English IPA from Greg Hughes Page 131.

[Tony1951]

Thought I'd make an 11 litre English IPA brew based on the Greg Hughes book. I basically halved his quantities for 23 litres and substituted his suggested bittering hop 'Challenger 7%' for one I already had - Progress 6.8%. I also reduced the bittering hop a bit since 60IBU is quite a lot. Instead of using 35gms as suggested, I used 30gms which was just how it fell as it came out of the bag into the scale...... (Already forgotten my resolution not to make impulsive changes.... idiots never learn).

As made the recipe is as follows.

Mash water 10litres strike temperature 75C

2.9KG Pale Malt MO
0.073KG Crystal Malt

@60 30gm Progress (6.8%)
@15 18gm EKG (5.5%)
@15 1/2 a Wirflock Tablet
@0 18gm EKG (5.5%)

Cooled with the new cooler I have obtained.
Mashed for 65minutes at about 65C



My original mash temp was 71 measured as soon as it was mixed, so I quickly added a bit more water to reduce it to 66C, settling in ten minutes to 65C at which time I buttoned up the boiler and put a sleeping bag over the top.

It is mashing now and I will dunk the grain bag in about five litres of 80C water after the mash has completed. This will give me about a total of 16litres of water used so far, but I will lose about 3 litres in the grains and a couple in the boil.... This last is a guess since I've never used the boiler with a small brew.... I'm winging it a bit here so we may have to improvise a bit to end up with the correct volume.



Target OG is 1060...... I ground the grains fine so we will see what comes out.

EDIT:
Removed error in description where I quoted 70gms of bittering hops which was the amount for the full 23 litre brew. Substituted 35grms since I am only making 11 litres.

 

[clibit]

Sounds really good. Progress and EKG are a good combo. Don't be scared of 60 IBUs.

 

[Tony1951]

Thanks Clibit.

Just cooled it to 20C and I got 1.062 at 11 litres of wort. The target was 1060 for 11.5 litres so, I reckon it has come out bang on for conversion.

The boiler managed the small brew fine - better than the big brews even, because I had no concerns about boil overs. Hoping the quick cool will get rid of my problem in recent brews of being over astringent and less flavoursome. The hops were just overcooked on my 24 hour cool down. The wort chiller took it down from boiling to 20c in 15 minutes - only 11 - 12 litres total including waste, but a nice quick cool down. maybe I will taste some hops now... :)


The sparge in my 12 litre pot ->

The Brew Shed ->

The assistant brewer and product tester ->

 

[HebridesRob]

I've got an English IPA planned, going to be my first properly hoppy brew when I get around to it.

Is it normal to use water at 80c for BIAB? It sounds hot to me. At that temperature I'd be worried about extracting tannin from the grain husks and creating astringent taste in the beer.

 

[Tony1951]

I've got an English IPA planned, going to be my first properly hoppy brew when I get around to it.

Is it normal to use water at 80c for BIAB? It sounds hot to me. At that temperature I'd be worried about extracting tannin from the grain husks and creating astringent taste in the beer.

I don't know Rob. maybe Clibit will comment or one of the other old hands at thus game. In fact it was at 75C by the time I did the sparge. It was 80 when I was down in the kitchen making it up in the steel stock pot with the kettle. Time I got up to the brew shed, it was cooler. I have had some astringent brews lately Rob.... I thought it was my 'no cool' approach.... HMMM - Don't know now.

The wort tastes nice anyway. I think it will be OK.

 

[Covrich]

I was thinking of an English IPA next.. I have his book might do this.. EKG IPA sounds great.

Interesting you said the boiler was fine for the smaller quantity.. do you remember me saying (before it went totally **** up) mine kept going to boil and then went into stand by mode then boil again..its good yours seems bang on reliable..

80 for the sparge is I think on what they say is the limit. but if you raise the water to that level and by the time you dunk the grains in it will drop a few degrees anyway so I am sure its fine..

 

[DoctorMick]

I've made that recipe although without any tweaks. Turned out well, not too bitter and also not too earthy or floral like some English ipas can be.

 

[Budgie]

I was about to ask for suggestions for an IPA. I finally have a day off on Sunday so I want to get a brew on.

I already have all of the ingredients for this except the Progress hops. I have some Northdown Leaf so could I substitute for that? (I still don't know much about hops so don't know if this is a bad idea or not!) If not I'll get myself to the Homebrew shop and pick some up.

 

[Tony1951]

I was about to ask for suggestions for an IPA. I finally have a day off on Sunday so I want to get a brew on.

I already have all of the ingredients for this except the Progress hops. I have some Northdown Leaf so could I substitute for that? (I still don't know much about hops so don't know if this is a bad idea or not!) If not I'll get myself to the Homebrew shop and pick some up.

Just a quicky on this because I have to be somewhere -

Progress was a substitution made by me. the Hughes recipe for 23 litres was:

Pale Malt 5.8kg
Crystal 145gm

@60 70g Challenger 7% 50.5 ibu
@15 35g Goldings 5.5% 9.5 ibu
@ 0 35g Goldings 5.5% 0 ibu

Protoflock 1tsp

Wyeyeast 1187 Ringwood Ale.


All I know about Northdown Leaf is that its Alpha acid varies between 6 - 9%

Better ask Clibit or one of the old hands about the substitution.

 

[clibit]

Northdown would be great. :thumb:

On the issue of late hops increasing the IBUs, you can always take them out with a sieve. Or simply cool to 80C before adding them. That's the cool (ish) thing to do.

