Klaus Störtebeker

IPA #1

It finally happened, I got sick of brewing the same beer over, and over again. It's not that I'm giving up the quest, I'm just allowing myself the occasional diversion. The local Homebrewing supplies store was holding a themed tasting. These come up from time to time. This time the theme was IPA. This was one style I had never attempted... Well, why not?

I decided to go traditional, or as close as possible, and keep it simple.

THE GRAIN BILL

12 Pounds 2-row
10 Ounces carastan

THE MASH PROFILE

Strike with 13 Litres @ 76° Celsius for 66° Celsius. Rest for 60 Minutes

THE RESULTS

Big time fuck up. I got 64° Celsius - 65° Celsius. I should have just gone with it, but decided to pull a 1/4 decoction to see if I could bump it up a bit. Well, I sure bumped it. I practically mashed out. It was 70° Celsius for a few minuets, at least at the top, then flattened out around 66° Celsius - 67° Celsius. I decided to add an extra 45 Minutes to the mash time.

As usual the sparge was a bit on the gimpy side. Rarely did I manage to get the grain bed above 70° Celsius. Sometimes I think I should use reverse psychology on the mash tun.

2.4 Ounces goldings boil (15 AAU)
1 Ounce goldings finish
1 Ounce goldings dry

I pitched wyeast 1335 this time. Not for any particular reason, it was just one of the few packs left at the store.

OG: 1.048 OUCH!

TG: 1.016

This beer looked good, at room temperature anyway. Major chill haze. It also smelled good, but it was WAY to sweet, and not nearly strong enough. Not unusual for my brews, but I didn't just have basic disappointment to deal with, I had to share this delinquent child with all the Homebrewers at the tasting. There were even two celebrities present. Occasionally local professional brewers attend these tasteings.

The one novel thing about my IPA was that it was probably the only one that wasn't west coast style, and hoped to the hilt. In retrospect the low gravity probably overshadowed that. I overheard some one saying it tasted like there were cherries added to the secondary, IOW, "Hmmmm, interesting choice of adjunct." -- fuck me...

There was one guy who bravely had seconds, possibly out of compassion. It was at that point that I vowed to make more IPAs. A parallel line of brews, and each shall be named for a famous pirate. On the high seas, you need a hopy beer for it to keep, and many pirates were accustomed to rum, so they probably would not mind my gravity fuck-ups.