Triple IPA Brewday & Review

Posted on January 8, 2015 by Nick Ladd

Take a ridiculously hoppy double IPA, increase the hopping and alcohol to ludicrous levels, and you have a decent outline for crafting a triple IPA. These are fun beers to brew, and a great way to use up any extraneously hops that may be buried in your freezer. This beer is very much in the same spirit as coveted beers like Pliny the Younger (you can read more about my club’s attempt at cloning the Younger, here).

This is a tough beer to brew as it can easily fall victim to common faults. The most frequent and egregious fault with American-style IPAs is not achieving adequate levels of attenuation. Nothing ruins a big hoppy beer’s drinkability quicker than excessive residual gravity or caramel flavors. This is even more apparent when you’re pushing the beer to triple IPA levels. Controlling fermentability with the addition of simple sugars and low mash temps will take you most of the way. From there, it is key to pitch a big healthy population of yeast, adequately oxygenate the wort, and carefully control fermentation to keep higher alcohols in check.

The second most common fault would likely be harsh or grassy hop flavors. This most commonly occurs when brewers leave dryhops in contact with the beer for excessive periods. Many sources cite the fact that the majority of hop oils are extracted within the first 24-48 hours of contact with our beer. Anecdotally, I’ve definitely experienced this and typically now only leave dry hops in contact with my beers for 2-3 days, maximum.

Lastly, it is extremely important to limit oxygen pickup post fermentation with your hoppy beers. Hop compounds are extremely susceptible to oxidation. Very few factors will contribute to the destruction of a hoppy beer quicker than oxygen. Purging vessels, pushing beer with C02 in closed loops, and cold storage can greatly increase the shelf-life of your hoppy beers.

Triple Tap Triple IPA Recipe

Specifications:
Size: 4.5 gal
Efficiency: 67%
Attenuation: 92%

Original Gravity: 1.088 SG
Terminal Gravity: 1.007 SG
Color: 8.3 SRM
Alcohol: 10.65% ABV
Bitterness: 55.7 IBUs (Doesn’t account for substantial bitterness achieved with whirlpool additions)

Malt Bill:
12 lb (76.2%) Pilsner Malt (Weyermann)
1 lb (6.3%) Munich TYPE II (Weyermann)
.25 lb (1.6%) Caramalt 15 (Bairds)

Mash Profile:
147 °F – 60m
154 °F – 10m
168 °F – 5m

Water Treatment:
Extremely Soft NYC Water
6g Gypsum (to mash)
3g Calcium Chloride (to mash)

Hopping:
0.25 oz Centennial (10.5%) – 60 m
1 oz Centennial (10.5%) – 20 m
1 oz Amarillo® (8.7%) – 20 m

2 oz Citra™ (13.7%) – Whirlpool 20m
1 oz Amarillo® (8.7%) – Whirlpool 20m
2.5 oz Mandarina Bavaria (7.2%) – Whirlpool 20m

2.5 oz (17.5%) Amarillo® – Hop Back (Blichmann Hop Rocket)

2 oz Galaxy (14.0%) – Dry Hop @ Room Temp 3 Days
2 oz Citra™ (12.0%) – Dry Hop @ Room Temp 3 Days

Kettle Additions:
2.5 lb (15.9%) Corn Sugar – 15m
0.5 ea Whirlfloc Tablets (Irish moss) – 15m
0.5 tsp Wyeast Nutrient – 10 m

Yeast:
WYeast 1056 American Ale™ – Large starter on stirplate to achieve 1 million cells per milliliter of wort per degree Plato. Use Mr. Malty to determine proper starter sized based on age of yeast package. Pitch into 60°F wort and allow to free rise to 64°F. As fermentation begins to slow, raise temperature to 70°F.

Tasting Notes:

Judged as a BJCP Category 23 Specialty Beer

Aroma (10/12):
Huge, punchy hop-nose. The hops are extremely juicy and tropical — reminiscent of mango, orange, and pineapple. In many ways, this beer reminds me P.O.G. (passion fruit, orange, guave) juice. There is a moderate amount of grassy, plant-like aromas. By and large the hops are almost uniformly fruity with very little pine or resinous aromas. Malt character is slightly bready. No alcohol, DMS, or diacetyl are perceptible.

