Brewday: Playoffs Rye IPA take 4

First hop addition, 60 of 340g

A disproportionate number of my brews are American IPAs and Pale Ales - 22 out of my last 67 brews. I love a wide range of styles but it's harder to get a good, fresh IPA than most other things so I need to brew these more often to get my fix. One thing I don't think many people, even plenty of beer geeks, grasp properly is just how quickly beer deteriorates, hoppy beer in particular. Freshness is hugely important for most styles of beer. For a bit of an insight into what I mean, Literature and Libation has a great writeup of the experience of tasting the same IPA at 5 days and 90 days old.

The huge distance that most beer has to travel is something we have working against us in Australia. Our population is so spread out that beers have to travel a long way before they get to the majority of consumers. I've had way too many IPAs and pale ales with little to no discernible hop aroma. A bottle might be a month within its best before date but still be long past its actual best. In my dream world everyone has at least one brewpub within walking distance of their house and the beer is always fresh.

In this respect home brewers have a serious advantage over other craft beer consumers. No one gets to drink beer that's more fresh. For brewers who can brew to a decent standard, that means that the beer in their own homes is often better than the majority of commercially available beer. Avoiding the travelling distance and having control over storage makes a particularly big difference for IPAs and other modern hoppy beers. You're also always aware of how old the beer itself is and how soon it needs to be consumed.

All that is really just to say I'm excited about brewing my Playoffs IPA again and having some fresh IPA action. It should be ready just in time for this year's NBA playoffs which are looking like they'll be fun, especially in the West. This is my 4th crack at this particular beer. The first one I loved, the second I had a couple of enforced changes and was disappointed, the third was in late 2013 and was just ok. It suffered due to my rushed production and the aroma was not impressive. It was there but the current batch of Columbus is more potent than what I was using back in 2012 so it dominated in a way that wasn't what I was after and the overall aroma and flavour was a bit muddled and didn't 'pop' like it should have. This time I decided to make some changes to my process and the recipe to hopefully improve things.

Probably the biggest change is with the hops because I felt like going with something different this time. I may return to the original hop varieties eventually but this time I wanted to make use of the opportunity to try new combinations. I've switched out the Amarillo and Columbus of the original recipe and added in Centennial and Ahtanum. The ratios are a bit different as well, I've gone for 2:1:1 Centennial:Citra:Ahtanum throughout and added an extra dose of hops for a 50 minute sub-80C steep. The aroma as I transferred the wort into the fermenter fully justified the decision - it was incredible.

One of the pieces of feedback I received last time around was that the rye that was advertised didn't really come through so I've increased it to 20% of the grist compared to the original 14%. I also went with the Joe White Traditional Ale malt that I used originally instead of the pilsner malt of my last attempt. It was partly a decision to increase the colour and partly to avoid burning through my pilsner malt before I can get a re-up through a bulk buy.

The process changes are relatively small but will hopefully improve the finished product a little. I've been reading a bit about mash and post fermentation pH and it seems that a lower pH will help the hops to come across with more clarity. With that in mind I've aimed for a mash pH of 5.3 rather than the normal 5.45 I've usually been after. All this is theoretical though since I'm working with estimates off a spreadsheet rather than actual pH readings. All I can say for sure is that the pH is lower this time than when I've brewed it before. I'm considering buying a pH meter so I've got a better idea of what's going on with my mash and post fermentation pH levels.

I've also decided to start experimenting a bit with chloride:sulphate ratios. My normal practice with hoppy beers is to add a decent amount calcium sulphate and a small amount of calcium chloride. This time I'm keeping the sulphate addition in my normal range but I'm pushing the chloride a bit higher to see how it alters my perception of the beer. It's just something I haven't really experimented with at all up to this point and I've been wondering about it so I thought I'd make the change.

