Category Archives: IPA

Live Oak Canyon Ale

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The holidays aren’t just for dark beers–anything with a decent bit of “heft” to it in flavor, alcohol, body, or some combination of those can be a great sipper next to the fire. Looking to expand my brewing repertoire, I returned to wood-aged beers, with a riff on an Imperial Red IPA from beloved local brewery Claremont Craft Ales. The original, called Happy Days, is an exceptional beer that has taken gold at the GABF (twice!), among a ton of other awards. It weighs in at 9.5% abv, so isn’t a casual beer–but it goes down smoothly nonetheless!

A clone recipe for Happy Days is available, and it’s a surprisingly simple brew. It starts out with just three malts — 2-row, crystal 150L, and a dash of chocolate malt for color, with some dextrose to dry out the beer. CTZ, Mosaic, and Simcoe round out the hop bill…and that’s it! This beer is a testament to how great recipe design and careful handling come together to make something exceptional.

For my own version, I used Happy Days as a starting point, but not the end. One goal was to play with wood aging, so the beer departs from a “clone” pretty much right away. Second, I wanted to try out some different hops, partly to see how they worked and partly to use up my (admittedly too large) hop stash.

I kept the target gravity around the same as the original Happy Days, but dropped the chocolate malt from the recipe. It seemed to be there only for color adjustment, and I just didn’t need it to hit my goals in the current batch. I had crystal 120 but not crystal 150 on-hand, so that was another malt adjustment. I aimed for around the same level of bitterness, but chose HBC 522 and Talus as my flavor/aroma hops. They seemed to have roughly similar qualities to the original recipe. Finally…I needed to figure out an oaking strategy. I didn’t want this beer to be an oak bomb, and I also didn’t want an extended barrel aging process that would kill the hop character. So, I elected to use the BeerStix product, aging a textured slab of wood in the primary as well as a bit in the keg.

The end result was pretty satisfying–one of the better experimental beers I’ve made! I am both glad and sad I did only a small batch–glad because I didn’t need 5 gallons of a 10% abv beer; and sad because this beer really is a smooth drinker, pretty darned tasty, and gone distressingly quickly.

The name for this beer comes from a canyon near where we live…it conveniently has “oak” in the name, so was a logical choice for a wooded beer.

Live Oak Canyon Ale

  • 10.5 lb. 2-row malt (Briess)
  • 13 oz. caramel malt 120L (Briess)
  • 1 oz. Warrior hop pellets (13.4% alpha), 60 minute boil
  • 0.5 oz. Magnum hop pellets (16.5% alpha), 60 minute boil
  • 0.75 lb. corn sugar, 5 minute boil
  • 1 Whirlfloc tablet, 5 minute boil
  • 2 oz. HBC 522 hop pellets (9.4% alpha), 15 minute whirlpool
  • 1 pkg. WLP001 (White Labs), California Ale dry yeast
  • 1 medium toast American oak Beer Stix carboy stick, added to primary and carried over to keg
  • 2 oz. LUPOMAX Talus hop pellets (12.0% alpha), dry hop in keg

Target Parameters

  • 1.093 s.g., 1.015 f.g., 10.5% abv, 125 IBU, 17 SRM
  • Infusion mash, held at 152° for 60 minutes and 168° for 10 minutes, with sparge
  • Claremont tap water, with Campden tablet, adjusted with minerals to achieve 58 ppm Ca, 23 ppm Mg, 54 ppm Na, 155 ppm SO4, 60 ppm Cl, 10 ppm CO3, -47 ppm RA