Appearance (1/3):
Beer pours a muddy copper color. Extremely hazy with hop compounds. Beer is capped with a bright white, thick, persistent head.

Flavor (10/20):
Taking a swig from the tasting glass fills your mouth with huge, round, hop flavors. The flavors are very fruity and tropical, although there is a slightly biting, resinous, bitterness on the finish. There is a bit of residual sweetness that keeps the beer feeling slightly full and heavier than I would like. As the beer warms, some warming alcohol dances across the palate.

Mouthfeel (3/5):
Medium body and carbonation. Some light hop astringency is present on the finish and detracts from the overall drinking experience. The hops seem to lend a creamy texture to the mouthfeel.

Overall Impression (6/10):
This beer pushes the level of hoppiness that I am able to enjoy almost to the breaking point. The beer is young and brash with bold assertive flavors that come off a touch green. It is very much in the same vein as beers like Pliny the Younger, which are best enjoyed in small glasses and shared with friends.

Very Good (31/50)

Funky Tap – Brett Trois IPA

Posted on September 25, 2014 by Nick Ladd

The last batch of Single Tap IPA I brewed ended up producing an extra gallon of wort that wouldn’t fit into my fermenter. Rather than toss the excess, I racked it to a 1-gallon glass jug and fermented it out with standard WYeast 1056 American Ale yeast before inoculating it with a secondary Brettanomyces Trois strain (White Labs WLP644). There has been quite a few commercial brewers producing Brett IPAs, especially using Brett Trois, and there seems to be some pretty nice flavor synergies between hops and this particular Brett strain.

Tasting Notes:

Judged as a BJCP Category 23 Specialty Beer

Aroma (5/12):
The are some obvious Brett aromas coming from this beer. Esters smell almost like over-ripe pineapple and blend nicely with the potent citrusy / mango-like American hops jumping from the glass. The synergies between yeast and hop derived aromas is quite evident. The Brett has a low phenolic component that is both peppery and features a low amount of plastic-like aroma which feels a bit out of place. There is a slightly skunky / light-struck component to the aroma which is off. A low, honey-like component to the malt makes me think the beer may be slightly oxidized.

Appearance (3/3):
Medium copper and clear. This beer has dropped quite bright with a bit of age and cold conditioning. Persistent white fluffy head.

Flavor (11/20):
Lots of round citrusy/fruity hops. I’m a bit surprised how hoppy this is given the age and lack of dry hopping. It is tough to tell where the Brett derived flavors and hops begin and end, but the sum of the parts is quite nice and juicy. Malt is soft, bready, and round, but a bit oxidized. Bitterness is gentle, but balancing.

Mouthfeel (5/5):
Dry yet round. Somewhat of a paradox, but the mouthfeel sensation is quite pleasant.

Overall Impression (5/10):
This is a pretty nice beer and dramatically different than the non-Brett version. The melding of Brett flavors and hops works quite well. The only exception being the hint of pepper/plastic phenol which is a bit clashing. Additionally, the skunky aroma and oxidation stick out like a sore thumb to my pallet. This beer was a bit of a bastardized experiment generated by leftover wort. My normal process and care in transferring and storing the beer were not followed, and appear to have resulted in some off-flavors. Regardless, this beer really does illustrate the synergies that can take place between Brett derived esters and hop character.

Good (29/50)

Single Tap IPA (4.0) Recipe and Review

Posted on September 20, 2014 by Nick Ladd

Brewhouse pug Daisy striking a less-than-impressed pose.

Single Tap is my constantly evolving attempt to brew what I consider to be the perfect IPA . I’ve now brewed iterations of this beer on four different occasions. The recipes have constantly evolved, converging towards a unified goal – making an extreme IPA where the process and recipe are tuned to produce the brightest and most intense hop aromatics possible. I question whether any beer, commercial or made at home, can ever be hoppy enough to satiate the most extreme hop heads. This is my attempt.

Let’s talk strategy. The more times that I’ve brewed this, the more I’ve realized that it would be difficult if not impossible to over-attenuate a beer like this. The drier I’ve pushed this beer, the more easily I’ve been able to get the hop aromatics to jump to the foreground. This beer went from 1.072 to 1.012 — 83% apparent attenuation, and could easily be pushed a bit further. Copious additions of simple sugar and low mash temps are key, and produce none of the oft-cited negative flavors that many brewers attribute to brewing with sugar. The grain bill derives a touch of malt complexity through the use of lightly kilned base malts (Vienna) and a token addition of low lovibond crystal. The malt character should be in the background and provide a clean backdrop for the hops.