So with all that decision making out of the way, the brew itself should have been pretty straight forward but I ran into a couple of problems. The big one was that when I emptied my urn I found that part of the element had blackened. I've had that happen once before and that beer had rye in it as well so I'm guessing that's something to watch out for when using that grain. Fortunately the wort itself smelled and tasted great so I'm hoping that I got away with nothing more than a fair bit of scrubbing to remove the cooked on stuff. The other problem was small but annoying. I missed my gravity target even though I already aimed lower than normal in my recipe design (75% instead of my normal 80%). 1.061 instead of 1.062 isn't a big deal but poor efficiency was the reason I stopped using Joe White malt in the past and this result isn't a strong motivator for me to buy more. I think I need to alter the extract potential in my brewing software to compensate for that because it's obviously yielding less than its specs say. Those problems aside, the aroma of the wort was fantastic and if the finished beer has a similar character I'll be very happy.

Sad burnt on element

Playoffs Rye IPA #4 (20L batch)
OG: 1.062 (1.061 measured)
FG: 1.012
IBU: 66
EBC: 15.5
ABV: 6.7%

Recipe
76% Pilsner malt
20% Rye malt
4% Caramunich II

2.5g/l Aramis @ 60 min (41 IBU)
2g/l Centennial @ 0 minutes (for a 20 minute steep) (13 IBU)
1g/l Citra @ 0 minutes (for a 20 minute steep) (8 IBU)
1g/l Ahtanum @ 0 minutes (for a 20 minute steep) (3 IBU)
2g/l Centennial @ < 80C for a 50 minute steep
1g/l Citra @ < 80C for a 50 minute steep
1g/l Ahtanum < 80C for a 50 minute steep
3g/l Centennial @ dry hop
1.5g/l Citra @ dry hop
1.5g/l Ahtanum @ dry hop

WLP090


Method
Mash:

• Added 10g CaSO4, 5g CaCl2, 2g MgSO4 to increase calcium and sulphate levels
• 4ml lactic acid for pH correction
• Stepped mash: 62C (45 minutes), 72C (15 minutes) and a 78C mash out

Boil:

• 90 minute boil
• 60g Aramis @ 60 minutes
• 1/2 tab of whirlfloc @ 10 minutes
• 40g Centennial @ 0 minutes
• 20g Citra @ 0 minutes
• 20g Ahtanum @ 0 minutes
• 20 minute hop stand after flame out
• Chilled to < 80C, added 20g each of Citra and Ahtanum and 40g Centennial for a 50 minute steep

Fermentation:

• Oxygenated for 90 seconds
• Began fermentation at 18C, I plan to increase it to 20C by the end of fermentation
• I'll cold crash and add dry hops once fermentation is complete

Tasting notes: Playoffs Rye IPA

The Playoffs Rye IPA was brewed on December 28 for Jason's birthday BBQ, bottled on January 8. This tasting was on January 23.

OG: 1.062
FG: 1.012
IBU: 65
ABV: 6.6%

Aroma: Pine is the main impression then pineapple, mango, light floral notes, some sweet & creamy malt and a generic fruit aroma that's hard to pin down.
Appearance: Cloudy orange, dense white head that persists.
Flavour: fruity and sweet first up that finishes with some earthy rye flavour, some nice malt and a moderate, balanced (for an IPA) bitterness. A little yeastiness.
Mouthfeel: medium carbonation, probably a bit higher than I'd like it. A little chalky in the finish from the yeast in suspension.

I had high expectations for this beer and beneath the flaws, there's a nice IPA lurking. Unfortunately the cloudiness is a big problem. It harms the appearance firstly which is something I'd like to improve in my beers but much more importantly, it leaves a yeasty flavour and a chalky feeling in my mouth that seriously undermines the whole experience. The only bottles I have of this beer were the ones at the start and end of bottling and I'm not sure if these were particularly cloudy or if the whole batch was like this. Unfortunately, I didn't have the time to cold crash the beer to get it reasonably clear. Next time, that's a priority.

The hop aroma and flavour are good but not great. The Columbus is dominant and while I like what it brings to the table, I wanted something more from the combination. This isn't the hop profile I had the first time I brewed it and I suspect it's a matter of seasonal variation.

