Split Batch IPA

One of the great things about brewing 10 gallon batches is the ability to experiment. For this IPA, I split the wort two ways and did separate boils. One batch was kind of an iteration of the New Zealand IPA, but with Motueka added to the hop stand, along with Nelson Sauvin and Pacifica. The other batch went in the Northwest direction, with Chinook, Centennial, and Citra for the hop profile.

On recent IPA batches I have abandoned the hop stand technique detailed here, and instead chose to throw all the hops in at flame out, and stand for 30 minutes. These results have produced spectacular hop flavor, with extremely smooth bitterness. I then rely on dry hopping for more aroma. One thing I have learned about these large flame out additions is that extra care must be taken to clear these beers before serving, otherwise you will encounter increased astringency. I have done well using highly flocculent English strains, along with cold crashing, and keg conditioning for a week or so before tapping.

I have also been having trouble figuring out my IBUs with these hop stands, relying on sensory to estimate. Some sources suggest that you should be getting about 10-15% utilization as a homebrewer, while some professional breweries estimate they are getting as high as the low 20s. This will take some experimentation to figure out your own utilization on your system.

A bonus of my back log of brew days yet to be posted is that I already have tasting notes to post on this brew. In fact, I think both batches have already been drank.


NW/NZ IPAs - (brewed 9/27/13)

Sizes: 5.5 gal
Boils: 7 gal
Yeast: WLP002 English Ale ~300 Billion Cells each
O.G: 1.065
F.G: 1.014


Water

Exact profile was not saved, but I have jotted down:

Ca = 66 ppm
SO4:CL = 2.1 (hoppy)


Grist

23 lbs. Maris Otter
3/4 lbs. Crystal 40
3/4 lbs. Carapils

-Mashed at 153F for 60 minutes. 1 tsp. irish moss @ 15 minutes.


Hops

NW IPA: 3 oz. each Chinook, Citra, and Centennial @ Hop stand. Dry hopped 1 oz. each for 7 days.
NZ IPA: 3 oz. each Nelson Sauvin, Motueka and Pacifica @ Hop stand. Dry hopped 1 oz. each for 7 days.

9/27/13: Aerated 60 seconds each with oxygen stone. Pitched at 66F, temp raised to 68F after 2 days.
10/12/13: SG: 1.014
10/15/13: Racked to secondary onto dry hops.
10/22/13: Kegged. Force carbonated at 30 psi for 2 days.


NW IPA Tasting Notes - (tasted 11/10/13)

Appearance: Slight haze, orange/golden, white head, great retention.

Smell: Good balance of citrus/pine/mango. Aroma not punching me in the face though.

Taste: Citrus (lemon), orange, grapefruit and bitter citrus rind (in a good way). Slight tropical notes in the
back (mango) similarly in the nose. Faintly sweet malt. Finished with a medium high bitterness, probably almost 70 IBUs.

Mouth feel: Medium body and carbonation, dry, crisp finish. Refreshing.

Overall: Great fruity IPA. Flavor, mouth feel, and finish are excellent. Definitely dry and hop forward, not much malt balance, but a good backdrop for hop heads. Aroma is lacking.


NZ IPA Tasting Notes - (tasted 11/12/13)

Appearance: Same as NW IPA; golden, slight haze, white head, great retention and lacing.

Smell: A lot of pepper. Papaya/mango in the background. Over-ripe tropical fruit. Hard to pinpoint this aroma.

Taste: Pepper up front, not as dominant as the nose. Citrus in the back melds well into the lingering bitterness. No typical white grape Nelson flavor/aroma, but definitely some blue and gooseberry. Upper 50 to low 60 IBU range.

Mouth feel: Medium body and carbonation, similar dry, crisp finish.

Overall: The hop combos did something weird. Hard to pick out what happened between the hop varieties, the Motueka was definitely the contributor of the spice, with the Nelson/Pacifica contributing the fruit. Will probably drop the Motueka out, does not really meld well, but still a quaffable IPA.

New Zealand IPA

What makes this IPA from New Zealand? The hops, of course. I finally got my hands on some Nelson Sauvin and Pacifica hops (both NZ varietals) and could not resist brewing up an IPA with them. Nelson Sauvin is a new world, dual-purpose varietal and is one of the more sought after, in vogue hops on the market today. Typical descriptors include Sauvignon Blanc character, overpowering fruitiness and tropical. The Pacifica is an aroma hop with direct lineage to Hallertau Mittlefruh. New Zealand Hops Limited says this of Pacifica: "Orange marmalade aptly describes the citrus aroma notes achieved through late addition." This combination seemed right up my ally and has promise of some new, interesting flavors for an IPA. I did also receive a pound of Motueka, but decided to leave these out so I could really pick out the different Nelson and Pacifica flavors and aromas. 

