For the past few years, folks at the BPRU have organized a charity auction. Nothing too huge or outlandish, but we’ve raised a fair penny each year for a good cause. Last year and this year, I offered a case of home-brewed beer, brewed to order, and this year the prize was won by my friend and colleague, Ryan Vandrey. His order was a crisp, citrusy IPA, and while I haven’t locked in a good NEIPA yet (which is really his target), we worked towards a crisp, low-bitterness citrusy IPA.
Recipe Type: All Grain
Yeast: SafAle US-05
Yeast Starter: 1L starter, pitched at high krausen
Batch Size (Gallons): 10.5
Original Gravity: 1.056
Final Gravity: ??
IBU: ~32
Boiling Time (Minutes): 75
Color: ~7 SRM?
Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp):
Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp):
18# 2-row
6# Maris Otter
1.25# C40
1.25# Carapils
9oz rolled oats
2# sugar towards the end of primary fermentation!! (can’t forget this)
2oz Sorachi Ace 10min
1oz Falconer’s Flight 10 min
1oz Sorachi Ace 5min
1oz Falconer’s Flight 5min
1oz Sorachi Ace @ Whirlpool (after cooled below 180°)
1oz Falconer’s Flight @ Whirlpool (after cooled below 180°)
Mashed in and held 148* straight for 60 minutes. Collected ~13 gallons from the mash, had a minor boil-over (my first on this system .. woohoo?), and we let the boil go about 10 minutes longer than planned. Wort was used to sanitize the conical, and after transferring, we needed to recirculate a little longer to get temps down. I pitched the yeast starter at high krausen and at 65°, and left things to work themselves out in a chilly basement. The next morning before work, I checked and found a nice krausen forming in the fermenter, and exactly 10.5 gallons of wort in the fermenter. Can’t beat that.
Except for a water hose malfunction at the beginning of the day (we have really good water pressure in the house) and the minor boil-over (just enough to say it happened), the brew day went flawlessly. Ryan shared a few tasty beers from Vermont (including Double Shush). The kids all had a great time, I got to hang with Ryan, and everything was clean before we retired. Ryan wanted to get around a 7-8% beer – at this rate, we’ll be getting around 6.5%, so I am going to add 2# of sugar towards the end of primary fermentation. This will bump up the ABV and dry out the beer a little bit.
UPDATE 5/3/2019: added 2# sugar, dissolved in 3L boiling water
UPDATE 5/7/2019: very unique aromas and flavors: crisp, bright citrus, possibly with a touch of cilantro and cardamom flavor – I need to really dig in and explore Sorachi Ace!! I think I will also need to dry hop with SA