It does have some things going for it though. The bitterness is well balanced, the malt flavour is great although it could do with some more rye. The hop flavour is pretty good even though it's not quite right. It's a shame that the cloudiness compromised it, this beer should be so much better. If I have the time I'll brew it again for the NBA Playoffs and see if I can get it right then.

Next time: Clear the beer! Gelatine, cold crash, time, whatever. That's the big problem with the beer. I'd also increase the rye to 20%, other than that the colour and malt flavour is great. The hop combination isn't bad, it just doesn't do heaps. I think that's because the Columbus dominated the Citra and Amarillo. Next time I'd probably go for a 1:2:2 or 2:3:3 ratio.

Birthday Brew #3: Playoffs Rye IPA

This is the last of the 7 straight brews for the wedding and birthday! It's been a huge project for me with the planning, preparation during each week, the brewing and bottling. More than that, it's been great sharing the fun of brewing with friends and having their help with the physical side of brewing. I couldn't have done it without them.

The Playoffs Rye IPA had its beginnings in the month before the 2012 NBA playoffs when I realised that I'd need some very American beer to drink while watching basketball. There were some brilliant series along the way with LeBron James and the Miami Heat crushing OKC in the finals. The Playoffs Rye IPA was exactly what I wanted to go along with that. It was by far the best beer I'd brewed to that point and I was crushed when it ran out. I tried to brew it again later in 2012 but due to a couple of ingredient changes that were forced on me it ended up being a big disappointment. This brew is a chance for vindication and will hopefully go nicely with smokey pork ribs and pulled pork.

It's interesting to see how much has changed since I brewed this one the first time. At that stage I was brewing 1/2 size batches on the kitchen stove, I wasn't altering mash pH or water chemistry, I didn't always pitch enough yeast, I didn't have fermentation temperature control or the ability to oxygenate wort. It's great to be able to look back and see the improvements I've been able to make to my process over 18 months or so. The only recipe difference between this version and the first is that I used pilsner malt instead of Golden Promise to keep the malt flavour out of the way of the rye and hops. I debated raising the rye malt percentage to around 20% but in the end I decided to keep it the same as the first time around.

Huw and Will both came around to help me brew this one and it was awesome. They've both been around for several brews and they know the process well enough to be able to manage it on their own and help me to conserve energy. I've reached head brewer status!

Playoffs Rye IPA (21L batch)
OG: 1.062
FG: 1.011 (1.012 measured)
IBU: 65 (estimated)
EBC: 12.1
ABV: 6.7% (6.6% measured)

82% Weyermann Bohemian Pilsner malt
14% Rye malt
4% Caramunich II

20g Columbus @ 60 minutes
30g Columbus @ 0 minutes
30g Citra @ 0 minutes
30g Amarillo @ 0 minutes
40g Columbus @ dry hop
40g Citra @ dry hop
40g Amarillo @ dry hop

Starter of WLP090 with an estimated pitch of 300 billion cells

9g CaSO4, 2g CaCl2, 3g MgSO4 for a sulphate leaning, hop bitterness enhancing brew. Also adjusted the pH with 4ml of lactic acid.

Stepped mash: 62C (45 minutes), 72C (15 minutes) and a 78C mash out

90 seconds of O2 prior to pitching yeast

28/12/13 - Brewed with Huw & Will

05/01/14 - dry hopped with 40g each of Columbus, Citra and Amarillo

08/01/14 - Bottled

Blonde Ale and brewing for a wedding

In January one of my friends from school will be getting married and he's asked me to provide the beer for the reception. It's a fun project to plan and obsess over but it also comes with some pressure to brew for a range of people I don't know and who aren't necessarily into craft beer. I've written and rewritten the list of 5 or so beers that I'll brew and it will probably get some more revision before January. Still, at this point I'm planning:

• Bohemian Pilsner
• Dusseldorf Altbier (Simon's recipe, one of my favourite beers)
• Hefeweizen with Vienna malt
• Blonde Ale or American Pale Ale
• Belgian Pale or Saison

The dates for brewing are mapped out, the Pilsner is set for October 6th so it's got plenty of time to lager. I may get excited and brew an extra beer or two. Maybe an IPA or something a little more unusual. A Berliner Weisse might be a fun beer on a hot Summer day.