Procedure

  • Starting with 5.6 gallons of water, I added 4 mL of 88% lactic acid to neutralize the carbonates. Then, I added 2 g epsom salts and 2 g gypsum, to achieve my target water profile.
  • I heated the strike water to 161°, added the grains, and hit a 152° mash temperature. I also added 4 mL of 88% lactic acid, to adjust the pH.
  • After a 60 minute mash and recirculation, I raised the mash temperature to 168° for 10 minutes, before pulling the grains and sparging with ~0.9 gallons of water.
  • In total, I collected 5.25 gallons of runnings with a gravity of 1.058, for 72% mash efficiency. This was great…but meant that I needed to boil for a full 60 minutes before adding hops — so, the beer had a total of a 120 minute boil.
  • After the initial 60 minutes of boiling, I began adding hops and other finings per the recipe, with corn sugar added at the very end.
  • After the boil, I chilled the beer down to around 68°, before transferring to the fermenter.
  • I brewed this beer on 4 November 2023; it had a starting gravity of 1.089. Once pitching the yeast, I let it ride at ambient (around 62°).
  • Visible evidence of fermentation was present within 24 hours, and the beer was up to around 68° and had vigorous fermentation by 6 November 2023. On the morning of 7 November, the beer had climbed to 74°, so I put it into the conditioning chamber to drop it down over the course of the day. Unfortunately, I overshot a bit and it went all the way down to 45°. I pulled it out to ambient again, and it steadily rose to 62° by 9 November 2023. At this point, I put a thick towel around the beer to raise and maintain the temperature.
  • I soaked the oak stick in water overnight, and then put it into the microwave for around 90 seconds to flash steam and sanitize. I spritzed the oak with StarSan, before adding it to the fermenter. The oak was added to the primary fermenter on 7 November 2023.
  • I kegged the beer on 19 November 2023, adding the dry hops in a baggie and also transferring the oak to the keg.
  • Final gravity was 1.016, for 9.9% abv.
  • I left the keg at ambient until 27 November 2023, when I removed the dry hops and oak, moved the keg to the conditioning chamber, and let it condition and carbonate at 34°.

Tasting

  • Appearance
    • The beer has a deep reddish amber color, with a slight haze; it pours with a creamy and persistent ivory head. Gorgeous!
  • Aroma
    • Pine, sweet orange, and resin, with a hint of woody oakiness. As the beer warms up, the wood comes through more prominently.
  • Flavor
    • Hop forward, very bitter beer, with a hint of orange and resiny bitterness, and some woody character behind that. Caramel maltiness is at a moderate level. This woodiness holds mainly until the back end of the palate and the finish, which complements the hops nicely.
  • Mouthfeel
    • Medium carbonation, medium body, off-dry finish.
  • Would I Brew This Again?
    • What a wonderful experiment! This has been an incredibly enjoyable beer, with high drinkability. Overall, it’s an awesome winter seasonal brew.
  • Overall
    • 10/10

The Weekend IPA

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It’s a bad pun of a name, but it also reflects the fact that the strength of this beer is best suited for “The Weekend” (rather than a weeknight).

The recipe used here generally follows my “Spring Classic IPA,” with adjustments to use up grains and hops on-hand. Thus, the mix of pilsner and 2-row malt. My goal with the hops was to create something that had a classic “West Coast IPA” feel to it.

The Weekend IPA

  • 9.5 lb. Lamonta pale American barley malt (Mecca Grade)
  • 5 lb. pilsner zero malt (Viking)
  • 0.5 lb. crystal 40 malt (Great Western)
  • 0.25 lb. biscuit malt (Dingeman)
  • 0.5 tsp. BrewTanB, added to mash
  • 1 oz. Warrior hop pellets (13.4% alpha), 60 minute boil
  • 0.5 tsp. BrewTanB, 10 minute boil
  • 1 Whirlfloc tablet, 5 minute boil
  • 1 oz. Lupomax Chinook hop pellets (17.0% alpha), 15 minute whirlpool
  • 1 oz. McKenzie hop pellets (13.0% alpha), 15 minute whirlpool
  • 2 pkg. BRY-97 American ale yeast (Lallemand)
  • 2 oz. Lupmax Amarillo hop pellets (14.0% alpha), dry hop in keg
  • 1 oz. McKenzie hop pellets (13.0% alpha), dry hop in keg

Target Parameters

  • 1.064 s.g., 1.011 f.g., 7.0% abv, 70 IBU, 8 SRM
  • 60 minute infusion mash, full volume, 149°
  • Claremont tap water treated with Campden tablet

Procedure

  • I heated 7.625 gallons of water to 156°, and mashed in with the grains for a target temperature of 149°. I also added 8.8 mL of 88% lactic acid at this time, to hit an estimated mash pH of 5.2. I recirculated for 60 minutes, holding at 149°.
  • Next, I raised the mash to 168°, holding it there for 10 minutes before removing the grains.
  • In total, I collected 7 gallons of runnings with a gravity of 1.051, for 64% mash efficiency. This was low, so I’m guessing I messed up one of the volume measurements, or perhaps could have mashed a bit longer.
  • I brought the runnings to a boil, and added hops and finings per the schedule, for a 60 minute boil.
  • After the whirlpool, I chilled the wort to 75° and transferred to the fermenter, before chilling the rest of the way down to 65°.
  • I brewed this beer on 1 October 2023, and fermented at 66°. Starting gravity was 1.064.
  • I kegged the beer on 15 October 2023, with hops added loose to the keg. Final gravity was 1.011, for 7.0% abv.

