See See IPA

Classic American IPA time, again! The recipe is a modest modification of my Wildfire IPA from a few months back. The malts are fairly different (crystal 40 and biscuit, instead of crystal 30), and I used light Munich instead of dark Munich malt. The hopping schedule is also adjusted, to use the clean bitterness of Magnum and all of the flavor/aroma happening in the whirlpool and dry hop. So, I suppose it’s not really a complete rebrew, but a new recipe strongly inspired by the past recipe.

The name references the C-C dry hopping, with Cascade and Chinook whole cones right in the keg. And that, in turn, is a (bad) pun on “See See Rider,” a song that originated over 100 years ago and is known to many of us because of Elvis Presley.

See See IPA

  • 12 lb. 2-row brewer’s malt (Great Western)
  • 1 lb. Munich light malt (Chateau)
  • 0.5 lb. crystal 40 malt (Great Western)
  • 0.25 lb. biscuit malt (Dingemans)
  • 1.4 oz. Magnum hop pellets (13.2% alpha), 45 minute boil
  • 1 tsp. Fermax, 10 minute boil
  • 1 Whirlfloc tablet, 5 minute boil
  • 1 oz. Cascade whole hops (5.5% alpha), 15 minute whirlpool
  • 0.5 oz. Chinook whole hops (13.1% alpha), 15 minute whirlpool
  • 0.4 oz. Centennial hop pellets (9.3% alpha), 15 minute whirlpool
  • 1 pkg. American West Coast Ale yeast (Lallemand BRY-97)
  • 1.5 oz. Chinook whole hops (13.1% alpha), dry hop in keg
  • 1 oz. Cascade whole hops (5.5% alpha), dry hop in keg

Target Parameters

  • 1.057 s.g., 1.011 f.g., 6.1% abv, 7 SRM, 67 IBU
  • Infusion mash, 150°, full volume; 60 minute boil
  • Claremont water, with Campden tablet to remove chloramines.

Procedure

  • I heated 7.5 gallons of mash water to 157°, and added the grains to hit a target mash temperature of 150° for 60 minutes. I added 10 mL of 88% lactic acid to adjust pH.
  • After a 60 minute mash with recirculation, I ramped the temperature up to 168° over 10 minutes, and held it there for 10 minutes more. Next, I removed the grains and started heating to the boil.
  • I had approximately 6.5 gallons of runnings with a gravity of 1.050, for 64% mash efficiency.
  • I boiled for 60 minutes, adding hops and finings per the recipe.
  • After 60 minutes, I added the whirlpool hops and recirculated for 15 minutes, before continuing to chill.
  • I transferred the wort to the fermenter, and let it chill down to 68° in the fermentation chamber, before pitching the yeast.
  • I brewed this beer on 14 November 2020. Starting gravity was 1.055.
  • I kegged the beer on 1 December 2020, adding whole dry hops directly to the keg. I have the hop screen adapter for my Clear Beer Draft System, and thought I’d give it a try.
  • Final gravity was 1.012, for 5.7% abv. This batch came pretty close to hitting targets!

Tasting

  • Appearance
    • Deep gold and fairly clear, with just a smidge of haze at the time of this writing. It has cleared up surprisingly wel! The beer pours with a persistent but modest off-white head.
  • Aroma
    • There are definitely Chinook hops in this! Hop aroma is at the forefront, with a heavy spicy, herbal, and slightly dank character. I don’t pick up much for citrus notes, although I could be convinced there is grapefruit as part of it. There is a hint of caramel malt character, but that’s very much in the background. No yeast character is evident.
  • Flavor
    • Flavor is dominated by the hops, with the herbal and dank character mentioned above. Bitterness is moderately high, but not over the top; it’s about perfect for my tastes! The malt character is nicely supportive, and I like the malty, bready character alongside the trace of caramel. As with aroma, the yeast stays in the background, where it belongs!
  • Mouthfeel
    • Medium body, with a finish that is only slightly on the dry side. Carbonation is also on the moderate side, as is appropriate for the style.
  • Would I brew this again?
    • This general recipe is a great base for a classic northwestern IPA that highlights “old school” American hops. It’s pretty similar to its Wildfire IPA predecessor, and I think this overall recipe is likely to stay in my semi-regular rotation. Although it’s a bit out of vogue these days, the 2-row plus Munich base malt combo really hits the spot for me, and I think the crystal malt adds important character. My main complaint on this batch is that the Chinook hops are just a touch heavy. Their flavor plays well with everything else, but I prefer the more citrusy varieties like Cascade in my American IPAs.
  • Overall
    • 7/10

