Two years ago I made a down-the-middle English IPA, which was a super satisfying beer. I decided it was time to do a re-brew, with slight modifications for my upgraded brewing system as well as ingredients on-hand.

English IPA

• 12 lb. Maris Otter ale malt (Crisp)
• 10 oz. white wheat malt (Briess)
• 8 oz. biscuit malt (BlackSwaen)
• 6 oz. crystal 120 malt (Great Western)
• 6 oz. crystal 60 malt (Great Western)
• 1 oz. Magnum hop pellets (10.1% alpha), 60 minute boil
• 1 oz. East Kent Goldings (EKG) hop pellets (5.0% alpha), 15 minute boil
• 1 oz. Fuggles hop pellets (4.7% alpha), 15 minute boil
• 1 Whirlfloc tablet, 5 minute boil
• 1 oz. East Kent Goldings (EKG) hop pellets (5.0% alpha), 10 minute whirlpool
• 2 pkg. Nottingham ale yeast (Lallemand)
• 3 oz. East Kent Goldings (EKG) hop pellets (5.0% alpha), dry hop in keg

Target Parameters

• 1.063 s.g, 1.016 f.g., 6.2% abv, 51 IBU, 12 SRM
• Full-volume infusion mash, 154° for 60 minutes
• Water built from Claremont tap water with mineral additions.

Procedure

• I heated 7.5 gallons of water to 163°, adding 8 g of gypsum and a Campden tablet.
• I mashed in with the grains, maintaining the temperature at 154° for 60 minutes. Next, I raised the temperature to 168° for the mashout.
• In total, I collected 6.4 gallons of runnings with a gravity of 1.054, for 67% mash efficiency. This is pretty close to my target, so I’m quite happy with this result.
• I boiled for 60 minutes, adding hops and kettle finings per the recipe. After the boil, I chilled and transferred to the fermenter.
• I brewed this beer on 16 January 2021. It had a starting gravity of 1.064. I fermented at 66°.
• I kegged the beer on 13 February 2021, putting the hops in a baggie in the keg. Final gravity was 1.019, for 5.9% abv.

Tasting

• Appearance
  • Clear with a deep gold color; the thin white head is moderately persistent.
• Aroma
  • Malt, light caramel character, with a low level of fruity yeast character. The hop aroma is a bit underwhelming, with little to speak of.
• Flavor
  • Moderately high, slightly herbal bitterness, but not over the top. It is a moderately-high malty beer, with a bit of caramel and toffee in the malt character. The bitterness is really smooth, and very nicely balanced against the malt.
• Mouthfeel
  • Medium-full body with moderate carbonation and an off-dry finish. The beer is very smooth for the level of bitterness!
• Would I Brew This Again?
  • This is a pretty good beer overall. The color and clarity are gorgeous, as is the malt character. I would like a bit more hop aroma in the nose and a bit more hop flavor, beyond just the bitterness. I might try switching up the dry hop combination for future versions.
• Overall
  • 7/10