Hopping levels in this beer are a bit absurd and dramatically loaded to the back-end whirlpool. In selecting the hop varieties, I focused on tropical fruit-forward hops. I’m not a huge fan of the more resinous/dank IPAs out there (like Stone Ruination), so I avoided certain hops like Columbus, Simcoe, and Chinook which can be a bit abrasive. During the boil, there was a small addition at the beginning to help keep the kettle foam down and lay down a low base of bitterness. The amount of bitterness required to balance this beer is minimal due to the low residual sugar levels. The key is obtaining nearly all of the bitterness during the whirlpool rest, which has the added benefit of imbuing a high level of hop flavor and aroma to the beer. Once kegged, I treat the beer with a huge dry hop. I tend to limit the contact-time with dry hops since I’ve found that only bad flavors (grassiness) are gained after day three. It is important at this stage to thoroughly flush the vessel you’re dry hopping in with CO2 as oxidation in hoppy beers can seriously impact the life of the beer.

Single Tap IPA 4.0 Recipe

Recipe Specs:
Size: 4.25 gal
Efficiency: 75%
Attenuation: 83%

Original Gravity: 1.072
Terminal Gravity: 1.012
Color: 8.16 SRM
Alcohol: 7.9% ABV
Bitterness: 32.6 IBUs (Doesn’t account for significant bitterness obtained during the whirlpool)
Mash Temp: 147 °F

Grain Bill:
4.25 lb (43.0%) Weyermann Bohemian Pilsner Malt
4 lb (40.5%) Briess 2-Row Brewers Malt
12 oz (7.6%) Weyermann Vienna Malt
8 oz (5.1%) Briess White Wheat Malt
6 oz (3.8%) Briess 2-Row Caramel Malt 40L

Hopping:
8 g Citra™ (13.7% AA) – added first wort
0.5 oz Mandarina Bavaria (7.2% AA) – 10 m
0.5 oz Centennial (10.5%) – 10 m

2 oz Citra™ (13.7% AA) – Whirlpool 25m
2 oz Mandarina Bavaria (7.2% AA) – Whirlpool 25m
1 oz Amarillo® (8.7% AA) – Whirlpool 25m
1 oz Centennial (10.5% AA) – Whirlpool 25m

3 oz Amarillo® HOPBACK (8.7% AA) – Hop Back

0.5 oz Centennial (10.5% AA) – Dry Hop 3 Days
1 oz Citra™ (13.7% AA) – Dry Hop 3 Days
1.5 oz Amarillo® (8.7% AA) – Dry Hop 3 Days
1 oz Mandarina Bavaria (7.2% AA) – Dry Hop 3 Days

Kettle Additions:
0.5 ea Whirlfloc Tablets (Irish moss) – 15 m
0.5 tsp Wyeast Nutrient – 10 m
1.25 lbs Table Sugar – 10m

Yeast:
WYeast 1056 American Ale™ – Build appropriately sized starter
Pitch yeast once beer is at 62°F. Keep beer at 64°F during the start and peak of fermentation. Slowly raise to 70°F as signs of fermentation taper off.

Water Treatment:
Soft NYC municipal water with 6g Gypsum and 3g Calcium Chloride added to the mash.

Tasting Notes:

Judged as a BJCP Category 14B American IPA

Aroma (11/12):
This is quite possibly the hoppiest IPA I’ve ever stuck my nose into. The intensity of the hop aroma could very well have surpassed the limits set by the best commercial hoppy beers out there. Huge amounts of tangerine-like citrus, mango, and sweet orange jump from the glass. The hopping levels exceed the levels described in the BJCP guideline which currently doesn’t reflect the intense aromatics found in the best examples of contemporary IPAs. A low bready malt character is barely apparent behind all the hops.

Appearance (1/3):
The beers pours a light golden hue with a high level of murky hop haze. A fluffy white head forms and easily persists to the bottom of the glass. This is not a pretty beer… and I’m okay with that.

