Tag Archives: double IPA

Denny Kong-ish West Coast IPA

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I made my first version of this new-style West Coast IPA last year, and learned some lessons about hopping techniques in the process. During that previous batch, I used a hop bag that was too small for the dry hopping addition, and as a result the hop flavor/aroma were pretty underwhelming. This time around, I opted to let the hops float free in the fermenter. I use a BrewBucket 7.5, which has a rotating pickup arm, so I could do a closed transfer into the keg without excessive hop particles clogging things. The hop choices on this version used up some of my hop stash–three-quarters of a pound of hops went into the final recipe!

Denny Kongish West Coast IPA

  • 12 lb. 5 oz. pilsner malt (Rahr)
  • 1 lb. Vienna malt (Weyermann)
  • 0.5 tsp. BrewTanB, added to mash
  • 4 oz. dextrose, added to boil
  • 0.85 oz. Enigma hop pellets (17.9% alpha), 60 minute boil
  • 0.5 tsp. BrewTanB, 10 minute boil
  • 1 Whirlfloc tablet, 5 minute boil
  • 2 oz. LUPMOMAX Cashmere hop pellets (13.5% alpha), 30 minute whirlpool
  • 1 pkg. California ale dry yeast (WLP001, White Labs)
  • 4 oz. Idaho #7 hop hash (31.4% alpha), dry hop in primary fermenter
  • 2 oz. Azacca hop pellets (12.2% alpha), dry hop in primary fermenter
  • 2 oz. LUPOMAX Sabro HBC 438 hop pellets (19.0% alpha), dry hop in primary fermenter
  • 1.15 oz. Enigma hop pellets (17.9% alpha), dry hop in primary fermenter

Target Parameters

  • 1.063 s.g., 1.010 f.g., 7.0% abv, 64 IBU, 5 SRM
  • Full volume infusion mash, held at 149° for 120 minutes and 168° for 10 minutes
  • Neutralized Claremont tap water with Campden tablet, RO water, and mineral salts added to mash to achieve 51 ppm Ca, 8 ppm Mg, 33 ppm Na, 104 ppm SO4, 53 ppm Cl, 8 ppm CO3.

Procedure

  • Starting with 3 gallons of tap water, I added 2.5 mL of 88% lactic acid as well as a Campden tablet, along with 5 gallons of RO water, 0.75 CaCl, 1.5 g epsom salt, and 3.5 g gypsum to hit the target water parameters.
  • I heated the water to 155° and added the grains, along with 17.2 mL of 10% phosphoric acid for pH adjustment, to hit an estimated pH of 5.35.
  • I held the mash at 149° for 120 minutes, with recirculation, and then raised the mash to 168° for 10 minutes before pulling the grains.
  • In total, I collected 6.9 gallons of runnings with a gravity of 1.050, for 69% mash efficiency.
  • I brought the runnings to a boil, with a 90 minute total boil. After 30 minutes, I added the first round of hops, and then proceeded following the recipe.
  • After the 90 minute boil, I chilled to 170° before adding the whirlpool hops and letting them sit for 30 minutes while whirlpooling.
  • Next, I chilled to 68°, transferred to the fermenter, and chilled down to 64° before pitching the yeast.
  • I brewed the beer on 1 January 2025, and it had a starting gravity of 1.066.
  • I added the dry hops on 11 January 2025, loose into the fermenter.
  • I cold crashed the beer on 15 January 2025.
  • I kegged the beer on 18 January 2025, into a CO2 purged keg. Final gravity was 1.007–that’s wonderfully dry and works out to 7.8% abv. I had a similar experience last batch, so this mash regime works wonders!

Tasting

  • Appearance
    • Light gold beer, slight haze, which pours with an exceptionally persistent and creamy white head–it’s like a meringue! This head leaves beautiful lacing down the side of the glass. The beer is surprisingly clear. As a result, I am feeling good about my decision not to use post-fermentation finings; this likely helped with oxidation reduction.
  • Aroma
    • Citrus and dank hop aroma at a high level, neutral yeast profile, and no malt character to speak of in the aroma.
  • Flavor
    • Very bitter, citrus pith and dank hop character, with a bit of grapefruit along the way, and a long-lingering hop aftertaste. The hop flavor is a bit one-note; it has the usual issue with Azacca to my tastebuds, which is an orange pith quality on the edge of rotten orange. I’ve never understood the appeal of that hop! Low level of maltiness, but it is there. Clean fermentation character.
  • Mouthfeel
    • Medium-high carbonation, medium-light body, very dry finish.
  • Overall
    • 7.5/10
  • Would I Brew This Again?
    • I really like this recipe as a template for a double IPA; it is a clean background to let the hops shine. This is the first time in awhile that I have let the hops float free for dry hopping, and with the Brew Bucket’s rotating pickup arm, things worked well. Thanks to the closed transfer (and perhaps the BrewTanB?), the hop character has held up well. The beer is clear enough without finings, so I think there is no need to use Biofine Clear as the original recipe stipulates. Azacca, as usual for my experience, gives a harshness in the citrus note that I don’t care for. This formulation is a bit one-note on the hops. But, it’s okay overall! In a beer like this, a different hop combo would be the ticket to hoppiness.
      • Interesting note: when I tasted this again last night, after a rauchbier, I got more tropical notes, and the unpleasant orange wasn’t as apparent. I would rate the beer higher in that case – perhaps a 8.5/10.

