So named because we’re on the countdown to a new baby in the household…gotta brew while I can! This recipe is basically a minor tweak of my Centennial IPA, just mixing up the hops a little bit both for variety and complexity as well as to burn through a bit more of my stash. I also swapped in the US equivalent of the Belgian crystal malts, so that I didn’t have to buy more malt. Finally, I added a touch of Carafa Special II to deepen the color a bit.

Countdown IPA

• 10.5 lbs. 2-row pale malt (Rahr)
• 1.75 lbs. Vienna malt (Great Western)
• 0.5 lbs. 20° caramel malt (Briess)
• 0.25 lbs. 10° caramel malt (Briess)
• 1.5 oz. Carafa Special II (Weyermann)
• 1 oz. Amarillo hop pellets (7% alpha), first wort hop and 90 minute boil
• 1 oz. Amarillo hop pellets (7% alpha), 15 minute boil
• 2 oz. Amarillo hop pellets (7% alpha), 10 minute boil
• 1 oz. Centennial hop pellets (7.6% alpha), 5 minute boil
• 1 oz. Amarillo hop pellets (7% alpha), 5 minute whirlpool
• 1 oz. Centennial hop pellets (7.6% alpha), 5 minute whirlpool
• 1 oz. Ekuanot (HBC 366 aka Equinox) hop pellets (13.6% alpha), dryhop in keg
• 1 oz. Simcoe LupuLN2 (23.8% alpha) cryohop pellets (23.8% alpha), dryhop in keg
• 1 Whirlfloc tablet, 10 minute boil
• 1 tsp. Fermax yeast nutrient, 10 minute boil

Target Parameters

• Infusion mash to hit target of 149°. Batch sparge.
• Claremont tap water with RO and salt additions to hit targets of 113 Ca, 22 Mg, 24 Na, 194 SO4, 42 Cl, 207 HCO3, 170 ppm alkalinity, 76 ppm RA.
• 1.066 o.g., 1.012 f.g., 7.2% abv, 68 IBU, 9 SRM, 5 gallons into fermenter

Procedure

• My base water for this beer was all Claremont tap water. I added 3.2 g of gypsum, 1.8 g of epsom salts, and 0.6 g of calcium chloride to 4.3 gallons of mash water, along with 45 mL of 10% phosphoric acid. I used the same masses of salts for 4.75 gallons of sparge water, with 50 mL of 10% phosphoric acid there.
• I mashed in with 4.3 gallons of water at 157.3°, to hit a mash temperature target of 149°. I mashed for 90 minutes; at the end, temperature was down to 145°. I collected the first runnings after a vorlauf, and then added 4.75 gallons of sparge water at around 185°. I let the mash sit for 10 minutes before vorlaufing and collecting the remaining runnings.
• In total, I collected 7.2 gallons of runnings with a gravity of 1.052, for 78% efficiency.
• I boiled the hops per the schedule, adding the kettle finings and yeast nutrients appropriately. After the full 90 minute boil, I turned off the heat, added the final hops, whirlpooled for 5 minutes, and began chilling.
• Groundwater is pretty warm this time of year, so I could only chill the beer down to around 85°. I transferred to the fermenter and then let it chill overnight (~10 hours) down to 66°. I pitched the yeast, and things had begun to take off within 18 hours.
• Starting gravity was 1.064. I brewed the beer on 14 July 2017 and pitched the yeast early on the morning of 15 July 2017. I’ll be fermenting at 66°.