AG50 RIPa

Today I'm brewing another IPA, based on my previous Vermont IPA. I was a little conflicted about this one. I'm brewing this specifically for the NHC competition and I had originally planned to do another East Coast hop juice style beer.

However I've heard on the grapevine that the competition this year will be flooded with these NEIPAs, and because it's a new style it isn't covered in the BJCP guidelines and so must be entered in the specialty IPA category. So I made the decision to make this more of a standard AIPA by lowering the mash temp, increasing the bitterness, reducing the amount of oats, using kettle finings and doing a more traditional dry hop after fermentation. It's still sort of a hybrid between the two styles but I'm going to enter it in the AIPA category.

RIPa
American IPA

Recipe Specs
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Batch Size (L): 18
Total Grain (kg): 7.15
Total Hops (g): 277
Original Gravity (OG): 1.082
Final Gravity (FG): 1.021
Alcohol by Volume (ABV): 8.1 %
Colour (SRM): 8
Bitterness (IBU): 53
Boil Time (Minutes): 60

Grain Bill
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5.800 kg Pale Malt (81%)
0.500 kg Flaked Oats (7%)
0.500 kg Wheat Malt (7%)
0.150 kg Carared (2%)
0.100 kg Caramunich III (1.5%)
0.100 kg Rice Hulls (1.5%)

Hop Bill
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27 g Magnum (9.8% Alpha) @ 60 Minutes (First Wort)

10 g Amarillo (6.6% Alpha) @ 5 Minutes
10 g Citra (13.5% Alpha) @ 5 Minutes
10 g Galaxy (16.1% Alpha) @ 5 Minutes
10 g Mosaic (11.7% Alpha) @ 5 Minutes
10 g Simcoe (13.2% Alpha) @ 5 Minutes

15 g Amarillo @ 0 Minutes
15 g Citra @ 0 Minutes
15 g Galaxy @ 0 Minutes
15 g Mosaic @ 0 Minutes
15 g Simcoe @ 0 Minutes

25 g Amarillo @ 7 Days (Dry Hop)
25 g Citra @ 7 Days (Dry Hop)
25 g Galaxy @ 7 Days (Dry Hop)
25 g Mosaic @ 7 Days (Dry Hop)
25 g Simcoe @ 7 Days (Dry Hop)

Notes
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Single step Infusion at 66°C for 60 Minutes
Fermented at 18°C with Wyeast 1098 - British Ale
After 2 days ramp up the temperature by 0.5°/day
Add half of the dry hops after 7 days then the remaining dry hops 4 days later

All wrapped up now in the fridge with an intense fruity aroma. My efficiency was a couple of points lower than expected so I've got 18L at 1.082 rather than 1.085 which is close enough for me, it should still be over 8% abv.

As you can see it definitely looks more like a NEIPA because I forgot to add the Irish moss

Sounds like a lovely recipe you have there Steve, Shame about the Irish Moss I did the same in my last brew but it's an imperial stout so I got away with it.

stigman said:

Sounds like a lovely recipe you have there Steve, Shame about the Irish Moss I did the same in my last brew but it's an imperial stout so I got away with it.

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Personally a bit of haze doesn't bother me, might lose a point or 2 in the competition but appearance is only worth a max of 3 points anyway :thumb:

strange-steve said:

Personally a bit of haze doesn't bother me, might lose a point or 2 in the competition but appearance is only worth a max of 3 points anyway :thumb:

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Looks great to me, I like the hazy NE IPAs.

Am I right in thinking Irish Moss is just for clarity and nothing else? Therefore if you don't care about clarity you don't need it?

r-evans said:

Looks great to me, I like the hazy NE IPAs.

Am I right in thinking Irish Moss is just for clarity and nothing else? Therefore if you don't care about clarity you don't need it?

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Yeah it's simply aesthetic but I normally use it if I'm entering a competition. I'll chuck some gelatin in and cold crash to try to clear it a little, but as I say I'm not too bothered.

There was activity last night before I went to bed and a huge krausen this morning.
I love this yeast, it goes off like a bomb.

strange-steve said:

Yeah it's simply aesthetic but I normally use it if I'm entering a competition. I'll chuck some gelatin in and cold crash to try to clear it a little, but as I say I'm not too bothered.

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Hazy looking is more pleasing to me so I would leave it as it is, but of course you have to do what is necessary with a competition!

Looks like a really good recipe, exactly the kind of thing I want to have a go at when I'm up and running with a bit of experience.

Interested to hear how it turns out!

Good luck with the comp :thumb:

r-evans said:

Hazy looking is more pleasing to me so I would leave it as it is, but of course you have to do what is necessary with a competition!

Looks like a really good recipe, exactly the kind of thing I want to have a go at when I'm up and running with a bit of experience.

Interested to hear how it turns out!

Good luck with the comp :thumb:

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PM your address and I'll send you a bottle in a couple of weeks, if it's any good that is.

strange-steve said:

PM your address and I'll send you a bottle in a couple of weeks, if it's any good that is.

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Very kind of you, cheers.

I'll send it through now.

Checked the gravity on this today, a week after pitching and it's at 1.022 making it about 7.9% abv.
Flavour is quite promising though the alcohol is a tad harsh, might take a few weeks to mellow out.
The first dose of dry hops are in now so I'll give it a few days then add the second dose, then a day or two cold crash before bottling next Wednesday.

I'll be saving this one, sound like something I'd like to brew later down the line. Really enjoy the doubles :)

Chucked in the 2nd lot of dry hops today at a FG of 1.020, meaning a rather hefty 8.1% abv.
On tasting it's not yet as intensely hoppy as the previous incarnation but definitely a lot more bitter and full flavoured. Hopefully the alcohol flavour will soften in time for the competition, it's still a bit hot. But should turn out a decent DIPA.

Bottled this today, still murky as hell but the competition drop off closes in a week so I couldn't wait any longer. I'm pretty pleased with it so far, not too bitter for my taste but plenty of hop flavour. However I know whatever category I enter this it'll be marked down, too bitter for a NEIPA, not bitter enough for a DIPA, too rich for an AIPA, too hoppy for an American Strong Ale :?

r-evans said:

Very kind of you, cheers.

I'll send it through now.

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I got one of these in the post for you this morning mate. They've been sitting at 25° for almost a week so by the time it reaches you it should be fairly well carbonated. I'm going to do a taste test tonight so hopefully it'll be ok.

strange-steve said:

I got one of these in the post for you this morning mate. They've been sitting at 25° for almost a week so by the time it reaches you it should be fairly well carbonated. I'm going to do a taste test tonight so hopefully it'll be ok.

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Great, thank you. I appreciate it.

I'll let you know when it arrives and give you some feedback, looking forward to it!

:thumb:

It would appear that the cold crash and gelatin have done nothing to improve the clarity, and it's still actually nowhere near carbed, I had to pour quite vigorously to get that head on it.
There's loads of flavour, not as juicy as the other one, but very rich. The bitterness is higher than the previous one but actually a lot smoother, it doesn't have the slight harshness that I could pick up in the other. I'm guessing this is maybe due to the high sulphate content in this one.
A little alcohol in the finish, but not unpleasant. When properly carbed I think this will be fairly decent.

Looks great, you think leaving in the bottle a little longer will help then?

I'll drink it whenever you tell me to :)