Tasting

  • Appearance
    • This beer pours with a persistent white head and a moderate gold color with some haze.
  • Aroma
    • Fresh orange peel aroma, very prominent. It’s nice!
  • Flavor
    • Fairly bitter (but not over the top), with a sweet orange character to the hops–almost like candied orange peel. The malt is definitely in the background, with a light caramel quality. The hop and malt combination give a slightly sweet profile.
  • Mouthfeel
    • Medium-light body, moderate carbonation, very slightly dry finish.
  • Would I Brew This Again?
    • This is a very drinkable American IPA, and it hits many of the flavor notes I like in a beer of this style. It’s very citrus-forward, and is surprisingly smooth for its strength! I also really like the persistent head on this one. The haze detracts slightly, but other than that it’s an excellent beer. I’m a bit surprised I don’t get more pine/grapefruit on this one, given the hop combination, but I’m guessing it’s the Amarillo that’s really driving orange flavor here.
  • Overall
    • 8/10

Fruit Bowl Session IPA

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A good session IPA is nice to have on hand in the summer months, and also a handy way to burn through my hop stash. For this batch, I aimed for a “short and shoddy” approach, to speed up the brew day during a busy time of year. This meant a 30 minute mash and 30 minute boil, along with Lutra kveik to reduce chill time.

I have a decent variety of hops on-hand from my HOPBOX subscription, and aimed for a very experimental selection. Comet went in for the bittering, with a hefty dose of BRU-1 and Meridian for the dry hop in the keg. BRU-1 is supposed to provide a pineapple and green fruit combo, and Meridian some tropical fruit and berry. So, I’m calling this “Fruit Bowl Session IPA.”

Fruit Bowl Session IPA

  • 9 lb. 7 oz. Lamonta Pale American Barley Malt (Mecca Grade)
  • 8 oz. caramel malt 20L (Briess)
  • 8 oz. Munich I malt (Weyermann)
  • 2 oz. Comet hop pellets (10.4% alpha), 30 minute boil
  • 0.5 tsp. BrewTanB, 10 minute boil
  • 1 Whirlfloc tablet, 5 minute boil
  • 1 pkg. Lutra Kveik (Omega OYL-071; dry)
  • 2 oz. BRU-1 hop pellets (20.0% alpha), dry hop in keg
  • 2 oz. Meridian hop pellets (5.6% alpha), dry hop in keg

Target Parameters

  • 1.046 s.g., 1.011 f.g., 4.6% abv, 59 IBU, 6 SRM
  • Full volume mash, 156° for 60 minutes, 168° mash-out for 10 minutes
  • Claremont tap water treated with 88% lactic acid to neutralize carbonates

Procedure

  • The night before brewing, I collected 7 gallons of Claremont tap water and added 5.84 mL of 88% lactic acid to neutralize the carbonates.
  • I heated the strike water to 162°, adding the grains to hit a mash temperature of 156°. I added 1.5 mL of 88% lactic acid to adjust the pH, and then recirculated for 30 minutes.
  • After 30 minutes, I raised the mash temperature to 168°, and continued recirculation for another 10 minutes before pulling the grains.
  • In total, I collected 6.5 gallons of runnings with a gravity of 1.041, for 71% mash efficiency.
  • I brought the mash to a boil, adding hops and finings per the recipe. After 30 minutes, I chilled the wort to 82° and transferred to the fermenter.
  • Starting gravity was 1.045. I brewed the beer on 14 May 2023, and fermented at ambient. The fermenter temperature hit between 82° and 85° at the height of fermentation.
  • I kegged the beer on 23 May 2023. Final gravity was 1.012, which works out to 4.4% abv.

