I promised that I would make Gretchen a low alcohol hoppy beer that would taste like an IPA without all the alcohol. Today, I am attempting to do just that. I looked at a few recipes in Zymurgy and BYO and looked at what I had on hand and come up with this recipe to try. It also helps me clean out my left over grain.
BVB Kitchen Sink Small IPA
Recipe Overview
| Wort Volume Before Boil: | 7.00 US gals | Wort Volume After Boil: | 6.00 US gals |
| Volume Transferred: | 5.50 US gals | Water Added To Fermenter: | 0.0 qts |
| Volume At Pitching: | 5.50 US gals | Volume Of Finished Beer: | 5.00 US gals |
| Expected Pre-Boil Gravity: | 1.038 SG | Expected OG: | 1.044 SG |
| Expected FG: | 1.013 SG | Apparent Attenuation: | 68.9 % |
| Expected ABV: | 4.1 % | Expected ABW: | 3.2 % |
| Expected IBU (using Tinseth): | 54.6 IBU | Expected Color (using Morey): | 10.6 SRM |
| BU:GU ratio: | 1.24 | Approx Color: | |
| Mash Efficiency: | 75.0 % | ||
| Boil Duration: | 60.0 mins | ||
| Fermentation Temperature: | 64 F |
Fermentables
| Ingredient | Amount | % | MCU | When |
| UK Pale Ale Malt | 6lb 0oz | 62.1 % | 3.0 | In Mash/Steeped |
| US 2-Row Malt | 12.00 oz | 7.8 % | 0.2 | In Mash/Steeped |
| German Dark Munich Malt | 9.00 oz | 5.8 % | 0.8 | In Mash/Steeped |
| US Caramel 60L Malt | 9.00 oz | 5.8 % | 5.6 | In Mash/Steeped |
| US Caramel 20L Malt | 8.00 oz | 5.2 % | 1.7 | In Mash/Steeped |
| German CaraMunich II | 8.00 oz | 5.2 % | 3.8 | In Mash/Steeped |
| US Victory Malt | 4.00 oz | 2.6 % | 1.2 | In Mash/Steeped |
| US Caramel 10L Malt | 3.00 oz | 1.9 % | 0.3 | In Mash/Steeped |
| US White Wheat Malt | 2.62 oz | 1.7 % | 0.1 | In Mash/Steeped |
| Belgian Biscuit Malt | 1.00 oz | 0.6 % | 0.2 | In Mash/Steeped |
| Belgian Aromatic Malt | 1.00 oz | 0.6 % | 0.2 | In Mash/Steeped |
| US Caramel 40L Malt | 1.00 oz | 0.6 % | 0.4 | In Mash/Steeped |
Hops
| Variety | Alpha | Amount | IBU | Form | When |
| US Magnum | 13.1 % | 0.27 oz | 12.5 | Loose Pellet Hops | All Of Boil |
| US Magnum | 13.1 % | 0.73 oz | 20.5 | Loose Pellet Hops | 20 Min From End |
| US Centennial | 8.1 % | 0.50 oz | 8.7 | Loose Pellet Hops | 20 Min From End |
| US Centennial | 8.1 % | 0.50 oz | 5.2 | Loose Pellet Hops | 10 Min From End |
| US Columbus(Tomahawk) | 12.2 % | 0.50 oz | 7.8 | Loose Pellet Hops | 10 Min From End |
| US Cascade | 6.4 % | 1.00 oz | 0.0 | Loose Pellet Hops | At turn off |
| US Columbus(Tomahawk) | 12.2 % | 0.50 oz | 0.0 | Loose Pellet Hops | At turn off |
| Zythos™ | 10.9 % | 1.00 oz | 0.0 | Loose Pellet Hops | Dry-Hopped |
Yeast
Wyeast 1968-London ESB Ale
Mash Schedule
| Mash Type: | Full Mash |
| Schedule Name: | Single Step Infusion (67C-152F) |
| Step Type | Temperature | Duration |
| Rest at | 152 F | 60 |
Step By Step
7:24 Gas is on. Heating strike and sparge water.
8:12 Overshot the kettle temperature. Was over 180 °F. Flame is off and waiting for the temperature to drop.
8:18 Kettle water temperature is 174. Draining to mash tun.
Note to self. Clean out spigot on mash tun and boil kettle before use.
8:26 Water in mash tun. Temperature is 162 °F.
8:33 Mashing. Mash temperature is 152 °F. Volume is 6 gallons in the mash tun.
Yeast manufactured May 1st. Mr Malty says 49% viability or 49B cells. Recommend 170B cells. Expect a bit of a lag and some stress byproducts.
9:33 Mash complete. Vorlauff and lauter. Mash temperature 152 °F.
9:38 First runnings are 1.067 SG (1.052 SG at 138 °F). Collected 3-13/16 gallons.
9:45 Sparging. Temperature in kettle is 178 °F. Sparge temperature is 163 °F.
9:56 Second runnings are 1.019 SG (1.004 SG at 138 °F). Collected 6-7/8 gallons total (3-1/16 gallons from the sparge).
10:00 Flame on. Heating to boil. Boil gravity is 1.039 SG (1.028 SG at 122 °F). Target was 1.038 SG.
10:27 Boiling. Waiting for hot break to subside.
10:33 Hot break has subsided. Adding 60-minute hops.
11:13 Adding 20-minute hops
11:18 Adding chiller, Irish moss.
11:23 Adding 10-minute hops, yeast nutrient.
11:33 Flame out. Adding flame out hops chilling.
12:05 Chilled to 68 °F. Removing chiller. Whirlpool and settle. Original gravity volume is 5-15/16 gallons. Original gravity is 1.047 SG (1.040 SG at 103 °F). Target was 1.044 SG.
12:46 Draining.
1:13 Drained. Rocking to aerate.
1:20 Aerated.
2:51 Everything is cleaned and put away. Pitched at 66 °F. The beer is in the fermentation chamber with a set point of 66 °F. The thermostat is in heating mode. The set point is the “cut out” temperature. The differential is set to 2 °F. This means that — since the cellar is cold — the temperature of the beer falls until it is below 64 °F (2 °F below the set point). Then the thermostat turns the heater on until it reaches 66 °F (the set point) where the heater cuts out. That means that the beer will ferment at 65 ± 1 °F for this configuration.
Saturday, August 4 Kegged. Final gravity was 1.009 SG (1.010 SG at 49 °F). The hydrometer sample had a nice hoppy aroma but not huge. I guess that is to be expected in a flat beer. The flavor was a bit vegetal. Again, possibly to be expected in a small beer with this much hops at this young age.
Sunday, September 16 Kicked. This was a nice beer. It did not end up as small as I would have liked. Nor was it the hop bomb I expected. Perhaps the alcohol is a larger component of the hop perception than I imagined.