typically do things. when forming the recipe I build up the flavor/aroma hop levels that I want and then add in a boil addition until I hit hit the IBUs I want.
.75oz Galaxy 30min
.75oz Mosaic 20min
.50oz Galaxy 15min
1oz Citra 10min
.75oz Galaxy Dryhop
.25oz Mosaic dryhop
1oz Citra dryhop
Keeps me around 65 IBUs
thoughts?
I’m brewing a Ron Mexico clone today, 11 gallons using HBC-438 at 16.6% AA.
.25 oz. at 90.
1.0 oz at 15
3.75 oz at flameout for a 45 min whirlpool
Should be around 70 IBU.
That is loaded up at the end.
Dry hops will be 2 stages, 0.5 oz per gallon each stage.
that’s more like it 
OP, here’s another approach (the one I use for APA, AIPA) : Add your 65 IBUs for 60 mins using Columbus (for IPA), and add all of your would-be boil additions post boil, after cooling to 175F for a hop stand. Stir well every few minutes for 30 minutes then finish cooling. You’ll get nice flavor and aroma, and whatever IBUs calculate from this are not really noticeable to your palate. Then double the dry hops.
Here is an example of the hopping on a hoppy ale I have made recently. This is a 10 gallon batch.
kettle hops:
0.6 oz columbus @ 90 mins
0.6 oz nugget @ 90 mins
1 oz chinook @ 5 mins
1 oz citra @ 5 mins
2 oz amarillo @ flameout
2 oz chinook (hopstand @ 165F for 30 mins)
1 oz citra (hopstand @ 165F for 30 mins)
primary dry hop (after fermentation is mostly complete)
1.5 oz chinook for 4-5 days @60F
1.5 oz citra for 4-5 days @60F
keg hop (per keg so now we are talking about 5 gallons)
1 oz amarillo
2 oz simcoe
+1 to this. I think that the flavor and aroma you get from anything in the 10-30 min boil range is actually quite minimal and sort of a waste IMO. This could also be related to brewing scale/setup as mentioned earlier.
Just get the clean bittering backbone with a Warrior, Magnum, etc. at 60 min or FWH and then blast away at 0 min and especially a nice long whirlpool/stand at ~180 F. Then tons of dry hop. I’ve enjoyed this approach (especially the long and large amount of hops at 180F) that I’ve given up on any flavor/aroma hop additions at > 0 min. I brew more English IPAs than American ones and the long whirlpool is really where it’s at for that style, IMO.
So i really like the direction y’all are leading me- Few questions:
How do you calculate IBUs when making whirlpool additions?
How do you account for the extra loss of wort(evaporation) during whirlpool?
.5oz warrior 60min
whirlpool:
1oz Galaxy
.75oz Mosaic
.50oz Citra
Dry hop:
1oz Galaxy
.50oz Citra
.25oz Mosaic
Thoughts?
I don’t even figure the IBUs from the stand - steeping at that cooler temp you won’t notice the IBUs much, if at all. So they’re just numbers at that point. And I keep the lid mostly on during the steep, removing just to stir, so I don’t account for evaporation either. Personally, I think your hop numbers are still in APA territory. I’d double both sets of amounts. My $0.02
I was always taught to never put the lib on- is that only for the boil?
No, I don’t ever use a lid for the boil, just for the hop stand - no worries.
EDIT - Sorry, misread. Yes, only for boil.
I figure 8% utilization, roughly equivalent to a 10 min boil addition, but that’s just because I like putting numbers on things. I doubt you’ll notice the added bitterness.
With the wort off a boil, you shouldn’t see any significant evaporation.
4 oz of hops in 5 gal is 1.5 lb/bbl, solidly in APA territory. I’d wager your friend’s “fruit bomb” was >3 lb/bbl.
Have you mashed this grist before? Starting with RO water, adding a bunch of calcium salts with no alkalinity, and then throwing acid on top of it, I don’t see how your pH for a pale wort could end up where you want it.
Right, by the time you’re done boiling you’ve driven off all the DMS (or you need to boil longer).
Glad you asked the question on mash adjustments-
i have always used bottled water that i knew the chemistry to and used my phh-7011 for mash pH. However i just moved and now live in a house where the water is absolutely terrible. I have a whole house water softner(even hose water is soft) and a really nice under sink RO system. I have had chats with numerous people on whether to use soft water, RO water or a blend of the two. I got my ward Lab report back and was pleasantly surprised. Assuming it would be terribly high in Sodium and Potassium. It was a bit high in Sodium at 109ppm but potassium was on 2ppm.
Using 50% soft water and 50% RO water put me right into the areas i was wanting for my IPAs- however - ihave been told over and over again to go straight RO…
Any help would be great
Although I agree with others that whirlpool hops are hard to calculate IBUs for, if you’re really Jonesing for a number, I believe Beersmith takes half of the IBUs for equivalent boil time. For example: say a 20 min boil addition of 1 oz Citra is 20 IBUs. A 20 min whirlpool using 1 oz Citra would then be 10 IBUs. In Brad Smith’s podcast (creator of Beersmith), he has mentioned that this is just a rough estimate and he thinks it’s difficult to put an IBU number on whirlpool hops.
I think roughly 0.5 oz/gallon for whirlpool and 1 oz/gallon for dry hop is a decent starting point for AIPA.
The X factor though is the steep temp. IBUS from the oz of Citra at a 200F steep are way different from the oz @ 170F. Cooler = less IBUs obviously, but I’ve yet to see a good rough guide on how much less - which is why I just trust my palate there. At 175F-ish I think the contribution to bitterness is negligible.
Right on- 175/180 would definitely be my target range
I’d suggest taking a mash reading before adding the lactic acid. I’d expect that you need little or none to hit 5.35 – definitely not 4 ml.
for straight RO water? and keep the 8g gypsum and 4g CC?