Tasting

  • Appearance
    • A straw yellow beer, with a pillowy and persistent white head. I’m writing this tasting on the last pour of the keg, which has a fair bit of haze. Even before the final pours and after sitting in the keg for two months, the beer never completely cleared.
  • Aroma
    • Bright citrus and kiwi hop aroma — very nice!
  • Flavor
    • Tropical fruit, fresh pineapple, lemon, and orange — it’s a very fruit-forward hop flavor. Bitterness is moderately high. The malt character is fairly subdued, as expected given the gravity and hoppiness of this beer.
  • Mouthfeel
    • Medium-light body, moderate carbonation. There is a slight hop astringency, which is accentuated in the final glass.
  • Would I Brew This Again?
    • I’m fairly pleased with this one, especially in the hop combination. If I were to brew this again (or one like it), I would reduce the dry hop load by a bit, to cut the astringency. I would probably increase the mash time to see if that helps with the haze (in case lingering starch was the cause), too. Overall, it’s a pretty decent session IPA!
  • Overall
    • 7/10

Sabrasaic IPA

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My recent Tropical Dream IPA was a big hit, so I wanted to try another recipe in a different vein. This time around, I aimed for a combo of Citra+Mosaic+Sabro, to get a very citrusy, berry-forward blend of hop qualities. I tilted the malt towards the base malt end, with just a touch of crystal 40 to add a some depth and body.

I built this up as a bigger IPA, aiming for around 6.5 to 7.0% abv. It’s almost into double IPA territory (but not quite). It is a deceptively drinkable beer!

Sabrasaic IPA

  • 7.5 lb. 2-row pale malt (Rahr)
  • 6 lb. 7 oz. Golden Promise Malt (Simpsons)
  • 8 oz. caramel 40L (Briess)
  • 1 oz. Sabro hop pellets (14.2% alpha), 60 minute boil
  • 1 tsp. BruTanB, 10 minute boil
  • 1 Whirlfloc tablet, 5 minute boil
  • 1 oz. Citra hop pellets (13.4% alpha), 15 minute whirlpool
  • 1 oz. Mosaic hop pellets (12.2% alpha), 15 minute whirlpool
  • 2 pkg. BRY-97 ale yeast (Lallemand)
  • 1 oz. Citra hop pellets (13.4% alpha), dry hop in keg
  • 1 oz. Mosaic hop pellets (12.2% alpha), dry hop in keg
  • 1 oz. Sabro hop pellets (14.2% alpha), dry hop in keg

Target Parameters

  • 1.065 o.g., 1.012 f.g., 7.1% abv, 64 IBU, 7 SRM
  • Full volume mash at 149° for 60 minutes and 10 minute mash-out at 168°
  • Claremont tap water with Campden tablet, adjusted with salts to hit 137 ppm Ca, 28 ppm Mg, 84 ppm Na, 156 ppm SO4, 120 ppm Cl.

Procedure

  • I mashed in with 6.25 gallons of water at 157°, to hit a mash temperature of 149°. I adjusted the pH with 88% lactic acid, and then held the mash (with recirculation) at 149° for 60 minutes. Then, I raised the mash temperature to 168° for 10 minutes, and finally pulled the grains.
  • My mash efficiency was pretty awful — a gravity of 1.048 with 6.1 gallons, for only 56%! I have no idea why; I suspect I might have had the “buttons” on the removable bottom for the mash basket upside-down, impeding flow during recirculation. But that’s just a guess. In any case, I added a pound of extra light DME to bring up the gravity.
  • I brought the wort to a boil, adding 2 g of gypsum and 6 g of epsom salts to hit my water target parameters. I added hops and finings per the recipe.
  • After a 60 minute boil, I turned off the heat and cooled slightly before the 15 minute whirlpool. Then, I chilled the wort the rest of the way.
  • I brewed this beer on 4 February 2023, and cooled it overnight after the transfer. I pitched the yeast on 5 February 2023, using three packs because they were on the expired side. I maintained the fermenter at 66°.
  • Fermentation was very vigorous, coming out the top of the fermenter!
  • I kegged the beer on 25 February 2023, adding the dry hops to the keg at that point. Final gravity was 1.010, for 6.8% abv.

