Recipe - inspired by Original IPA recipe from Terry Foster's Pale Ale from Classic Beer Styles series ------ (6 gallons, extract with grains) expected stats: OG = 1.065, FG = 1.016, IBUs = 60+, SRM = 8, 6.5% abv Ingredients 15.0 lb Maris Otter 1.0 lb British Amber Malt 1 oz EKG first wort (5.7% AA) 1.5 oz EKG 45 mins 1 oz EKG 20 mins 1 oz EKG 5 mins 1 oz Saaz 5 mins 1 tsp yeast nutrient (15 mins) 1 tsp Irish moss (15 mins) 1 oz EKG dry hopped into secondary (pitch this from a starter) Wyeast 1275 (Thames Valley) TODO next time -------------- - Make a better sparger, then can run off a bit faster so it stays a bit hotter. 4/21/06 Made starter -------------------- - popped yeast at about 9 am at work - was super duper excited (and puffed to the limit of the pouch) by 6 pm - pitched 1 qt starter around 7 pm, and bubbled quickly 4/23/06 Brew ------------ - infused to 154F (172F water) - one hour mash - 45 min boil - all else as usual 5/2/06 First Racking -------------------- - bubbling about every 4 seconds - still very sweet, next time should probably wait until fermented out before throw wood/hops in. - decent amount of finishing bitterness before dry hopping. Not muh perceptivle aroma at this point, but not surprising due to no CO2 and sat in test jar for ~10 months. Dry hops should fix that. - Going to have interesting malty character. - S.G. 1.032 - lots of flocculated yeast on top - add 1/2 oz small chips of American Oak and 1 oz EKG drop hop 5/9/06 Second Racking --------------------- - racked off oak chips and dry hops - not that hoppy, but pretty bitter - S.G. 1.017 - seems like it's either fucked up or needs *lots* of time - returned to counter to let settle for a couple of days before keg/bottle 5/11/06 Kegging/Bottling ------------------------ - very clear in racking tube - still bubbling rather a lot after set carboy on counter - F.G 1.014 - very pungent from dry hops, but also pretty bitter - seemed a little thick without carbonation - bottled 6 bottles with 2 coopers drops each, remainder to keg - could also use a good long stint in bottles Ongoing thoughts in May and early June -------------------------------------- - at first, I thought there was a bad infection problem, or maybe a sanitizer-left-in-the-carboy problem, due to an almost soapy scent. However, Sean commented that his previous monohopped EKG beers have tasted strange, so maybe should combine multiple hops - The strange taste may also be from the American oak chips I used. - Also, I tasted a Magic Hat Fat Angel, which is supposedly an IPA, and is definitely an English one, as it lacks all grapefruity character. It had nearly as much of the soapiness as my beer, and I probably used a shitload more hops than they did. I doubt they add oak chips or age it in oak, but it did taste remarkably similar.