Brush Valley Brewer’s Imperial Celebration Extract IPA

Gretchen and I really like Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale. We stock up on it every winter. To celebrate July 4th this year, I decided to make a bigger version of it. I looked at a few clone recipes and what Sierra Nevada had to say, then I converted it to extract and cranked it up a bit. Here is my recipe:

Makes four 22-ounce bottles

OG: 1.082 SG
FG: 1.020 SG
ABV: 8.4%
IBU: 79.4
SRM: 8.6 (Amber)

Ingredients

• 1.4 pounds Alexander’s Pale Malt Kicker (end of boil)
• 0.5 pounds Simpson’s Caramalt (steeped)
• 0.1 ounce Chinook pellets (60 minutes)
• 0.1 ounce Centennial pellets (60 minutes)
• 0.1 ounce Centennial pellets (15 minutes)
• 0.1 ounce Cascade pellets (5 minutes)
• 0.15 ounce Chinook pellets (in primary)
• 0.15 ounce Centennial pellets (in primary)
• 0.15 ounce Cascade pellets (in primary)
• Wyeast American Ale propagator pack (1056)

Directions

1. Make a 1-quart starter several days in advance.
2. Crush the CaraMalt and place it in a disposable grain bag. Bring 1 quart of water to 165°F in a 12-quart pot. Place the grain bag into the pot and allow to steep for 30 minutes.
3. Bring another quart of water to 165°F and use it to rinse the grain bag. Dispose of the steeped grain.
4. Add sufficient water to make 5 quarts in the 12 quart pot. Bring to a boil.
5. Add 0.1 ounces Chinook pellets and 0.1 ounces Centennial pellets. Continue boil for 45 minutes.
6. Add 0.1 ounces Chinook pellets. Continue boil for 10 minutes.
7. Add 0.1 ounces Cascade pellets. Remove from heat and add 1.4 pounds of malt extract. Stir to dissolve. Return to heat. Boil for 5 minutes.
8. Turn off heat. Cover. Place pot in a sink of cold water. Stir wort with a sanitized spoon. Be careful to not aerate the wort while hot. Change the water occasionally as it warms up. Continue until wort reaches 70°F.
9. Pour wort into a sanitized 1-gallon jug through a sanitized funnel with a screen to remove the sediment.
10. Swirl the starter to suspend the yeast. Measure out 0.5 cups into a sanitized measuring cup. Pitch. Cap the jug with a sanitized stopper and shake to aerate. Affix a sanitized 3-piece airlock and drilled stopper. Place in a 65–75°F dark place for 1 week.
11. Place 0.15 ounces Cascade pellets, 0.15 ounces Chinook pellets, and 0.15 ounces Centennial pellets in enough warm (less than 167°F) water to just cover. Steep covered for 20 minutes. Add the hop tea and hops to a sanitized 1-gallon jug.
12. Using a sanitized siphon, racking cane, and siphon hose, transfer the beer from the primary fermenter to the secondary onto the hop tea. Affix a sanitized 1-piece airlock and drilled stopper. Place in a 65–75°F dark place for 1 week.
13. Combine 0.7 ounces DME with 12 fluid ounces of water. Bring to a boil for several minutes. Cool to 70°F. Add to a sanitized bottling bucket.
14. Using a sanitized racking cane and siphon hose, transfer the beer from the secondary to the bottling bucket.
15. Using a sanitized siphon hose and bottling wand, fill four 22-ounce bottles. Cap and store in a 65–75°F dark place for 2 weeks before sampling.

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p>Notes

This was kind of fun. Though based on other clone recipes of a well known beer, I enjoyed trying to crank up the gravity and hops to make an imperial version that I could make with standard sized available ingredients. We enjoyed the beer. It was a bit sweet for me, but the two batches we made disappeared soon enough.