Eureka, today’s post is about my first India Pale Ale (IPA) recipe. The story behind this recipe is quite different compared to all the other recipes. All started with the urge to brew a new batch. A quick look in the refrigerator told me to make an IPA to use the remaining hops. The grist was just some Pale Ale malt and some Crystal for color. And the brewing begun.
| Recipe: | Impromptu IPA | |
| Numbers: | Volume [L] | 5 (1.3 gal) |
| Original gravity | 14.5°P | |
| Terminal gravity | Not measured | |
| Color | Around 16 EBC | |
| IBU | 108 IBU | |
| ABV | N/A | |
| Grains: | Pale Malt (6.5 EBC) | 1.15 kg |
| Crystal (120 EBC) | 0.1 kg | |
| Hops: | Northern (10% AA) | 20 g and boil for 60 min |
| Northern (10% AA) | 7.0 g and boil for 15 min | |
| Target (11.5%) | 4.0 g and boil for 15 min | |
| Goldings (6.5%) | 3 g for dry hopping in secondary fermentation | |
| Yeast: | US 05 | |
| Water: | Burgdorf | Mash: 3.1 L (0.8 gal), sparge: 6 L (1.6 gal) @78°C (172°F) |
| Rest: | Mash in @66°C (151°F), 60 min @ 66°C (151°F), 10 min @ 78°C (172°F) | |
| Boil: | Total 60 min | |
| Fermentation: | Primary | 3 days @ 20°C (68°F) in a plastic bucket |
| Secondary | 6 days @ 20°C (68°F) in a plastic bucket | |
| Maturation: | Carbonation (CO2 vol) | 2.5 with table sugar |
| Maturation time | 3 weeks | |
02/07/2011: Brew day. Another small batch. Iodine test was negative after resting for one hour and the hops went into the boiling wort as planned. After cooling the wort down to pitching temperature, the yeast finally could start its job.
02/10/2011: Already racked the beer into a secondary fermenter and added the hops for dry hopping.
02/16/2011: Bottled the beer with sugar and left the bottles carbonate for nearly five days. Unfortunately, I forgot to measure the terminal gravity and thus have no idea about the ABV of this brew. I planned a final gravity of about 2.8°P which would have led to an ABV of approximately 6.2%.
03/18/2011: Tasting! The beer matured for nearly four weeks at around 4°C (39°F). I am very sorry but I have no picture of this brew…
Aroma: Very hoppy aroma, hints of oranges. Very nice aroma.
Appearance: Brilliant beer, good head retention, white head, some particles are floating in there… A lot of carbonation!
Flavor: Oranges, some malt notes, very well-balanced, quite bitter but not too overpowering.
Mouthfeel: Light- medium body, lively carbonation, medium lasting bitter aftertaste.
Overall Impression: This is a bitter and hoppy beer. A very nice IPA with just the right amount of bitterness, some fruit notes as well as some maltyness. I assume the orange notes originate from the Golding hops.
This beer is more or less a very typical example of an English India Pale. Not as bitter as an American IPA. Unfortunately, the amount of bottles was very limited and it was gone after several weeks already. I would not change anything in the recipe for another batch. Maybe change the yeast strain. I intend to brew this particular recipe again in autumn of 2012 and use undried fresh East Kent Golding hops from my garden.
Eureka Brewing 