Flavor (17/20):
The hop bombardment carries through to the flavor, leaving only just a hint of any malt behind. The hop flavor fills your mouth with intense fruit flavors and a hint of pine resin. A touch of grassiness was apparent when the beer was initially kegged, but eventually dropped off as the beer aged out. A bit of warm alcohol is apparent and reminds me that this beer pushes the alcoholic boundaries for a standard IPA. The bitterness is medium high and lingers a touch in the finish, along with a huge amount of hop flavor. Very dry malt, with fruity hops giving a slight impression of sweetness.

Mouthfeel (5/5):
Somehow this beer manages to feel dry and round at the same time. My suspicion is that the hop oils contribute a beautiful silky mouthfeel.

Overall Impression (10/10):
This beer goes above and behind the levels of hops that the BJCP describes for American IPAs. That said, it truly reflects contemporary examples of the best IPAs currently produced in the commercial craft market. The beer is dangerously quaffable. A world-class hop delivery vehicle.

Excellent (44/50)

Single Tap IPA 3.0 Recipe & Review

Posted on April 23, 2014 by Nick Ladd

Over the years I’ve brewed lots of different IPAs. Lately however, I’ve been focused on developing Single Tap, my house IPA. This third generation recipe has its roots in a beer I brewed back in 2012 which won a first place ribbon in the first round of the National Homebrew Competition. Over the years, the recipe has been simplified, with the notion that every ingredient should have a justifiable reason for its inclusion. While the recipe is always changing, the heart of this beer is focused on providing a toasty, yet lean, highly-attenuated malt background and contrasting it against a ton a big American hop flavor and aroma. I am able to keep the bitterness low compared to other IPAs by pushing attenuation to the point that little bitterness is needed for balance.

Single Tap IPA 3.0 Recipe

Size: 4.32 gal – With system and trub losses, I typically end up with 2.75 gallons in the fermenter.
Efficiency: 72% (Measured)
Attenuation: 82.8% (Calculated)

Original Gravity: 1.070 SG (Measured)
Terminal Gravity: 1.012 SG (Measured)
Color: 9.71 SRM
Alcohol: 7.6% ABV (Calculated)
Bitterness: 24.0 IBUs – Calculations don’t take into account bitterness gained through whirlpool additions, which is considerable.

Fermentables:
5 lb (45.5%) – Briess 2-Row Brewers Malt
3 lb (27.3%) – Crisp Maris Otter
1 lb (9.1%) – Weyermann Vienna Malt
8 oz (4.5%) – Briess White Wheat Malt
6 oz (3.4%) – Crisp Crystal 45
2 oz (1.1%) – Weyermann Acidulated Malt – added for pH correction
1 lb (9.1%) Table Sugar – added during boil

Hop Additions:
4 g Citra™ (13.7% AA) – First Wort Hop
0.5 oz Sterling (7.5% AA) – 10 m
0.5 oz Centennial (10.5% AA) – 10 m
2 oz Citra™ (13.7% AA) – Post Boil Whirlpool – 25 m
3 oz Amarillo® (8.7% AA) – Post Boil Whirlpool – 25 m
1 oz Centennial (10.5% AA) – Post Boil Whirlpool – 25 m
0.5 oz Sterling (7.5% AA) – Post Boil Whirlpool – 25 m

0.5 oz Centennial (10.5% AA) – Dry Hop 3 Days
1.5 oz Citra™ (13.7% AA) – Dry Hop 3 Days
1.5 oz Amarillo® (8.7% AA) – Dry Hop 3 Days

Kettle Additions:
0.5 ea Whirlfloc Tablets – 15 m
0.5 tsp Wyeast Nutrient – 10 m

Yeast:
WYeast 1056 American Ale™ – 1600ml 1.040 starter on stir plate.

Water Additions:
Soft NYC Water
6g Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate)
2g Calcium Chloride

Mash Regiment:
Saccarification Rest – 149° F, 60m
Mashout Rest – 168° F, 5m

Tasting Notes:

Judged as a BJCP Category 14b American IPA

Aroma (11/12)
Putting your nose in this glass unveils a cornucopia of hop-derived fruit aromas. Most obvious is the mango, but there are also big notes of orange, tangerine, and a hint of peach. There is just a touch of grassiness and pine resin. Underneath the hops, there is a light hint of toasty and bready malt. Very clean. Not alcohol or other off-aromas.