Live Oak Canyon Ale 2024

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As is tradition, I crafted a special batch for the Thanksgiving celebration, a multi-day affair with friends and family. This is a time when I like to roll out a special batch, often a bigger beer that can be savored in smaller (or bigger) pours. Last winter, I experimented with a wood-aged imperial red IPA, and it was so good that I decided to roll it forward into this year’s Thanksgiving beer. It was an extra fun brewing session, in that I hosted my homebrew club to assist with the brew day!

Stylistically, this is an imperial red IPA, or something like it. It’s very much a beer from yesteryear, in the thick of the IBU wars–big, bold, and unapologetically in your face. Versus the 2023 version, the 2024 edition is pretty much the same grist but different hops to reflect what I had on-hand. I used Moutere as my bittering hops, in order to finish out the ounce left in my hop stash; the addition of Centennial and Simcoe at the whirlpool and dry hop stages is different from last year (which used HBC 522 and Talus).

Live Oak Canyon Ale

  • 10.5 lb. 2-row malt (Briess)
  • 13 oz. caramel malt 120L (Briess)
  • 0.5 tsp. BrewTanB, added to mash
  • 1 oz. Moutere hop pellets (19.5% alpha), 60 minute boil
  • 0.25 tsp. BrewTanB, 10 minute boil
  • 0.75 lb. corn sugar, 5 minute boil
  • 1 Whirlfloc tablet, 5 minute boil
  • 2 oz. Centennial hop pellets (8.1% 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. Simcoe hop pellets (12.4% alpha), dry hop in keg

Target Parameters

  • 1.092 s.g., 1.015 f.g., 10.4% abv, 113 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.
  • I had neglected to pull the sparge water from the strike water, so I had to sparge with ~0.5 gallons of water, which topped up my volume a bit beyond that which was intended. This meant a longer boil.
  • In total, I collected 5.35 gallons of runnings with a gravity of 1.055, for 70% mash efficiency.
  • I boiled for 45 minutes before starting the formal timer, which meant a 105 minute boil total.
  • After the initial 45 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 78°, before transferring to the fermenter and chilling to 64° in my fermentation chamber and pitching the yeast.
  • I brewed this beer on 12 October 2024; it had a starting gravity of 1.085. Once pitching the yeast, I fermented at 64°.
  • 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 15 October 2024.
  • I kegged the beer on 31 October 2024, adding the dry hops in a baggie and also transferring the oak to the keg. I left the beer at ambient for this phase.
  • Final gravity was 1.016, for 9.3% abv.
  • I left the keg at ambient until 6 November 2024, 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
    • This is a deep reddish amber beer, very clear, which pours with a persistent and fine ivory head. It’s very pretty!
  • Aroma
    • The nose has a citrus and fresh pine hop aroma at a moderate level, with vanilla-type woodiness and light caramel behind that. The wood comes through more prominently as the beer warms, along with a light alcohol aroma.
  • Flavor
    • Very bitter, with resin and citrus pith qualities, and a hint of fresh orange zest; there is a modest level of woodiness as the beer warms up. A light and sweet caramel flavor is at the back end.
  • Mouthfeel
    • Medium body, moderate carbonation, dry finish.
  • Would I Brew This Again?
    • This is a good one! I think that last year’s version was maybe a touch better; perhaps Simcoe and Centennial don’t quite hit the mark for what the beer needs. The recipe upon which I based this beer used a mix of Simcoe and Mosaic, so I might try those in a future iteration. Either way, this is a highly drinkable beer for as big as it is, even if in the “sipping beer” category.
  • Overall
    • 9/10

Denny Kongish West Coast IPA

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Last fall, I managed to snag a can of the Denny Kong West Coast IPA, which was brewed by North Park Beer Co. for the 2023 Homebrew Con in San Diego. It was an incredibly delicious beer, and because the recipe is readily available, I thought it would be worth a try!

The malts parallel the original reasonably well, but I made some adjustments for my hop stash and also made an adjustment to the yeast. It should be in the general ballpark, but as Denny Conn would say, my version is an homage and not a clone. The main innovations I applied here were the long mash rest and the massive dose of hops.