Tasting

  • Appearance
    • Very clear, gold beer, with persistent white head. It pours beautifully! The head creates gorgeous lacing as it settles in the glass.
  • Aroma
    • Very delicious hop aroma! Tangerine, honeydew melon, and mango are all prominent, and incredibly delicious. Clean fermentation profile, and not much for malt character. This is all hops!
  • Flavor
    • Just like with the aroma, hops are at the forefront. It starts with some prominent mandarin orange / tangerine, and then I get cantaloupe and a bit of blueberry. The bitterness is assertive yet smooth, and is right where it should be for an American West Coast IPA.
  • Mouthfeel
    • Medium-light body, moderate carbonation; smooth and very slightly dry finish.
  • Would I Brew This Again?
    • It took a little bit of time in the keg, but this has turned into one of the best American IPAs I have ever brewed. The hop combination is killer! I’ve been on a good roll lately with my IPA hop combos, especially in the tropical/fruity world. Interestingly, the Sabro hops swamped out the Citra and Mosaic, and after a few weeks, things have fallen into happy (or is that hoppy?) balance.
  • Overall
    • 10/10

Tropical Dream IPA

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I crafted this recipe to be very tropical hop-forward, with Voss kveik to accentuate any citrus qualities. The kveik choice also let me not be so fussy about temperature; in the end, I’m not sure I’m 100% happy with that decision, but even so the beer is pretty darned good. The hops are amazing!

Tropical Dream IPA

  • 12 lb. 2-row malt (Rahr)
  • 0.5 lb. biscuit malt (Dingemans)
  • 5 oz. crystal 15 malt (Great Western)
  • 5 oz. corn sugar, added to boil
  • 1.15 oz. Magnum hop pellets (10.1% alpha), 60 minute boil
  • 1 tsp. BruTanB, 10 minute boil
  • Whirlfloc tablet, 5 minute boil
  • 1 oz. Enigma hop pellets (19.2% alpha), 10 minute whirlpool
  • 1 oz. HBC 586 hop pellets (11.5% alpha), 10 minute whirlpool
  • 1 oz. Vic Secret hop pellets (18.4% alpha), 10 minute whirlpool
  • 1 pkg. Voss Kveik Ale Yeast (Lallemand)
  • 1 oz. Enigma hop pellets (19.2% alpha), dry hop in keg
  • 1 oz. HBC 586 hop pellets (11.5% alpha), dry hop in keg
  • 1 oz. Vic Secret hop pellets (18.4% alpha), dry hop in keg

Target Parameters

  • 1.060 s.g., 1.010 f.g., 6.6% abv, 67 IBU, 6 SRM
  • Full volume mash at 149° for 60 minutes and 10 minute mash-out at 168°
  • Claremont tap water with Campden tablet, adjusted to hit 113 Ca, 7 ppm Mg, 92 ppm Na, 194 ppm SO4, 110 ppm Cl, 156 ppm HCO3.

Procedure

  • I heated 7.25 gallons of water to 155°, and added the grains along with 8 mL of 88% lactic acid for pH adjustment. I maintained the mash at 149° for 60 minutes, with recirculation, and then raised the mash to 168° for 10 minutes.
  • In total, I collected 6.25 gallons of runnings with a gravity of 1.045, for only 60% mash efficiency. Awful! I’ve had major issues with my grain mill lately, and this was pretty much the last straw. I added a bit of DME to adjust things.
  • I added 7 g of gypsum to the boil, to hit my water target.
  • I brought the wort to a boil, adding the hops and finings per the recipe.
  • After a 60 minute boil, I chilled the wort slightly (down to around 195°), did the whirlpool, and then did the initial chilling of the wort. I finished the chill overnight at ambient, letting things settle down to around 68°.
  • I brewed this beer on 26 November 2022, pitched the yeast on 27 November 2022, and let the beer ferment at ambient. Starting gravity was 1.055.
  • I kegged the beer on 29 December 2022. Final gravity was 1.012, for 5.6% abv.

Tasting

  • Appearance
    • The beer pours relatively clear, with a light-gold appearance and a persistent white head. Overall, it’s a very pretty brew!
  • Aroma
  • Lots of hop aroma–guava, honeydew, and orange; very nice!
  • Flavor
    • The beer has a prominent pithy bitterness, with guava, melon, and bright citrus character. The malt is light, clean, and malty sweet. The yeast quality has a very slight bit of ester character; it’s not bad, but gives some kind of Belgian character to the brew. The yeast holds fairly well against the hops, but as an American IPA it would be better without the kveik.
  • Mouthfeel
    • Medium-light body, medium carbonation, dry finish with lingering bitterness.
  • Would I Brew This Again?
    • Yes, but I would likely do it without the kveik; perhaps swap in some American ale yeast instead? There is some type of ester in the background that keeps it from being truly clean. There are no off-flavors; just…something…that clashes a bit. The hop combination is fantastic, though!
  • Overall
    • 7/10