I brewed the Blonde Ale on the same day as the Pale Ale and they're competing for a spot in January. A Blonde/Golden/Summer ale is not the kind of beer I would usually bother brewing for myself. There are just too many others I'm more interested in. I'm sure there are well done versions but generally they seem to be a fairly bland entry level craft beer. The sort of beer that 'craft' breweries backed by big corporations have as their flagship beer.

The kind of thing I'm talking about

Anyway, enough raging against the machine. The recipe is very simple. Pils malt with a touch of wheat. I'm shooting for simple, fairly dry with a little fruity hop flavour and aroma. I overshot my gravity but that's not the end of the world. If I had more time/space in the fermentation fridge & freezer, I'd have gone with a Kolsch yeast or even the California Lager yeast for a super clean and malt friendly finish. If I end up choosing to go with the Blonde Ale, that's what I'll probably do and brew it side by side with the Alt.

Blonde Ale
OG: 1.050 (I was shooting for 1.047)
FG: 1.010
IBU: 8.4 (calculated, although I'd guess the reality would be more like 15-20)
ABV: 5.3%
EBC: 5

92% Best Malz pilsner malt
8% Best Malz wheat malt

20g Citra @ 10 min
30g Citra @ 0 min

US-05

Highly fermentable stepped mash: 62C/68C/72C/78C for 30min/30min/15min/10min

Added 1g CaSO4, 6g CaCl2 and 3g MgSO4 to get calcium and magnesium to a minimum level and enhance perception of the malt.

Brewday: American Brown

I did a brew with Mark, a mate who just lives around the corner. We've lived near each other for about 2 years yet somehow hardly ever meet up. Among its many virtues, brewing provides a great opportunity to hang out.

We did a simple American Brown Ale. I went for extract + specialty grains instead of all grain for the sake of saving some time and helping him get familiar with that step in the brewing pathway. Colour came from some Carafa Special III, Chocolate malt and some crystal. I'm still trying to use leftover hops and I thought Citra would be nice with the darker malt flavour. I also added Columbus and Galaxy. 1.052 OG and 32 IBUs.

Simple and good. Hopefully.

Brewday: Playoffs IPA

I'm not generally organised enough to brew for particular occasions, even brewing things appropriate to the season is more accidental than planned. However, I'm looking for opportunities to brew now that I'm able and the NBA playoffs are fast approaching. My aim was to brew an appropriate beer to drink while watching the Grizzlies and Spurs make deep (hopefully) playoff runs.

The Grizz are the fun team to watch again this postseason

I wanted to brew a beer that's about as subtle as Chris Andersen's tattoos and I have lots of hops that need to be used so the Playoffs IPA was born.

Weighing and crushing grain

I used 2.8kg pale malt, 500g rye and 150g crystal (120 ebc) for the grain of this 11.5l brew. I've been wanting to use rye and I'm hoping it'll contribute a nice spicy character and full mouthfeel. The hops are Amarillo, Citra and Columbus. All big and bold and hopefully they'll play nicely together. Up to this point I've mostly done single hop beers as I'm still very much a beginner and learning about the different varieties and what they contribute to a beer. However, this time I was feeling up for a big hit of American hops so I chucked them all in. Additions at 60 min, 10 min and dry hopping to 70 IBUs with an OG of 1.062.

Raising the temp for mash out

The brew itself was mostly easy enough. Mashed in at 65'C and raised the temp to 75 for mash out. It's now in the fermenter with a dose of US-05 and we should be drinking it sometime in the first week of playoffs. Perfect. I will drink it and imagine I am there.

Playoffs IPA on its way!