Denny Kongish West Coast IPA

  • 12 lb. pilsner malt (Rahr)
  • 1.25 lb. Vienna malt (Weyermann)
  • 0.5 tsp. BrewTanB, added to mash
  • 4 oz. dextrose, added to boil
  • 1.3 oz. Magnum hop pellets (12.6% alpha), 60 minute boil
  • 0.5 tsp. BrewTanB, 10 minute boil
  • 1 Whirlfloc tablet, 5 minute boil
  • 2.8 oz. Cascade hop pellets (7.5% alpha), 30 minute whirlpool
  • 1 pkg. California ale dry yeast (WLP001, White Labs)
  • 2 oz. Eclipse hop pellets (17.6% alpha), dry hop in primary fermenter for 3 days
  • 2 oz. Idaho #7 hop pellets (14.0% alpha), dry hop in primary fermenter for 3 days
  • 2 oz. LUPOMAX Azacca hop pellets (16.0% alpha), dry hop in primary fermenter for 3 days
  • 2 oz. LUPOMAX Citra hop pellets (18.5% alpha), dry hop in primary fermenter for 3 days
  • 2 tbs. (30 mL) Biofine Clear, added to keg
  • 2 oz. Nelson Sauvin hop pellets (12.9% alpha), dry hop in keg

Target Parameters

  • 1.063 s.g., 1.010 f.g., 6.9% abv, 65 IBU, 5 SRM
  • Full volume infusion mash, held at 149° for 120 minutes and 168° for 10 minutes
  • Neutralized Claremont tap water with Campden tablet, and mineral salts added to boil to achieve 55 ppm Ca, 12 ppm Mg, 54 ppm Na, 106 ppm SO4, 60 ppm Cl, 10 ppm CaCO3, RA=-38, alkalinity=8 ppm

Procedure

  • Starting with 7.9 gallons of tap water, I added 5.6 mL of 88% lactic acid as well as a Campden tablet, followed by 3 g of CaCl.
  • I heated the water to 155° and added the grains, along with 2.9 mL of 88% lactic acid for pH adjustment.
  • I held the mash at 149° for 120 minutes, with recirculation, and then raised the mash to 168° for 10 minutes, before pulling the grains.
  • In total, I collected 6.9 gallons of runnings with a gravity of 1.046, for 65% mash efficiency.
  • I brought the runnings to a boil, for a 90 minute total boil. After 30 minutes, I added the first round of hops, and then proceeded following the recipe.
  • After the 90 minute boil, I chilled to 170° before adding the whirlpool hops and letting them sit for 30 minutes.
  • Next, I chilled to 70°, transferred to the fermenter, and chilled down to 63° before pitching the yeast.
  • I brewed the beer on 2 March 2024, and it had a starting gravity of 1.062–nearly exactly on target!
  • I added the dry hops on 10 March 2024, in a boiled (sterilized) hop bag. It was a bit tight for the volume of hops, so I was a bit concerned about how much hop contact I would get.
  • I kegged the beer on 26 March 2024, into a CO2 purged keg. Final gravity was 1.007–that’s quite low, and results in a 7.4% abv! The 120 minute, 149° mash really did the trick for drying things out. Hop flavor and aroma were a bit lower than expected, probably because of the thick concentration of hops in the bag.
  • Once the beer was down to around 34°, I quickly added the Biofine Clear, and then re-cycled the CO2.
  • I put the beer on tap on March 30.
  • Because hop aroma was underwhelming, I added 2 oz. of Nelson Sauvin hops to the keg (in a baggie) on 12 April 2024.

Tasting

  • Appearance
    • Light gold color, slight haze. Pours w/ a thick and persistent off-white head that leaves beautiful lacing on the glass.
  • Aroma
    • Light citrus aroma, a hint of white wine (presumably from Nelson Sauvin hops).
  • Flavor
    • High level of citrus-pith bitterness. Clean, light malty character behind that.
  • Mouthfeel
    • Moderate carbonation, medium-light body, dry finish.
  • Would I Brew This Again?
    • Yes, but with different hop handling. I am underwhelmed by the hop aroma and flavor, especially relative to the commercial version I tried. It was dumb of me to use such a tightly packed hop bag! The hops just didn’t shine like they should. I would definitely try a variation in the future, though. I love the dryness on this, but it might be too much for some. The low temperature, extended mash really did the trick! The BioFine also worked its magic, resulting in a fairly clear beer. Other than aroma, though this is a nice American IPA!
  • Overall
    • 7/10

Note: I tasted this again on 25 April 2024, after nearly two weeks with the extra hops. It definitely helped the beer! Although the appearance is now a bit hazier, the aroma has a fantastic tropical fruit profile (kiwi, guava, a bit of sweet white wine, and more). The flavor is perhaps a bit harsher now (I suspect due to the hops in the keg), but it also has a more prominent tropical aspect overall. Not a bad end result!

