Not bad for only Irish Moss |
Last year I brewed a big American Double IPA (maybe even a Triple IPA by some standards) The concept was to brew this beer every 3 to 4 months and bottle most of it, discouraging me from picking up a $6-7.00 22's at the liquor store every week. I fell in love with the name but not the beer. It started to get to malty for my taste and then some of the bottles started to get a little funky after a couple weeks. I contribute this to being stored badly and dirty beer lines on my Blichmann Beer Gun. So I wanted to re-look at the recipe. Starting off with Nathan Smith's "The Dankness" which I had the pleasure of drinking while at GABF a couple years back I got to work.
The recipe ended up loosely based on Nate's recipe hop wise, but pretty spot on for the grains. I really wanted to dry hop the fuck out of it and I did. With over 5 oz of dry hops tossed into the carboy. Summit is quickly becoming on of my favorite hops. Sticky and dank with the high AA% that makes it a workhorse. Plus the price can not be beat.
Aroma: An intense resinous character fills the insides of my nose. A mixture of sweet and piney notes play for attention. The sweet hop resin comes off as a sweetness, close to a overripe onion and spruce.
Appearance: Yellow to Amber in color with a solid fluffy white head. I feel the color is perfect for the Double/Triple India Pale Ale. Good lacing throughout the tasting. 4 minutes of continuous bubbles running up the side of the glass. On the clear side, maybe a little chill haze present. Once it started to warm up the beer really cleared out. (only Irish Moss was used, no Gelatin on this batch)
Flavor: Now you know this is a big IPA, without a doubt. However the maltyness really works with the resinous hop character, creating an illusion of balance. The summit hops really come into play. I do get a little sweet onion at the start of the sip, but it is quickly covered up with a foresty Simcoe flavor. I don't know if I love or hate the small sweetness this beer gives off, although it could be the alcohol creating it and not the summit hops. Bitterness is cleanly covered over by the smooth hop transition to aroma flavoring hops. Leaving no traditional bitterness flavor. A giant bouquet of forest and pine fill the aroma, leaving a little rye like spice. No off flavors, very clean fermentation qualities.
Mouthfeel: The massive amounts of hops really work with the malt making a sticky like resin combination on my palate. Not gummy, but resinous. If you've had a resinous beer, you'll understand. Great carbonation and body for the style.
Overall Impression: Overly drinkable Imperial IPA, or is it a Double IPA? Love the amount of bittering hops that combine into the awesome flavor additions. The downside is this beer uses over 12oz of hops, the good news is they are mostly cheap hops if cost is a factor. This is a must brew.
Brewing Timeline/Notes: This was brewed the beginning of August and fermented for about 10 days before be racked over to a secondary. That settled out for a couple days then I racked it and kegged the beer. It was cold crashed for 2 weeks then carbed. I've been wanting to BottleGun it but I just can't find the time to do so. I think its because I love having it on draft.
Hop Goblin #2 |
Imperial/Double IPA |
Type: All Grain | Date: 8/3/2013 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Batch Size (fermenter): 6.00 gal | Brewer: Chris Lewis | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Boil Size: 7.27 gal | Asst Brewer: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Boil Time: 60 min | Equipment: My Equipment | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
End of Boil Volume 6.24 gal | Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00 % | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Final Bottling Volume: 6.00 gal | Est Mash Efficiency 75.0 % | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Fermentation: My Aging Profile | Taste Rating(out of 50): 42 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Taste Notes: Posted above | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ingredients
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Beer
Profile
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Est Original Gravity: 1.086 SG | Measured Original Gravity: 1.086 SG | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Est Final Gravity: 1.013 SG | Measured Final Gravity: 1.014 SG | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 9.6 % | Actual Alcohol by Vol: 9.6 % | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bitterness: 42.6 IBUs | Calories: 295.2 kcal/12oz | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Est Color: 6.2 SRM | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Mash
Profile
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Mash Name: Temperature Mash, 1 Step, Full Body | Total Grain Weight: 18 lbs 11.2 oz | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sparge Water: 3.75 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 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Sparge Step: Fly sparge with 3.75 gal water at 168.0 F | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Carbonation and
Storage
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Carbonation Type: Keg | Volumes of CO2: 2.4 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Pressure/Weight: 4.53 oz | Carbonation Used: Co2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Keg/Bottling Temperature: 41 F | Age for: N/A | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Fermentation: My Aging Profile | Storage Temperature: 41.0 F | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Fermentation Notes
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Primary Fermentation: 10 days, starting at 63 degrees ramping to 68 on the last 4 Secondary Hold: 2 days at room temp to settle out any remaining trub. Keg Cold Crash: 16 Days at 41 degrees then hooked up to Co2. |
Finally had a chance to taste this beer last night and I have to say it's fantastic. It's a total creeper though as the ABV is very well hidden. I think that the aroma impressed me the most. It was really fruity and round, pretty different from the taste, making for an interesting distinction between expectation and reality. One of your best, I think.
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