Appearance (3/3)
Beer is a slightly hazy and light copper in color. The glass is capped by a frothy white head of exceptional persistence and lacing.

Flavor (15/20)
This beer is bursting with bright hop flavor. There is tons of citrus, some tropical fruit, and just a touch of grass. The beer is extremely dry, but the ripe fruity hops give a slight perception of sweetness. Bitterness is considerably less than most commercial examples and could be bumped up just a touch. Underneath all of the hops is a moderately toasty and bready malt component which is quite nice. The hop flavor carries through and lingers a touch in the finish.

Mouthfeel (5/5)
Medium bodied with a very nice creaminess that finishes clean. Moderate carbonation.

Overall Impression (8/10)
This is the best iteration yet of my constantly evolving IPA recipe. The dryness of the beer melds well with intense juicy hops achieving a balance that makes the beer extremely quaffable. While it could use just a hair more bitterness and perhaps even a touch more dryness, the beer in the glass is a wonderful example of the style. This homebrew easily stands up to the best commercial examples.

Total: 42/50 Excellent

Single Tap IPA Review

Posted on February 17, 2014 by Nick Ladd

Stylistically, I find IPA to be one of the craft beers categories with the most variation. There are many popular IPAs that have almost no malt character, while others are relatively robust and judicious in their application of toasty and caramel flavors. Some are absolute hop bombs with robust flavors of citrus, pine resin, grass, spice, and tropical fruit, while others tend to portray a more nuanced hop character. All IPAs should lean towards the bitter side, but some are so excruciatingly bitter they make you wonder if you’re damaging your tooth enamel. Some IPAs are daringly dry while others retain a hint of residual sweetness. Many are lower in alcohol—and could be argued to be pale ales—while others blur the line between single and double IPA. With this recipe, I was shooting for something towards the middle, in terms of alcohol, malt, and bitterness, while taking hop flavor and aroma to an extreme level.

Tasting Notes:

Judged as a BJCP Category 14b. American IPA.

Aroma (8/12):
High level of hop aroma which prominently features grapefruit zest upfront and a touch of pine resin in the background. There is a whisper of stone fruit (peach?) in the aroma that is quite pleasant. Some grassy, dry hop characters come out as the beer warms which lends an earthy and spicy component to the aroma. The hops are perhaps a bit muddled in their presentation. The malt aroma is very low and a bit indistinct letting the hops shine. There is no perception of caramel malt on the nose. No alcohol, DMS, or other off-aromas. Very clean fermentation character with no perceptible ester.

Appearance (2/3):
The beer is a deep golden hue with hits of red that push the beer to being nearly a copper color. There is a very distinct haze, but not nearly as muddy as some commercial beers I’ve sampled. A nice off-white, sticky head persists until the beer is finished.

Flavor (14/20):
This beer has a very strong hop flavor that couples with a firm hop bitterness. The flavors are somewhat reminiscent of the white pith of a citrus fruit. There is a touch of slightly vegetal/grassy hops on the finish. The relative depth of color in this beer would make you think there would be some fairly strong malt components to the flavor. This is not the case. The beer exhibits only a hint of light toasty malt that is difficult to extract from the large amount of hop flavor. The bitterness is clean and crisp, but perhaps a bit too intense. There is a hint of residual malt sweetness that is a touch heavy.

Mouthfeel (3/5):
Medium-bodied with a firm, clean finish. There is just a hint of residual sweetness in the finish. The beer is slightly over-carbonated giving the beer a prickly mouthfeel which improves once the gas subsides.

Overall Impression (6/10):
This is a nice IPA that showcases American hops in all of their brashness and intensity. There aren’t any of the tropical notes that are found in some of the most popular contemporary examples which may detract from in its popularity with beer geeks who tend to chase the latest novel hop flavors. This beer is right in the middle of the BJCP style, but could get dinged for not having quite enough malt depending on what a particular judge is looking for. In future recipe iterations, I plan to slightly lower the hop bitterness and further dry the beer out to allow for the hop flavors to shine even more brightly. Additionally, I will likely not use Columbus again for this beer as I feel it contributed to some of the rougher hop flavors this beer exhibits.

Total: 33/50 Very Good