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

Mahajanga Imperial IPA

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It’s the cooler season here in SoCal, so I like a higher strength beer every once in awhile. To that end, I wanted to do an old-school double IPA–something with big malt and piney hop character. So, I returned to the Maharajah Imperial IPA recipe from Craft Beer for the Homebrewer, with my own paleontological spin on it. I made some malt and hop substitutions for what was on-hand, but overall it has the same feel as my previous version. I also added some dextrose to dry out the beer a touch; with the combo of darker malts, I didn’t want it to end up feeling syrupy. I aimed for a batch volume of around 3.5 gallons–firstly, because I don’t want 5 gallons of a beer with this high of alcohol, and secondly because I figured I would lose a bit of volume to the heavy hopping level.

Mahajanga Imperial IPA

  • 11 lb. 2-row malt (Rahr)
  • 6 oz. Special B malt (Dingemans)
  • 4 oz. Aromatic Munich Malt 20L (Briess)
  • 12 oz. dextrose
  • 1.5 oz. Centennial hop pellets (8.1% alpha), 60 minute boil
  • 1 oz. Amarillo hop pellets (10.5% alpha), 30 minute boil
  • 0.5 oz. Amarillo hop pellets (9.5% alpha), 30 minute boil
  • 1 tsp. BruTanB, 10 minute boil
  • 1 Whirlfloc tablet, 5 minute boil
  • 1.75 g yeast nutrient (WLN1000, White Labs), 5 minute boil
  • 1 oz. Centennial hop pellets (8.1% alpha), 5 minute whirlpool
  • 1 oz. Talus hop pellets (6.2% alpha), 5 minute whirlpool
  • 2 pkg. American West Coast Ale yeast BRY-97 (Lallemand)
  • 1 oz. Centennial hop pellets (8.1% alpha), dry hop in keg
  • 1 oz. LUPMAX Chinook hop pellets (17.0% alpha), dry hop in keg
  • 1 oz. Talus hop pellets (6.2% alpha), dry hop in keg

Target Parameters

  • 1.083 s.g., 1.011 f.g., 102 IBU, 12 SRM, 9.6% abv
  • Full volume mash at 149° for 60 minutes, 10 minute mash-out at 168°
  • Claremont tap water adjusted to hit target of 68 ppm Ca, 7 ppm Mg, 92 ppm Na, 108 ppm sulfate, 110 ppm chloride, 156 ppm bicarbonate

Procedure

  • I mashed in with 5.25 gallons of water at 158° and added 5.5 mL of 88% lactic acid, to hit a target rest temperature of 149°. I held it here for 60 minutes, before raising the temperature to 168°.
  • After the mash, I pulled the grains and sparged with about 0.75 gallons of hot water, to rinse the residual sugars out.
  • In total, I collected 5 gallons of runnings with a gravity of 1.060, for 70% mash efficiency. This is good on the one hand, but it meant I had to boil a little harder and longer to get the volume down.
  • I added 2 g of gypsum to the boil, to hit my water target, and also added the corn sugar at this time.
  • I boiled for around 75 minutes, adding the hops and finings per the schedule. After the boil, I chilled a few degrees and then added the whirlpool hops, recirculating for 10 minutes during this process.
  • I chilled the beer the rest of the way, down to around 68°, before transferring to the fermenter and adding the yeast.
  • Starting gravitry was 1.074, a bit short of my goal; I should have boiled a bit longer, because I had plenty of volume. I brewed this beer on 20 November 2022, and fermented at 68°.
  • I kegged the beer on 10 December 2022, with a final gravity of 1.012 and 8.3% abv. I’m pretty happy with that! I bagged the hops and added them to the keg. It didn’t take long for the beer to drop clear at serving temperatures!

Tasting

  • Appearance
    • Gorgeous! This is a beautifully clear beer–one of the quickest and best I’ve gotten for an IPA–that pours with a tall, persistent, fine, and off-white head.
  • Aroma
    • Pine and resiny hop aroma, with a hint of deep caramelly malt behind that. There is a very slight bit of alcohol apparent when warmed.
  • Flavor
    • High level of piney hop bitterness at the front, with a bit of citrus pith.
  • Mouthfeel
    • Medium body, medium carbonation. The beer has a very slightly dry finish, but not over the top dry.
  • Would I Brew This Again?
    • Yes! This beer is incredibly drinkable; a little too much so, in fact. It goes down smoother than its ABV allows, and there is no solventy alcohol character that sometimes happens in these kinds of homebrews. The end result was a classic “old school” IPA.
  • Overall
    • 10/10