For this brew I again employed the hop stand technique I have been using for my IPAs as of late. The last version of Hop Glop had tremendous hop flavor, probably the best I have ever achieved, but the bitterness was far too much. I had mistakenly used a large 60 minute bittering addition along side the 30 minute flavor hop stand. I must have gotten around 40 IBUs from the flavor hop stand because the overall perceived IBUs were off the charts, for my taste anyways. This time I skipped the bittering addition all together, and opted for only a flavor and aroma hop stand addition. I calculated the flavor addition's IBUs as roughly that of normal 20 minute boil addition. 


New Zealand IPA

Size: 5.5 gal
Boil: 7.5 gal
Yeast: WLP001 California Ale ~235 billion cells
Efficiency: 75%

Grist

12 lbs. Pale 2-row
1 lb. Carapils
3/16 lb. Caramel 60

Hops

1.5 oz. Nelson Sauvin (11.4% AAU) @ flavor stand & aroma stand
1.5 oz. Pacifica (6.1% AAU) @ flavor stand & aroma stand
=> ~54 IBUs

-Mashed at 152F for 60 minutes. Mash pH = 5.2. Boiled 60 minutes. Added the flavor stand hops at flame out  gave a quick whirlpool stir and set lid on boil kettle. Flavor hops steeped for 30 minutes, temperature dropped to 195F. 
-Chilled to 170F and added aroma stand addition. Left burner flame on extremely low to maintain temperature in the 170-160F range. 
-Aerated 60 seconds pure oxygen.
-Pitched at 72F (ground water warming up). Set temp controller to 66F, wort had chilled to 66F by bedtime.
-OG: 1.064

5/23/13: temp raised to 68F, fermentation continues in the 68-70F range.
6/5/13: Racked to secondary onto 1.5 ounces each of Nelson Sauvin and Pacifica. SG: 1.010

Hop Glop

Iteration number (?) of my house IPA, in which I change yeast strains and hop profiles. I have been experimenting with different hopping techniques to get that punch-you-in-the-face hop aroma and a more smooth bitter flavor. The last few batches I had been hop bursting, playing with different addition amounts and times during chilling. Inspired by a recent BYO article on hop stands which provided more specific technical information on "whirlpool" hopping at home, I decided to give it a shot. Essentially, a hop stand is meant to mimic that of a commercial breweries whirlpool addition. A number of top IPAs in the country utilize a only a bittering charge (whether from hops or extract) and a large whirlpool addition.

The linked BYO article is a great read and has plenty of information worth absorbing. I am not going to further explain the technique, since I will most likely end up regurgitating what's in the BYO article close to verbatim. If you are looking for more specifics, refer to the article.  I utilized the "flavor" hop stand in the 212°F to 190°F range and the "aroma" hop stand in the 170°F to 160°F range (sub-isomerization). 

Enjoying a 100% Mosaic Hop Glop out of my favorite glass

Hop Glop

Size: 5.5 gal
Boil: 7.75 gal (75 min) 
Efficiency: 75%
WLP 001 - 244 billion cells 

Water  

Ca: 130.7 ppm          Cl: 88.3 ppm
Mg: 1.9 ppm             SO4: 201 ppm
Na: 15.8 ppm            Cl to SO4 ratio: 2.3



Grain

12 lbs. Pale US 2-row (1.7 L)
1 lbs. Carapils (1.7 L)
1/4 lb. Caramunich II (55 L)

-Mashed @ 152°F for 90 minutes. Over sparged, resulted in longer boil (75 min). Grain bed hit 170°F. 
-Mash pH = 5.2.

Hops

1 oz. Columbus (15.1%) @ 75 min for 47 IBUs
1 oz. each of Columbus (15.1%), Amarillo (8.5%) and Simcoe (14.1%) @ "flavor" hop stand for 30 minutes and "aroma" hop stand for 15 minutes and dry hop.


-Pitched @ 74°F (Since getting my fancy new thermowell I've noticed the internal temperature of the wort can vary by as much as 2-4°F to that of what is on the fermometer on the outside of the fermentor)! This temp was the internal temp of the center of the wort, whereas I thought I was pitching at 70°F.
-Aerated 60 seconds pure oxygen.

OG: 1.067