About the sparge temperature, I heat water to about 80C because the text books say 76C for sparging, and 80C water seems to adjust to around 76 when you add it into the mash.

 

[stevej]

I made that Tony when i first started doing ag, i didnt have Challenger at the time, i used Perle and EKG, it was a lovely ale

 

[LarryF]

Good luck Tony, an OG of 1060 is a bit high for you if I remember correctly but I'm sure it'll all come out ok. Let us know how it goes.

 

[Budgie]

All I know about Northdown Leaf is that its Alpha acid varies between 6 - 9%

Better ask Clibit or one of the old hands about the substitution.

The stuff I have is 6.83%. Brew ON! :smile:

 

[Tony1951]

Thanks for the encouragement and the tips lads. Sounds like Budgie is ready to go then with his Northdown. I've come to the conclusion after a few experiments that I like EKG and Goldings and I ordered more of them with my Geterbrewed order a couple of days ago. Glad others made this brew and liked it. I certainly enjoyed / am enjoying one of the other brew I made out of there - Summer Ale, but the Pale Ale, I am less sure of. Maybe one of my hop substitutions doesn't suit me - others like it.

Yes Larry - I do try to drink weaker ales for everyday drinking, but I really enjoy a drop of the stronger ones. We had a barbecue at my eldest son's house about a week ago, I took a few of my last IPA there - a seven percent one. One of my lads - the youngest one, 28, after knocking back two of them said he felt a bit gone for two drinks, - we had a good laugh about that because I hadn't mentioned the strength. Funnily enough - that one doesn't taste that strong in the alcohol flavour - just lots of nice English hops - bags of flavour and bite and a kick to the unwary, or the uninformed afterwards.

Yesterday's brew is on the kitchen counter in the stockpot you can see in the photos. It makes a handy small fermenter if you cover the top with clingfilm and then stick the lid on. It has a good yeast growth on the top already from half a packet of US05. The room temperature is at about 19C at the moment. Doubt I'll be allowed to leave it in teh kitchen for long.... At least at 11 litres I can move it about without humping a big bin of 23 kilos about. :) Just one more advantage of small brews..... I could get converted to this small brew lark.

 

[Budgie]

Finally got a day off today after a mental weekend - including the van breaking down in Dincaster and getting towed back to Durham at 3am!

I've been wanting to do an IPA for a while so I got this on today. Hit a couple of snags along the way. Firstly the only crystal malt I had was 120 which is probably a bit dark for a pale, but it went in anyway. Then I ran short of EKG when weighing out my hops so I made up the 8g I was short with Northdown Leaf for the 0 min addition. Whether that was the right thing to do or not I don't know :wha: Smelled great though!

As I still don't have a wort chiller I've no chilled my last couple of brews, which has worked well, so I'm doing the same with this one. Looking forward to checking the SG and getting the yeast in tomorrow.

Cheers to Tony1951 for the OP - just what I was looking for :smile:

 

[clibit]

I see nothing wring with the 120 or the Northdown. It'll be good. :thumb:

 

[Budgie]

I see nothing wring with the 120 or the Northdown. It'll be good. :thumb:

Awesome. Can't wait to try this one!

 

[Tony1951]

Hope it does well for you Budgie lad - Mine is still covered with a thick creamy krausen of US05. Looks very tasty and rich. I'm really looking forward to bottling this and getting a taste of it in a few weeks.

I have lined up two Geterbrewed ingredients kits - an American IPA and the Real English IPA like the one that I won and made a couple of months ago. They've changed their kits mind - much more 'rustic'...... No instructions (not that I need them) just a felt tip addition time on the hop bags and a sack of grain. On the other hand for £12 and £14 the gear is good, but a beginner would be struggling I think.

 

[Covrich]

Hope it does well for you Budgie lad - Mine is still covered with a thick creamy krausen of US05. Looks very tasty and rich. I'm really looking forward to bottling this and getting a taste of it in a few weeks.

Yeah I always find the US05 krausens hang around for a bit, first time I used it , it was there for 13 days!!

Interested in seeing how this goes but it is sounding good Tony!!

 

[Tony1951]

This beer turned out absolutely gorgeous. I've just started drinking it and am wishing I had made a full size brew instead of ten litres. It is pale, with a lovely subtle, English hoppiness, a delightful sweetness and is about 7.2%ABV. I have had the sweet flavour before when my initial mash temperatures were accidentally on the high side. This mash started at 71C as far as I can judge. I say that because I am not confident that the temperature I measure at the top of the mash is consistent right through. Anyway, be that as it may, I quickly added cold water and stirred up the mash until I was reading 65C and then buttoned it up, lid on with a sleeping bag over the boiler. Anyway - this turned out well with this lovely sweetness and gentle flavour.

I did hold back a little on the bittering hops though and in retrospect, it would have been no problem had I gone for the full 60 IBU. It would have been fine, but back then I was fighting shy of bittering, having had a few astringent brews which I now think were down to my lack of cooling facilities back then. None of my subsequent brews have had that problem.

To save folk looking back over the thread the recipe as made is as follows:


Mash water 10litres strike temperature 75C

TEN LITRE BEW

2.9KG Pale Malt MO
0.073KG Crystal Malt

@60 30gm Progress (6.8%)
@15 18gm EKG (5.5%)
@15 1/2 a Wirflock Tablet
@0 18gm EKG (5.5%)

Cooled with the new cooler I have obtained.
Mashed for 65minutes at about 65C