Summertime Session IPA

Maker:L,Date:2017-9-11,Ver:5,Lens:Kan03,Act:Kan02,E-YMy previous session IPA didn’t turn out terribly great (not even worth a blog post), due at least in part to a clash between the hops and malt. Munich just ain’t a good base for even a session IPA, so lesson learned! For a second try, I am switching over to Vienna malt and using up some hops in the freezer. The Cascade hops are whole hops that my dad sent. These are interesting, in that they are a bit more earthy/herbal than I typically think of for Cascade. Terroir, I suppose. I also used some Falconer’s Flight hop pellets, free courtesy of a brewing friend.

Summertime Session IPA

  • 7 lbs. Vienna malt (Great Western Malting)
  • 1 lb. Maris Otter pale malt
  • 0.5 lb. flaked oats
  • 0.5 lb. white wheat malt
  • 0.5 oz. Warrior hop pellets (15.8% alpha), 60 minute boil
  • 1 oz. Cascade whole hops (5.5% alpha), 10 minute boil
  • 1 Whirlfloc tablet, 10 minute boil
  • 2 oz. Cascade whole hops (5.5% alpha), 10 minute whirlpool
  • 1 pkg. Empire Ale Yeast (Mangrove Jack’s M15)
  • 3 oz. Falconer’s Flight hop pellets (9.1% alpha), dry hop in keg

Target Parameters

  • 1.046 o.g., 1.014 f.g., 4.1% abv, 44 IBU, 5 SRM
  • Infusion mash to hit target of 155°, 45 minutes, batch sparge.
  • Claremont tap water, treated with Campden tablet

Procedure

  • I mashed in with 3.25 gallons of water heated to 166.5°, to hit a mash temperature of 153.5°. After 15 minutes, I added 1.5 gallons of water to raise the temperature to 155°. After 45 minutes of total mashing, I drained the mash tun and collected the first runnings.
  • Next, I sparged with 3.5 gallons of water at 185°, let it sit for 10 minutes, vorlaufed, and collected the second runnings.
  • In total, I collected 6.7 gallons of wort with a gravity of 1.039, for 78% efficiency.
  • After starting the boil, I added the hops and kettle finings per the schedule. At flame-out, I added the whirlpool hops and let it sit for 10 minutes before chilling to 74°.
  • I transferred the wort to the fermenter, added the yeast, and fermented the beer at 68°. This batch was brewed on 16 May 2018.
  • Starting gravity was 1.046, and final gravity was 1.016, for 3.9% abv. A perfect session beer!
  • I kegged the beer on 27 May 2018, adding the hops to the keg in a bag. I let it sit at temperature for a few days while carbonating, until 2 June 2018, when I moved it back to the fermentation chamber and dropped the temperature down to 34°.

Maker:L,Date:2017-9-11,Ver:5,Lens:Kan03,Act:Kan02,E-Y

Initial Impressions

This is a decent enough beer, but nothing remarkable. Because I used older hop pellets for the dry hopping, there’s not a ton of aroma. Bitterness versus maltiness is fairly perfect, and I’d be pretty happy with this bittering level as well as this malt combination in future recipes. This is a highly drinkable beer, so I suspect I’ll be going through this fairly quickly even if the flavor/aroma aren’t exceptional for an IPA.