An awesome hop combination AIPA - By Grace and Banners Fallen -

I love hoppy beers, not necessarily bitter beers.  Hoppy.  If you love beer enough to be reading my blog.  You probably love them too.  I will let you know there is a series coming up featuring recipes designed to appeal to beer muggles.   This is NOT this series.   This is a post on an almost session-able American IPA.  This is a beer that is 66 IBUs but only 5.5% alcohol.  Is this the hoppiest beer in the world?  No...no it is not.  Not even close.  Is it amazingly hoppy and flavorful for it's alcohol content?  Yes. and yet somehow it manages to be balanced.  It is an excellent beer.  I
have worked on it for years and I have the blend and balance of the hops just right.

It is also because my brother in law is coming to town.  He is a dedicated hop head.   It is time for him to try a real homemade hob monster.  This beer is inspired by my two favorite DIPAs; Russian River's "Pliny the Elder", and Boulevard's "The Calling".  I stole elements from both, and it was awesome...

Here is my recipe: the names of my beers are inspired mostly by books I have read.  Because... well because I am a nerd.

By Grace and Banners Fallen  American IPA
2.25 gallons Ill ferment in an LBK.  Fermentation should be quick probably 21 days.  Then Ill cold crash and bottle.  The beer should be ready for when we celebrate my step moms birth day.

2.8 lb	2-Row (US)	Any	Mash	37	2 °L
0.3 lb	Biscuit (BE)	Any	Mash	35	23 °L
0.2 lb	Carapils (Dextrine Malt) (US)	Any	Mash	33	1 °L
0.2 lb	Cane Sugar	Any	Late Boil	46	0 °

0.4 oz	Warrior (US)	60 min	Boil	Pellet	16.0%
0.3 oz	Columbus (US)	5 min	Boil	Pellet	15.0%
0.3 oz	Centennial (US)	5 min	Boil	Pellet	10.5%
0.5 oz	Mosaic™ (US)	0 min	Boil	Pellet	12.5%
0.3 oz	Cascade (US)	0 min	Boil	Pellet	7.0%
0.5 oz	Mosaic™ (US)	7 days	Dry Hop	Pellet	12.5%
0.3 oz	Centennial (US)	7 days	Dry Hop	Pellet	10.5%
0.3 oz	Simcoe (US)	7 days	Dry Hop	Pellet	13.0%

I prepare my water.  If I'm using Tap water, I just use 1 teaspoon.   My municipal water is pretty ideal for brewing. I often add a teaspoon of Gypsum.

When brewing at my brew partner's home we have to use reverse osmosis water.  In that case we add Calcium Chloride and acidulated malt to almost ever batch.  And other minerals per style.

Dough in Low 129 F (54 C) The wort will fall to 125 F (51.6 C).  Hold it there for 5 Minutes, then begin a rise to 152 F (66.6 C).  When you get to 152 F (66.6), hold it there for 60 Minutes.  Then rise to 168 F (75.5 C) for 5 Minutes. Stir during Mash Out.

Pull the bag and squeeze till your volume is where you want it.  For me, on my stove top that is about 2.8 Gallons (10.52 Liters).  Then begin the boil and hop additions.  I do a 10 minute hop stand at flame out. I then set the grains on a colander over another pot.  They drip out enough for a check of extract gravity.

I use a hop bag. I use yeast nutrient and irish moss.

Chill this batch quickly.  I put the pot in a sink of ice water, and use my small 25' immersion chiller.  I am to pitching temperature in about 15 Minutes.

Aerate well.  I use an aquarium pump.  I do it for 20 minutes minimum.

Double Brew Sunday... All in the kitchen...

Yesterday was a big brew Sunday at my place.   It wasn't supposed to be all Sunday.   It was supposed to be Saturday and then Sunday.  But the kitchen faucet went kaput and replacing the faucet became like the struggle to re build the bridge over the river Kwai. (on a non brewing side note... who uses construction adhesive to hold down a sink faucet? who in their right mind thinks this is a good idea?)  After my sink faucet adventure brew day became Sunday.

First Brew a good ol extract Cream Ale.  I "mashed" corn and rice, 1 lb each, inspired by all of the recent posts regarding "Cream of Three Crops".   Brew day went smooth, till I realized my brew partner had the wort chiller.   Solution?   I went and bought some filtered ice, a 10 lb bag to be specific.   After brewing I sanitized everything, including the bag and poured the beer right on to the ice.   3 gallons of 190 F wort onto 1.18 gallons of ice.  Instant cool.   Well not instant but pretty quick.   Pitched US05 dry.  As of this am it isn't bubbling, but that is par for the course with US05.    Should be a good lawnmower beer.  I'm going to try to keep the fermentation cool, under 65.  Hoping it finishes clean and refreshing.

Second Brew,  A real partial mash American Pale Ale.   A frustration I have with on line forums is this... there is no control over recipe posting.  As a brewer who primarily brews partial mash brews it is very frustrating to log on line, search for a recipe and find "partial mash" recipes that are really just extract recipes written by someone who doesn't understand mashing, and who thinks that throwing more specialty grains into a recipe is the key to improving a beer.   To that end I am posting all of my PM recipes at Brewtoad.  just type in Real Partial Mash.  They will come up.  I think I have 9 or so of them posted so far.



The second brew was a blast.   I didn't want to use my big mash tun, so I went to Wallyworld and found 2, 2 gallon beverage Jugs on sale for $5.90 each.   Boom, you can mash up to 10 lbs of grain in 4 gallons.  And in reality they are a little bigger than 2 gallons, probably 2.25.  They worked like a charm, no modifications needed.  They are small enough to lift and move around, they lost no heat.   I'm not even going to add ball valves.  Although, I may add a lever lock valve to each of them.   I mashed 3.5 lbs of Maris Otter, 3.5 lbs of American 2 Row, and .5 lbs of Crystal 60.  After a 45 minute mash I vorloffed and batch sparged.  I collected about 4 gallons of wort.  Since I didn't have the wort chiller, I just did a partial boil.

The runnings were a beautiful deep orange color.  Add 2 lbs of DME and you have a 1.046 beer.  Not bad.  After boil about 1.056.  Hopped with Warrior, Cascade and Centennial.  Cooled just like above.   Aerated and pitched US05.



I did all of this in my kitchen.  In 6 hours, and you can too. I like all grain brewing.   I like extract brewing.   There are many many extracts that are great.   But extract always leaves me wanting more complexity in the taste, and all grain should really be called all day brewing.    I know you full time BIAB guys say that BIAB takes the same amount of time as a Partial Mash.  And I know, you're correct.  But I enjoy Partial Mash.  I know my results will be predictable.  Partial Mash rocks, and you can do it on your Countertop.

Let me know what you think, and if you have a recipe to convert, let me know.  I'd be happy to help.